Nothing quite prepares you for Gaby Kerpel. In his benchmark album, Carnabailito, he took the sounds, mood and, most importantly, the vibe (or onda as they would say in Argentina) of this stunning part of the country and mixed it, mashed it, messed it until it was, if not quite unrecognisable, then certainly genre defying.
Electronica has always found a home in Buenos Aires. It has also provided Argentina with some of its biggest breakout acts – most notably the Gotan Project and Gustavo Sanatolla’s project Bajofondo Tango Club. Then, in the post-superclub space came The Manta Raya. And since their genesis in 2000, with the current bands making the same sort of New Rave noises (M83, Foals, Hot Chip et al), they have found their groove again and are partying as hard ever. Read on to find out all about this anarchic Argentinian electronica outfit.
By design, there is little monotony in the life of a freelance foreign correspondent – and that’s what keeps me sane. Moreover, I get to witness events and visit places that most others do not. It’s a great gig, and Argentina is an excellent place to be in business.
Don’t let the following words put you off: Juana Molina is an actress turned musician. Yet her ambient bedroom mixes remain warm sounding, luscious even, and ruefully manage to skip over the ‘that’s interesting’ which experimental music often elicits, to be gorgeous cross over music, soundtracking dinner parties in Buenos Aires and across the world.