Celebrated as the new tango of Buenos Aires on the most prestigious stages of the world, Astillero reflects the passion, rebellion and fury of a city devastated. From the Argentine crisis of 2001 surged this exceptionally beautiful, sensual and yet rabid music that the BBC proclaimed as “The continuation of Piazzolla, absolutely virtuous, crazy and fantastic”.
The sound of Astillero is forceful, vertiginous, breathtaking, raw yet sophisticated: a rollercoaster ride of throbbing accents modulating into earthshattering pianissimos and beyond. Yet this wild sound is entirely hand-made, free of any gimmicks, 100% acoustic: the sound of just wood and strings, brought to searing life by an acute sense for translating the experience of 21st century urban life into new music, built on a solid traditional foundation of Buenos Aires’ tango.
The orchestra, though featuring the typical instruments of a classic Tango ensemble (two bandoneons, violin, piano, cello, double bass) is a tango formation that has nothing to do with the ‘tango’ of our collective conciousness. Astillero proposes a completely new vision of tango, incisive and intense, rough and violent, refecting the times we live in.
From their all-original instrumental compositions, emerges a Tango that sounds as Buenos Aires sounds today. The way they play their music reflects the incongruities and madness of this urban jungle; it kicks, breaks, hurts, jumps.
With twenty European tours in recent years, and a much-talked-about showcase at WOMEX, Astillero are now fast building an international following. The secret is out, and the word is spreading!
