adEIdJ – Associazione delle Etichette Indipendenti di Jazz

Press Release

La Máquina del Tango, a quintet led by pianist Juan Esteban Cuacci and singer Mariel Martínez, both from Buenos Aires, have released for Caligola their first album, «Acá Lejos», recorded and mixed in Bassano del Grappa, Italy. All the work is aimed at finding a new sound, both inside and outside the tango, a result that is achieved by the group both when it plays the most classic repertoire, starring Martínez’s voice, as well as for the new instrumental compositions by Juan Esteban Cuacci. Their goal is to renew the genre and make it more attractive to new generations. To do that, they bet on an unusual sound in which their instruments – voice, piano, viola, double bass, drums – work in a different way than usual in tango – among other things the bandoneon is missing – thus generating a truly new sonority, but without leaving aside its purest porteño essence. «Acá Lejos» has thirteen tunes, five of them instrumental and eight sung by Mariel Martínez who, although she could be considered a tango singer, is totally out of the known clichés of the genre. For his part, Juan Esteban Cuacci is in charge of making the arrangements to carry out these new sonorities. The quintet, based in Madrid, is completed with virtuosos such as Silvina Alvarez, also from Argentina, Lauren Stradmann and Laura Asensio López, who are Spanish. In this record you can find versions of tango classics such as Melodía de Arrabal, by Carlos Gardel, as well as Maquillaje or Pena mulata, two traditional songs, but which carry the signature of a new sound. The instrumental proposals, composed by Cuacci such as Urgente urgente, Loquedia I and Acá lejos, the title track of the album, also stand out.

Track List

01) Loquedia I
02) Melodía de Arrabal (C. Gardel, A. La Pera, M. Battistella)
03) Lluvia fue (R. Calvo, G. Kehoe)
04) Urgente urgente
05) Maquillaje (V. Expósito, H. Expósito)
06) Sudestada tonal
07) Pena mulata (S. Piana, H. Manzi)
08) Loquedia cero
09) De Buenos Aires morena (C. Guzmán, H. Negro)
10) Acá lejos
11) Solo se trata de vivir (L. Nebbia)
12) Golondrinas (C. Gardel, A. La Pera)
13) Toda mi vida (A. Troilo, J. M. Contursi)

All compositions, except where indicated, by Juan Esteban Cuacci
Direction and arrangements by Juan Esteban Cuacci

Personnel

Mariel Martínez (vocals) out on 1/4/6/8/10
Juan Esteban Cuacci (piano, Hammond on 1/4/9)
Silvina Álvarez (viola) out on 12/13
Laura Asensio López (double bass) out on 12/13
Lauren Stradmann (drums, percussion) out on 12/13

Recording Data

Recorded in September and mixed in December 2021 at Art Music Recording Studio, Bassano del Grappa (Vicenza), Italy, by Diego Piotto