| Born: Genre: Style: |
1999 – Paris, France Electronic, Latin Nuevo Tango, Trip Hop, Downtempo, |
| Year | Album Title | Label | In House |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Revenge of the Tango | That's it! | On Website |
| 2004 | Inspiración – Espiración (A Gotan Project Selection) | That's it! | YES |
| 2006 | Lunar | That's it! | YES |
| 2010 | Tango 3.0 | That's it! | YES |
Philip Coen Solal was born in 1961. He started his musical career as a consultant. He mainly worked with film studios. For example, he worked with famous directors such as Lars von Trier and Nikita Mikhalkov. For Gotan, Solal also worked as a DJ and wrote compositions.
In 1995, fate brought him together with Christoph Müller (b. 1967), who had just moved to Paris from Switzerland, where he was making electronic music. The love for electronic music and for Latin American melodies brought both musicians together. They immediately founded their label Ya Basta. Records by various bands were released under this label. They all combined South American folk motifs with electronic music.
The three musicians met in 1999. When Muller and Solal went into a Parisian restaurant, they met guitarist and singer Eduardo Makaroff. At that time, he was conducting the orchestra. Eduardo, who was born in Argentina in 1954, had been living in France for several years. At home, he did the same as Solal – he worked with film studios and composed music for films.
Almost immediately after their meeting, the trinity took shape in the new Gotan Project group. In fact, “gotan” is a simple permutation of the syllables in the word “tango”. It was tango that became the main direction of the group’s musical creativity. True, with a twist – the violin and gotan guitar were added to the Latin American rhythms – this is a simple rearrangement of syllables in the word tango. The new style was called “electronic tango”.
According to the musicians, they decided to experiment, not knowing what would come of it. However, after working together, they came to the conclusion that the classic tango sounds quite good in electronic processing. On the contrary, music from another continent began to play with new colors when it was supplemented with an electronic sound.
The band’s first recording was released in 2000 – the maxi-single Vuelvo Al Sur / El Capitalismo Foraneo. And a year later, a full-fledged album was presented. The name spoke for itself – La Revancha del Tango (literally “Revenge of the Tango”). Musicians from Argentina, Denmark and a Catalan singer took part in the recording of the compositions. The revenge of the tango did indeed take place. The band’s recordings quickly attracted attention. The electronic tango was received with a bang by both the public and the critical music critics. Compositions from La Revancha del Tango simultaneously became international hits. According to the general opinion, it was thanks to this album that interest in tango revived in France, and also throughout Europe.
Already at the end of 2001 (in the wake of the tango revenge) the group went on a big tour through Europe. However, the tour quickly became a worldwide tour. During the tour Gotan Project performed in many countries. The British press noted the band's first album as one of the best of the year (a little later - in a decade).
In 2006, the band delighted fans with a new full-length album, Lunatico. And almost immediately, they went on a long world tour. During the tour, which lasted 1.5 years, the musicians performed in the most prestigious venues in the world. And in 2010, a new record Tango 3.0 was released. While working on it, the team actively experimented and tried out new options.
For example, during the recordings, a harmonica virtuoso, a football commentator and a children's choir were used. Of course, there was also electronics. Admittedly, the sound has become more modern. Solal and Eduardo's initial involvement in films was beneficial for the Gotan Project group. The group's melodies were often used as soundtracks for films and TV shows. The team's compositions can even be heard during the Olympic Games, for example in the gymnasts' programs.
The live performance of the Gotan Project is enchanting. The trio, paying tribute to Argentina (the birthplace of tango), performs in dark suits and retro hats. A special flavor is added by the projection of a video from an old Latin American film. The stylistically consistent visualization is easily explained. From the very beginning, video artist Prissa Lobjoy collaborated on the group's work.
As the musicians themselves say, they love completely different music, ranging from rock to dub. One of the band members is generally a fan of country music. And such a variety of tastes is, of course, reflected in the work of the team. Of course, the basis of Gotan Project is tango, folk and electronic music, but all this is actively supplemented with other elements. This is perhaps the secret of the success of musicians whose compositions are listened to by people from 17 to 60 years old all over the world.
