T ango

Notici as
Interview with
www.tangonoticas.com
february + march 08
Volume 09, Issue 01

NARCOTANGO
cover Foto: Allard Van Der Hoek

CARLOS LIBEDINSKY Sebastian Monk: Piano y teclados
Marcelo Vaccaro: Bajo
by Lydia Essary Carlos Libedinsky: Guitarra y samplers
Rosana Laudani: Voz
editing and translation Federico Biraben: Bandoneon
Fernando del Castillo: Bateria y percusion

by Lydia Essary Foto: Allard Van Der Hoek
 I nterview
with
CARLOS
LIBEDI NSKY
by Lydia Essary
editing and translation
by Lydia Essary
the tango scene at the beginning
Lydia Essary: How and when did you
become interested in tango?
Carlos Libedinsky: My interest in tango
started about 15 years ago, while playing
around with musician friends in one of
those “guitarreadas” (guitar ensembles).
We played, improvised tango tunes, and
some of those tunes were coming from
somewhere, probably from our infancy.
I had never played tangos before, even
though tangos were played at home all the
 tango noticias • february + march 2008
Narcotango’s director &
composer speaks to Tango
Noticias. The interview
took place at the studio of
Tademus school of music at
Jose Hernández 2535, barrio
de Belgrano, Buenos Aires
on October 3, 2007 at 2 pm.
The interview was conducted
by Lydia Essary. Editing and
translation by Lydia Essary.
time. My dad was a tango fan and a good
dancer according to some: just amateur,
not professional. He was a dentist. My dad
always tried to teach me to dance. I was
interested in the rock &roll, blues then,
but not tango.
LE: So, it was an accident. What
propitiated this accident?
CL: Well, someone starts playing
something, and the others follow. Nobody
in that group was precisely a tanguero, and
I can’t remember how the tangos popped
up. Then, we started singing, ramdomly,
one or other tango: “Cambalache,”
describing how things go in our country,
right?
LE: It was indeed an accident!
CL: Exactly. And 10 years after this event
I had a similar situation. I was on tour with
a tango group. At a milonga, there was a
couple teaching on one of the sides of the
dance floor. I was sitting at a table with
the group not doing much, so we went
there to take the class just to have fun.
Well, this experience was a revelation, just
like happened ten years prior. I became
interested in dancing, and my tango as a
musician made a 360 degree turn. Dancing
tango gave me the impression that there
was not a connection with the present
time. The music played at the milongas had
been composed many years ago.
Even though I loved the music, I felt that
there was a need for the presence of the
21st century.
LE: Were there any other electronic
tango groups?
CL: There were not: there was nothing
new in the music that people danced. On
the other hand, there was a lot of new
stuff in the tango dance.
LE: Were there any other groups
playing electronic tango?
CL: No, well, later we heard that several
were concurrently developing the concept
of electronic tango.
LE: Was Gotan playing at that time?
CL: I am talking around 1999-2000, about
3 years before the first Narcotango CD
was released. In the year 2001 I recorded
a CD named Aldea Global.
LE: I recall seeing you promoting
your CD at one of the milongas,
maybe Torquato Tasso?
You performed by yourself, with
your guitar.
CL: Maybe Salon Canning or at El Beso.
The CD was released in August 2001.
That CD had 2 electronic themes, because
it happened that I got interested in the
concept of electronic music when I was
recording the CD. Aside from those two
themes, it contains vocal recordings of my
compositions with contemporary themes
with a more traditional style.
LE: And what is the theme of the
other songs?
CL: They were themes with a humorous
tone, a bit unusual for tango, that had to
do with romantic relationships.
carlos’s educational background
LE: Could you tell us briefly about
your musical education?
CL: I started playing the guitar at age
6 and studied with several teachers. I
finished high school and continued my
academic training in a private school here
in Argentina. I studied classical music

and related studies such as composition,
counterpoint, morphology and analysis.
Concurrently, I played in several groups,
different styles including jazz, rap and
blues. Prior to that, I worked with
theatrical groups as a musician.
LE: Doing what type of music?
CL: Well, that depended on the subject of
the script. The idea was to write original
music in a style that was consonant with
the theatrical piece. This experience
in theater has influenced somehow my
approach as a musician. When I started
working on electronic tango, I had a
scenic image of the milonga; I wanted to
represent what was happening there. I was
inspired in the scenic context of life, but
with the codes that are involved in bringing
something to the stage. Then, in some
way, Narcotango was a way to musicalize
the milonga, to do the sound of a piece on
stage named “The Milonga.”
LE: On the personal side, are you
from Buenos Aires?
CL: I was born in Buenos Aires, in Villa
Crespo.
LE: What instructors had more
influence in your musical education?
CL: I had a piano instructor named Celina
Suez, with whom I started studyng at age
16. She put order to all my prior musical
training. I had learned with different
teachers in a random, unorganized way.
LE: How did she organize it? What
did she do?
CL: She first saw what I brought, then she
started filling the gaps.
LE: Did you say she was a piano
teacher?
CL: Yes, I studied piano and musical
pedagogy with her. When I was 15, I
started teaching the guitar. I had students;
however, I did not have any training for
teaching. I was teaching the way my
teachers had taught me, and to learn that
way, without any method or program,
required a lot of passion from the student
to offset the lack of methodology.
It was good to have Celina, she had the
expertise I needed. She started filling the
gaps in my musical training. For instance,
I had some knowledge of jazz harmony
but had no information on progression of
voices in jazz harmony. I had an empirical
knowledge of harmony from working and
playing in popular music, but there were
concepts in classical music that I needed
to have in order to compose properly and
to understand what distinguishes Baroque
from Romantic music. Celina taught my
harmony basics.
LE: As part of the music pedagogy
course?
CL: Yes, in addition she reviewed
everything I needed, joining the scattered
pieces of my prior training.
LE: Was this learning, private?
CL: Yes
LE: So you had an individualized
course, not geared towards a
degree?
CL: At that time no. Following Celina’s
training, I attended a school named
Musodomus, where I had a more
structured, academic curriculum, oriented
to form musicians.
LE: Did you get a degree in music?
CL: No, not in music. I tried, but the
education at conservatories was too
traditional and old fashion for my taste.
I was not happy with some of the trends
and concepts, so I decided to use my time
elsewhere.
the beginning of electronic tango
LE: Did you follow any electronic
tango model? Was Gotan around?
CL: No. Gotan was not around when I
started working. I was telling you about
Aldea Global because that CD was
released a little bit before the first Gotan
Tango CD went out (in 2001).
LE: How do you define your music?
From the musical standpoint what
do you try to emphasize?
CL: In Narcotango, we try to include
the electronic component as one
more instrument, not as the principal
instrument. I see, in lots of cases
of electronic tango, that there is an
electronic foundation with some touches
by bandoneons or samplers. With this,
I am not saying that our style is better
or not, but the emphasis is in a different
place. The idea of producing this style
is also a mode of expression. I think
Narcotango has a strong tango sensibility.
LE: So, are you giving all
instruments an opportunity to play
the main theme?
CL: Narcotango is a very melodic music,
easy to recognize, follow and sing. The
melody takes an important place in the
composition. It is common to see the beat
taking command in electronic music. It
seems like rhythm is more important, the
samplers, a repetitive beat. In Narcotango
february + march 2008 • tango noticias 
there is a main melody or theme building
up and that progression is usually taken by
the bandoneon, the violin or voice.
LE: What is a sampler?
CL: Samplers are, as the word says,
small electronic ‘samples’ of sound that
have been altered with filters, under
certain sound parameters that generate
a determinate effect. (They are be played
back using a keyboard or other electronic
musical interface device. )
LE: I had the impression that a few
of your songs have some Piazzolla
taste. Do they?
CL: Maybe it is your impression. Maybe
the song that is written more in the style
of Piazzolla is one from the Narcotango 2
“We don’t have lyrics, but
we are telling things, feelings,
emotions, and all these require
empathy with what we live...”
CD named “Tres son Multitud,” because it
is a song with lots of counterpoint, almost
fugue style, pretty much in the style
Piazzolla composed.
LE: When you compose, do you
come up first with a melody? Or,
do you work on arrangements you
might eventually put together?
CL: I don’t have a single format to direct
a composition, and in general I don’t make
plans to sit to compose. It can happen any
time during the day, or playing the guitar;
now playing the bandoneon, because I
started to play it a month ago. I am taking
lessons with Fernando Taborda.
There are different ways I begin to
compose. As an example, in the last CD,
we have the theme “Esa.” I was at a café
with Rosana, our vocalist and my woman,
and she happened to draw a staff and a few
notes in my hand. Rosana is a singer but
she does not read music. She wrote the
notes randomly. I read what she wrote,
and it was a line that the bass plays in
 tango noticias • february + march 2008
“Esa” (starts humming….). (****Note:
There is an MP3 with a recording of this
segment of the interview if you want it
–See attachments)
LE: She wrote it? I love that song!
CL: Well, the main theme is the bass line.
It is a very strong line.
LE: How did you select the
members of the group? How was the
first time?
CL: The first time was after the release
or our first CD. Narcotango 1 was
entirely produced in this studio. So, as I
was making progress in my compositions,
I called the musicians, some of them my
friends, to record. There was not an
established group. I didn’t know whether
we were going to need a group to play
live, or if this project was going to be just
a studio project. As I recorded the songs,
I started passing out some demos to my
dancer friends, to play them around. Well,
they were well accepted. Some of these
friends took the demos abroad and were
also successful when they played them.
LE: What song were in the demo?
CL: “Vi Luz y Subi,” “Plano Sequencia”,
“Otra Luna,” all these were the first
themes of Narcotango. Also “Transtango”
and “Mi Buenos Aires Querido” from
the Aldea Global CD. These songs
attracted many dancers. We started to
receive requests from abroad and from
here. There were local dancers calling
me to request the “demo.” We saw
that something that started almost like a
game or an experiment in the studio had
attracted many people in the world of
music. That happened probably the year
before the Narcotango 1 CD release.
Marijke de Vries, the organizer of Tango
Magia in Amsterdam happened to be
here and heard the demo at a milonga,
former Practica X of Pablo Inza y Federico
Farfaro, and she liked it a lot. She hired us
to go to the next Tango Magia even though
there was not an organized group. That
invitation was a real incentive for us.
LE: What year was it?
CL: It was in 2003. She visited Buenos
Aires in March and the festival was on
December 31. So, we played on December
31, had a little break, and concluded on
January 1, 2004. It was a golden closure.
LE: So, you had to rush assembling
a group?
CL: Right. I had to call the musicians that
were already recording with me. Maraijke
wanted to listen to us live. But the group
did not exist yet. I told her, “Give me a
week. We’ll be rehearsing as a group, you
can come to listen, see if you like it.”
LE: Where did you rehearse, right
here?
CL: We rehearsed right here. The studio
was much smaller at that time.
LE: How many musicians in the
group?
CL: We had Fernando del Castillo
(drums), Sebastián Monk (piano), Patricio
Bonfiglio (bandoneon) and Federico
Terranova (violin).
LE: Was Rosana there?
CL: Yes, but she had only 2 themes.
LE: Is the group still the same?
CL: Pretty much with exception of the
bandoneon and violin.
LE: Do you select the musicians on
audition?
CL: There are people recommended
by somebody or found through word of
mouth. It was difficult at the beginning
because many tango musicians,
bandoneonists and others, are not used
to playing any other music but tango. That
was a drawback because Narcotango
requires a lot of improvisation, skills from
other types of music. It requires a good
tango foundation with an open mind. Then,
the selection of musicians was not easy.
Right now we have Federico Biraben on
the bandoneón, Marcelo Vaccaro on bass,
and Rosana (voice) who is doing more of
the violin parts.
LE: Have you thought of doing
lyrics? Do lyrics fit with electronic
tango?
CL: We haven’t thought of it. If it
happens, it’ll be very welcome.
I think it fits.
LE: It must be difficult to write
lyrics, does Rosana write?
CL: No, she doesn’t, but she likes lyrics.
She always asks me to sing lyrics.
LE: Where are the names of the
songs coming from?
CL: They are images, just like the music,
like the covers of the CDs, or the plays
put on stage.
Narcotango today
LE: Do you think your prior
experience playing other types
of music influences your music at
present?
CL: All the experience gained as
musician is now placed in my tangos. My
compositions have condiments of the
other musics. They have traces of jazz,
rock, electronica. But the strongest feel is
that of tango. The electronica is just one
more instrument in the group.
LE: Do you write for a particular
audience, or, do you write what
you like..
CL: No, fortunately I don’t have any
contract with a recording studio. The
Narcotango CDs are independent. We
record them and edit them right here, and
they are released with our own seal. This
is good for us, so we don’t have deadline
pressures.
LE: So, your compositions are not
commecial or commisioned..
CL: No, I think that is for people with a
strong interest in marketing or those who
believe they perceive a need in a particular
market. Our music is genuine, a true
product of inspiration. I don’t believe it is
about writing for a particular group, when
what you have is your universe and soul to
express. I think an artist is like an antenna
at a particular time in history, and what
happens is that he is either going to sync
or not with the audience. I think this is
an interesting phenomenom. But not the
reverse, where an artist is writing what
the audience wants; I don’t consider the
latter art.
In a way, we explain Narcotango’s
success with its rapid spread in the
tango circuit and from there its jump to
other circuits. When we go on tours,
we play not only in tango related events;
we go to other music festivals where
people are interested in emerging styles,
music from different countries with
more cosmopolitan elements like the
electronica.
LE: Do you think the tours to other
countries are good for you, as an
artist?
CL: I think we feed our minds from our
interactions with the world and our music
is full of those experiences depending on
how much we lived. After editing a CD,
I find it hard to start composing again,
because it is like if I used up all I had with
me. We need to recycle in life, to fill the
chip again.
LE: To recharge?
CL: Yes. To start experiencing again, to
have something to tell. We don’t have
lyrics, but we are telling things, feelings,
emotions, and all these require empathy
with what we live. The way we express is
influenced by our encounters, the places
we visit, the feedback we get.
LE: How do people learn about you
and your music?
CL: Internet. Nowadays we can listen and
download music, samplers, CDs. Many
CDs arrive through friends. It is like the
so-called viral marketing; it is not a paid
marketing, it is more word of mouth. It
is our pride that we have a project, see
how it develops, and if there is empathy
between our music and the sensibility
of these people avid or sensible for
something new.
When we first started taking music to
the local milongas, it was like bouncing on
the wall. Because the DJs and organizers
had minds closed to the idea that they had
to play what people asked them to play.
The few that dare to play my music felt
bad, they thought people would consider
it an insult, or they would be called the
heretics of tango. Fortunately we had the
Cathedral milonga, where Carlos Borquez,
Gustavo and Silvia Ceriani played our
music. People went there to see what
was new in tango. The floor was horrible
but the place had charisma. It closed for a
couple of years but it is open again.
Success happens randomly, we
happened to be in the right place at the
right time. I think this is what is happening
now. Every time we get an invitation, we
think it is in a way a miracle, since we
are not being promoted by any recording
company.
LE: Do you receive these invitations
ahead of time?
CL: Our next European tour is scheduled
for October-November 2008.
LE: How about US tours?
CL: We had a US tour almost ready last
year that included 18 concerts. But the US
regulations for visas are a little complex.
At least, that is the way it looked to us. So,
we decided to leave the visa issues in the
hands of the organizers. We didn’t go to
the US. We went to Canada though.
TADEMUS music school
february + march 2008 • tango noticias 
LE: Can you tell us a little about
TADEMUS, the school that houses
this studio?
CL: TADEMUS music workshop opened
22 years ago. This is an informal school
of music. It is for those willing to learn to
play an instrument and have some group
experiences. The group practices are a
real incentive for the student, because
they must practice and master their
parts, or otherwise everybody will have
a bad time. Those who are willing to do
more have some harmony and music
appreciation training or otherwise get
advice where to go.
LE: Are the classes for all ages?
CL: We have students from age 6. Our
oldest student is 73. They are people
who played in their youth and are willing
to retake their instruments and play in
groups. We organize recitals, and they
bring their people.
LE: Were you more interested
in teaching when you opened the
studio?
CL: My interests in performing and
teaching have always been parallel.
dancing musician
LE: About your new passion,
the dance, who were your most
influential instructors?
CL: My first teacher was Renee Amaya,
who teaches around the corner on
Mondays and Thursdays. When I returned
form Lisbon, I decided to take classes.
I studied with Renee for 5-6 months. I
continued with others, Nancy and Damian
Ezell, Chicho and Eugenia.
LE: Do you think being a musician
has helped your progress as
 tango noticias • february + march 2008
a dancer?
CL: Absolutely, one quality of my dance
is its bond to music. I enjoy watching a
dancer dance to the music, not by himself.
LE: Do you prefer a particular style?
CL: It depends on the music that is being
played. We review more Nuevo tango in
the classes but I also enjoy the milonguero
style. I like to be closely embraced,
“boobie to boobie” I love it!…well, the
type of the music leads me to one style or
other. I see people dancing milonga with
Nuevo steps: I don’t put those together,
they don’t match. I think it is something
transcultural, I don’t put those together.
LE: Do you think that your
understanding ot the tango dance
has influence your compositions?
CL: Yes, I think that dancing tango moved
me to compose this music, being in that
world, in that ghetto that is the milonga.
I liked the idea of doing a contemporary
sounding band. I enjoy writing this music
and testing it to feel that it is actually
danceable. It is that way now; I don’t know
how it will be later.
LE: Where do we need to go if we
want to see you dancing? What
milongas do you go to?
CL: First of all, I’d like to clarify that I
am not a professional dancer. I am an
enthusiastic amateur, very willing to get
better every time. I go mainly to practices
for two reasons: they start earlier so we
can go to bed at a decent time, and they
are closer to home. The places I like to go
are Club Villa Malcolm, el Motivo, Practica
X, La Viruta on Wednesdays that is the
more alternative day. Sometimes I go to
Villa Malcolm TangoCool on Fridays, La
Vikinga, well when it was running.
LE: How about the other musicians,
do they dance?
CL: No they don’t: this is typical for
musicians.
upcoming developments
LE: Is the group working on
something new at this time?
CL: What is happening is the mixing of
live recording that I think will be ready
by the end of the year. I think it is a
very interesting work because the “live”
context is different than that of a studio.
LE: Is it a DVD?
CL: It is going to be a DVD and a CD live.
LE: Where was it recorded?
CL: In Quito, Ecuador 2 weeks ago. The
recording was done with a mobile studio
and we made our own recording as a
backup, just in case. This CD is going to
have also two new songs recorded in a
studio included as bonus tracks. This is
our initiative, we were waiting for the right
time and place to do it. We played at the
Teatro Bolivar in Quito, which we had
visited previously.
At this time, I am writing one of the
themes for the live CD. This song has
electronica without electronic percussion.
The difference is that the acoustic
instrument and sampler will take the beat.
We will not use electronic percussion to
mark the rhythm as it is usual in electronic
tango.
LE: Is it a tango?
CL: It is a vals: it’ll be cool.
LE: A vals has a softer beat.
CL: Yes, yes, it is more airy.
LE: Did you say the DVD will be
ready in a month? What is going to
be the name?
CL: It’ll be ready in 2 months, before the
end of the year. The name is Narcotango
en Vivo. It is a our first recording of a live
presentation.
LE: Does everyone takes a part in
the composition, or is it just you?
CL: No, I am the composer.
LE: Where do you see Carlos in 10
years?
CL: If I knew, I’d bored to death.
Fortunately, life is full of surprises. A few
years ago, I had no idea I was going to be
where we are now. It is a dear surprise
that still surprises me. And I hope that the
adventure does not end.
For information on Carlos Libedinsky and
Narcotango: www.carloslibedinsky.com
 Workshops April
12th and 13th, 2008
WORKSHOPS SATURDAY, APRIL 12th
time: 12:15am-1:45pm
Theme: TANGO: Walking steps for close
embrace, connection, steps to
progress on the dance floor

time: 2:00-3:30pm
Theme: TANGO: Synchronization in turns
& combination Circular Elements

time: 3:30-4:30pm
Theme: Practica (free for the workshop
attendees)

time: 4:30-6:00pm
Theme: TANGO: Boleos (combinations &
technique)

time: 6:15-8:00pm
Theme: TANGO NUEVO: Out of Axis: linking
colgadas & volcadas

WORKSHOPS SUNDAY, APRIL 13th

time: 12:15am-1:45pm
Theme: Women’s technique (women only)

time: 2:00-3:30pm
Theme: TANGO: Applying figures in the
line of danc: balance and
construction of movements

photo by michael grasmann time: 3:30-4:30pm

Theme: Practica (free for the workshop
attendees)
Chicago Tango Project is proud to
time: 4:30-6:00pm
present world-renowned dancers Theme: MILONGA: Rhythm and traspié,
musicality, steps in reduced space
and the stars of the show Otango
time: 6:15-8:00pm

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Theme: TANGO NUEVO: Different Dynamics
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Alejandra Hobert
Prices of workshops:
I workshop – $30
I women’s technique workshop – $25
4 workshops – $100
6 workshops – $140
in Chicago from APRIL 10 through
Location of workshops:
April 13 2008 teaching workshops Dance Connection Studio, 3117 North
Clybourn Ave. Chicago. Ample street parking.
and Performing on Friday APRIL 11
For more information:
Adrian and Alejandra are available for
private lessons for $100/hr + floor fee.
For more information on Adrian and Alejandra visit their website: Contact Sarah for details: tel. 773-575-6906
www.adrianyalejandra.com where you can see photos and watch videos or email info@tangoproject.com.
 www.tangoproject.com
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Class and Practica Location

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 tango noticias • february + march 2008

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*Private Lessons/ Coaching
*Workshops, Master Classes, Teacher Training
*Choreography: Individual & Company
*Private Party Entertainment: Instruction
and Performance
*Visits & Residencies in different cities
*Tango Tour to Buenos Aires: November 2007

february + march 2008 • tango noticias