Bajofondo

Bajofondo, formerly known as Bajofondo Tango Club on their self-titled debut in 2002, is an Argentine-Uruguayan octet led by Grammy-winning producer Gustavo Santaolalla and producer composer Juan Campodónico. For years the collective fused acoustic tango and candomble with electronic beats and textures, resulting in a radically different take on the styles. They shortened their name to Bajofondo with 2005′s Remixed as their music had broadened to include tango and candomble as two of the several genres they employed. They considered their sound simply as “contemporary music from the Río de la Plata.” During the second decade of the new century, Bajofondo issued Presente, a concept outing that was recorded by the collective sans guests for the first time ever. By the time they issued 2019′s Aura, their fourth long-player, Bajofondo had remade their sound and recording process to embrace improvisation and the entire well of Latin music as inspiration.
Led by Santaolalla (guitar, percussion, vocals), whose production credits include such luminous Latin acts as Juanes, Café Tacuba, and Julieta Venegas, Juan Campodónico (programming, beats, samples, guitar, production), Bajofondo also includes Luciano Supervielle (piano, keyboards, scratching), Javier Casalla (violin), Martín Ferrés (bandoneon), Gabriel Casacuberta (upright bass, electric bass), Adrián Sosa (drums), and Verónica Loza (VJ, vocals). They made their full-length album debut in 2002 with Tango Club on Santaolalla’s Universal Music-affiliated boutique label, Surco Records. Subsequent albums include Bajofondo Tango Club Presenta: Supervielle (2004), Remixed (2005), and Mar Dulce (2007), the latter featuring an all-star list of guest features (most notably Gustavo Cerati, Nelly Furtado, Mala Rodríguez, Juan Subirá [of Bersuit Vergarabat], Elvis Costello, and on the 2008 deluxe edition, Julieta Venegas). The Pa' Bailar EP was also released that year, bringing an end to the band’s relationship with Universal. Given the extracurricular activities of its members, Bajofondo didn’t record again for five years, but they did find some time to tour Latin America, Europe, and select cities in the United States. After signing with Sony Masterworks in 2013, the band issued the 21-track Presente, an album that stood in stark contrast to its predecessor by returning to basics. Santaolalla’s intense solo activity kept the band from recording, but they performed an international tour in 2017, followed by a vinyl reissue of their debut album. In October of 2019, Bajofondo issued Aura, their fourth long player. It stood apart from previous outing because the band recorded organically, live from the floor of a Montevideo studio. Rather than the bandmembers bringing ideas into the studio to build on, the group developed ideas on the spot and improvised on them together. They recorded without Auto-Tune or layers of overdubs; they reduced their reliance on electronics to a minimum. In addition to murga, tango, and candomble (which are an inseparable part of Bajofondo’s musical DNA), they made full use of a myriad of rhythms from cumbia, canción Ranchera, and disco to psychedelic rock, jazz, and funk. ~ Jason Birchmeier