El Cachivache Quinteto: Lujo y Fantasía

Here they are again, the bogeys of tango: El Cachivache Quinteto. No worries, the 5 musicians (Vito Venturino, guitar; Pablo Montanelli, piano; Adriano De Vita, bandoneon; Pacha Mendes, double-bass; Bruno Giutini, violin) only look wild and dangerous – they actually just want to play. As can be heard in their previous records, they mix their rock attitude with wonderful tango vibes and can convince with carefree wit and passion. The new 11 tracks of their 2018 album Lujo y Fantasía (mostly written by the two directors Montanelli and Venturino) fully draw me on the ensemble´s side: That´s the tango music I would like to hear. Of course, they don't invent the genre completely new, several pattern and melody lines sound familiar – but they do it in a refreshing way: The genre is partly brushed against the grain, and you can be confident that this vitamin injection will do good to contemporary tango.
“Muerte dulce” is one of those delicate songs which features a wonderful melancholic melody played by bandoneon and violin, and is rhythmically accentuated by piano, bass and (slightly distorted) chord patterns of the electric guitar. For me, one of their best songs on this album. Nevertheless, also the other songs have their strength, depending on the listener´s taste. Several compositions are much more cheerful; they too have beautiful melody arcs to which you like to attach yourself as a listener or dancer (e.g., Maipo 1). “Blues de Wanda” is a tango, definitely not a blues, flavored with rock parts. “Cielo Rojo”) is a slow accentuated tango with rhythmical breaks and a catchy melody which easily has the listeners at its ‘fishing hook’.

In May 2019, El Cachivache Quinteto starts a European tour which gives the local dancers a good opportunity to convince themselves that the musicians are one of the very exciting ensembles of the new tango generation – and that tango is still very much alive.

Artist´s website: www.elcachivache.info