Antti Suniala: I try to deliver the full spectrum of tango although concentrating on a more traditional choice of orchestras.

Today, we meet another great TangoDJ: Antti Suniala. He's the famous Mr. Tanda of the Week, he writes  original Tanda of the Week blog (www.tandaoftheweek.net). A blog that Tango Addicted have read at least once in your life. Well, discover his secrets.

From the beginning : I suppose that your first approach with tango, like for other dj, was with the dance. What inspired you to get into console and play music? A conscious decision or was the result of chance?

I actually started as a hip hop dj. The big brother of my good friend was a dj and we would sometimes play with his turntables and practice scratching. This was in '91 when I was 14. For me there was nothing cooler than the dj. Later around '96-'97 I played my first hip hop and soul gigs underaged in a few small local bars in my hometown. From there I went on to more dj'ing and organizing clubs, making mixtapes and having scratching sessions with my dj crew. Later I focused fully on my circus arts and performing career and didn't really DJ anymore. But I was always interested in Finnish tango music as well, and especially in the circus scene I was exposed to a lot of tango music that was used in performances. In fact, one of my first circus performances was to a version of ”La cachila”.When I started dancing tango I paid a lot of attention to the DJ's and realized I could and would love to do it. And making that choice to start DJ'ing again was like returning home to something that I was born to do.

What were your early taste of tango? There are significant differences with the current scene?

I've always been very versatile with my taste in tango although I realize that my taste has grown a lot and it is a lot more defined now. The taste also grows also as you improve as a dancer. When I started DJ'ing I was very uncomfortable playing Pugliese for example because I felt that I personally couldn't dance to it in themanner that the music deserved.

What I appreciate the most now is the high quality of orchestras, singers and arrangements. I think through my love for some finnish tango music I was also more open to early 30's tango. But now it's more about the golden age and beyond.

Do you remember the first time you played as a tango DJ?

My very first time was in our local milonga in Helsinki. I had been buying whatever tango vinyl I could find on eBay and record stores in Helsinki. I played back to back with my friend Kristian Salikoski. He on the computer and me on my turntables. I had prepared tandas before hand and wrote down notes to know which song was on which record, which side and so forth. I think I even played a few alternatives because I knew the local scene would love it.

The difficulty of the search for songs on cd often burned, the explosion of the Web and the consequent relatively easy to find in the music. Do you think this paradigm shift has changed the way of working of the DJ?

I'm sure it has changed a lot. I started with tango quite late but I can totally relate to the old school collectors of tango music as I remember how it was when I started DJ'ing hip hop and vinyl only. In fact I've never played CD's. We would go through so many record stores, second hand shops, collectors basements, online stores, release catalogs etc to try to find just one song that we wanted. And we might end up paying 20-40 bucks for it.

When you build your performance? Long ago, during the journey to the milonga, or sudden moment by moment?

I started by creating full playlists and listening to them over and over again to make sure they were good enough. I was really focusing on the overall flow of the night and how tandas followed each other. I had a lot of experience in producing and editing music, compiling mixtapes, editing show music, editing videos etc and creating soundscapes has always been very important to me. So I took a similar approach to creating a playlist.

Nowadays, I focus more in organizing my library of music and getting to know it better. I have saved all my sets from previous milongas and I use them sometimes as a resource but I mostly go one tanda at a time to play just the right thing at the right time.

Have you ever played in a boring night? Have you you understand too late that perhaps the milonga could not give you the right motivation and you could not wait to finish?

I've been a quite a succesful circus artist for a long time and I've had to be overly critical of the performances I've done. I have the same approach to my DJ'ing as well. It will take me weeks to get over a mistake I've done in a show and I will remember a song or tanda that could've been better. Sometimes the planets are not aligned and a boring night can be your greatest challenge and you need to make it work. I will always look for a way to keep myself and the dancers happy and motivated but still not having to compromise. But ofcourse there have been some nights when you just end up feeling not satisfied. You gave a lot but ended up being somewhat disappointed due to various reasons.

Do you accept whatever gig you are offered or try to make a selection preferring location and fascinating evening with friends?

I always say that I'm an artist who will work basically for any milonga or event. I've played in some more nuevoish places where the dancers really have not been used to my style of tango music but I've made the most out of it without compromising. And I accept these challenges. I also am a full time artist and I do DJ for my love for it but honestly also for the money. So I don't choose much where I work. I want my reputation to be that I will play a high standard of music for everyone and I will work hard to make any night a succesful one. I can sometimes find just as much enjoyment in playing a small local milonga than a high class festival or marathon. But ofcourse if I know I've connected well with a certain event and audience I want to build the connection further if I get the chance.

How would you define your style? It has evolved over time? And in which direction?

Like I mentioned earlier... my style is more defined now. I believe I've found my own style more now where everything I play is more reasoned and well-grounded. I know I was more romantic earlier in my selections of music but now the emphasis is more in a versatile selection of moods, rhythm and melody, high quality orchestras and arrangements without pushing it too far. I try to deliver the full spectrum of tango although concentrating on a more traditional choice of orchestras. The words you use for describing good tango should be passionate, amazing and beautiful, not nice and funny...So the only thing I stay away from is underlining cheerfullness by playing tangos bordering comedy music. Also I try to look at a good song just as a good song, and not care if it's

trendy right now or overplayed or whatever.

I'm very vary of being too experimental. Since I started playing tango I wanted to have a very traditional approach to tango, but to do it better than others (no ego tripping intended). I simply believed that what some quoted as the boring traditional style could be done better and in a way that would please everyone. But ofcourse when I have the right crowd and situation I will dig deeper into my archives to deliver something more special.

I will try to keep the energy very high and find a balance of challenges, inspiration, comfort and rewards. I've thrown out a lot of theory out the window and I will actively look into how much I can give and how much can the dancers take slowly pushing this barrier further. I try to avoid keeping a similar mood and energy for more than a couple of tandas to ensure that people stay inspired and nobody has to sit down too long because they're not feeling the music. I'm still trying to be a safe bet for quality music and let other DJ's shine more on being more creative and special.

Even more than playing good tandas I will focus on how the tandas follow each other and frame each other. Every tanda prepares the audience for the ones that follow and no matter how good the tanda is, if it's misplaced, it will not work to it's full potential.

I will also spend a lot of time editing special cortinas and I use the cortinas to express myself and create a special atmosphere.

What can influence you in an evening, the audience, the dancers, the acoustics of the location, the duration of your performance ...

Everything of the above mentioned influence my evening of music. A professional DJ will have to take all of the examples into account. But it is always a mix of things. Finding the right balance of what is the mood of the milonga and dancers and what you represent as a dj, as an artist and as yourself.

Do you prefer playing alone or sharing the night with a colleague. Generally prefer to work alone, or with friends who you feeling? Or, you love the thrill of experimenting with a colleague ever heard until then?

I prefer working alone but I've had the pleasure of sharing a set with another DJ as well. Most succesfull have been the two times I played with Julian Ingram. Once in Praque in his milonga and the second time in the after-afterparty of the Tango Frostbite festival in Finland. Our styles and preferences are very different but they came together great.

Does the public bother you with absurd requests: what do you do? Are you a jukebox?

I will always take all comments, feedback and requests very seriously. I remember one time that I didn't and later on I realized that the person who made the request was spot on. He asked for the one thing that was missing in my set and would've made it a lot better. I learned a lot from this. And even if the requests are more absurd you can still learn a lot from it. Maybe you will not play what was requested but you can play something more in that direction and hopefully satisfying a wider audience. I go even further than just listening to requests... sometimes I actively ask certain people of what they'd like to hear and what are their favorites. But still... I'm not a jukebox.

Do you like to dance and listen to your colleagues enjoy the selections and styles of others from your performances?

I pay a lot of attention to how other DJ's play and analyze it. I'm not trying to make DJ'ing into a super science and be overly critical but I do listen very closely all through the milonga. I enjoy listening to many different DJ's and will go to milongas sometimes just to listen to the music to draw inspiration from their playing. And I also like positive suprises that another DJ can bring when I'm dancing. I also like to listen to DJ's multiple times to get a better understanding of their style and see how they've changed during time or if they're having a good or a bad night.

Do you believe that the art of “musicalizador” is different for geographic areas? Argentina, USA, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean ... or is it similar in every countries?

I've played and danced in Buenos Aires, many parts of Europe and some parts of Asia, but I don't think I'm qualified to answer this fully. But I've witnessed some things that make me think that the lack of a proper tango tradition and culture in parts of Europe has caused a lot of the DJ's to look too much for their own way and their own interpretation of what is good tango and how it should be played, instead of trying to base this interpretation on the actual roots and culture of tango from Buenos Aires. And even without talking about the very extremes of this example like nuevo and electrotango, this has resulted in a lot of DJ's favoring second class orchestras and playing sets that would not work in an ideal Buenos Aires scenario. I'm not saying every DJ should do it that way and I can appreciate what ever a DJ does as long as they do it well. But there are certainly differences and I will favor DJ's that cater more to my needs.

Would you like to have a milonga just for you, furnish it with the appropriate facility to your desires, try to create a wave that satisfies you over to play when you want and create a calendar of events to measure your tastes?

Yes. I was lucky just recently organizing a one time only milonga in Singapore called ”Entre dos fuegos”. I love to put all the attention and details needed into a milonga... arranging tables and chairs in the best way possible... having good hosts in the ”Cachirulo” way, force good floorcraft on the poor dancers... My trademark is and will be baking fresh bread for the milonga. If I had the chance I would love to DJ 5-6 times a week in my own or other organizers milongas.

The classic point-blank questions you have to answer, you cannot refuse: Three orchestras that can not miss in one evening.

D'Arienzo, Troilo, Di Sarli. This is the base for my sets. Like the tunk of a tree and the other orchestras are the branches and leaves. Pugliese would be up next..

Your three favourite orchestras, which may also be different from the previous ones.

The same. Followed by Laurenz, Biagi and Calo.

Suggest a tanda of tango instrumental, a tanda of tango singer, one of vals and milonga.

PUGLIESE: Patetico 1948, De floreo 1950, Siguime si podés 1953, Pata ancha 1957.

TROILO/FIORENTINO: En esta tarde gris 1941, Cautivo 1941, Una carta 1941, Los mareados 1942

DI SARLI/RUFINO/PODESTÁ (vals): Alma mía 1940, Rosas de otoño 1942, Cortando camino 1941

D'ARIENZO/ECHAGUE (milonga): La cigatriz, Milonga del recuerdo, Milonga querida.

What are the three bands or singers you can not stand?

I have to say most of Canaro, Rodriguez and Lomuto. Especially in comparison to their massive amount of recordings, they have the least songs that I'd play or even dance, and any classics they recorded somebody else did them better. I know it's not the right term for it but I'd call their style too European for me. Oddly enough I have a lot more appreciation for the best of Donato though.

What is the band most underrated by the general public and which is the most overrated?

I don't know really. I feel like Troilo is still too unknown and feared in Europe but underrated I don't know. Overrated? I guess you can go back to the previous question and answer.

Your top three nights (in your opinion of course ...)

My first ever full night tango dj gig and I played it in Buenos Aires. Small nice milonga. Organizers gave high praises. I knew I had to continue DJ'ing.

The afterparty of the Tango Frostbite 2013 festival. I had been organizing, running around and just finished hosting the main milonga of the saturday night. I was so exhausted and had done no preparation but the good spirit of the whole festival, the dancers and the special venue made it easy to DJ and give even more of myself to the dancers.

One from the past. I think it was in 2000. Hundreds of people took over a 6 lane street in a Reclaim the Streets demonstration in Helsinki and the highlight for me was playing the full version of ”Move on up” by Curtis Mayfield, that I had recently found from a record store.

We are less serious: Last night a dj saved my life. The DJ rule is sexy? have you ever had a relationship with some fans and some flirt with your colleagues?

Yes.

Eva Beno: Tango is art not science.

New Great TangoDJ Interview. From Budapest we meet Eva Beno. She regularly plays at international events, Tangofestivals, Milongas or Marathons. Her goal is play only for dancers, creating  energy to live the most intensive emotions of tango. 

 From the beginning : I suppose that your first approach with tango, like for other dj, was with the dance. What inspired you to get into console and play music? A conscious decision or was the result of chance?

My very first encounter with tango was as dancer. Then after a while I have started to collect tango music and listen more and more… this helped me to improve the quality of dancing ...therefore I gave a totally different value to the music. This was just the beginning - the very beginning- in that time I had no idea that soon I will be addicted of this wonderful „world of tango music”.

What were your early taste of tango? There are significant differences with the current scene?

I am not sure of the reason, but I think most of we started our tango music listening/collection with later or today Orquestra’s such as: Gotan Project, Electrocutango, Ortos Aires etc.; then Pugliese; then Golden Age Orchestras such as: D’arienzo, Di Sarli, Biagi, Fresedo etc.; and then Canaro, Lomuto, Carabelli, Firpo etc. I have never met somebody in tango world who as example listened Carabelli in the very beginning . I still love Pugliese, nevertheless I am play it rarely.

Do you remember your first like tango dj?

Yes, absolutely…it happened in an open air milonga at Budapest, it was very crowded, so I think I was a bit nervous by feeling the whole responsibility of the “night mood” on me… then I saw dancers were dancing and the flow was good, so this helped me to feel comfortable after a while.

The difficulty of the search for songs on cd often burned, the explosion of the Web and the consequent relatively easy to find in the music. Do you think this paradigm shift has changed the way of working of the DJ?

Definitely „the explosion of web” helped/helps a lot in music search, doesn’t mean that everything reachable on the web.

When you build your performance? Long ago, during the journey to the milonga, or sudden moment by moment?

If I don’t know well the audience is difficult to assess what would be the best music energy for a certain moment, so I usually I am taking decision on the moment. Of course I have an order in my music library, so I am prepared to take the best choice. 

Have you ever played in a boring night? Have you you understand too late that perhaps the milonga could not give you the right motivation and you could not wait to finish? Do you accept whatever you offer or try to make a selection preferring location and fascinating evening with friends?

Boring night no.....boring afternoon (less crowded afternoon) yes. It was in a Marathon very early afternoon schedule, so the dance floor was empty in the first two hours. I was playing at the beginning non tango music the alternative music...and only when people started to come, I switched to tango music. It was a new experience but nothing wrong in that.

How would you define your style? It has evolved over time? And in which direction?

My style has changed and is changing... this is a process. At the beginning I was open to play all the Orquestras that in general were recommended in so called „tango music scene”. Today I am selecting more carefully what I play.... beside the most important thing I should never forget that „I play for the dancers” ...I play those Orquestras are close to my heart. If there is music or singer I cannot stand, I am not playing that music. Now if I am looking to my earlier tandas or playlist, I know I would not play it again in the same way.

For me DJ-ing means being immerged in the „energy” of tango music, I don’t see rules, Orquestras, but different energy levels, and I am using mainly my intuition to choose the next incoming tanda. So it might happen that one night I am not playing all the main Orquestras, but some more tandas for others. Tango is art not science.

What can influence you in an evening, the audience, the dancers, the acoustics of the location, the duration of your performance ...

Many „small” things: the location (the arrangement of the dancefloor and the people meeting points), the DJ desk position, connection with the dance floor and with dancers, the quality of „sound system”, acoustics. 

My personal „mood” is also very important this means how can I connect myself with the energies of the dancefloor, therefore to feel what would be the good music for a certain moment. In my personal experience can happen that the DJ is not in his mood, playing good music, but still you have that feeling that something was missing....I think who plays frequently knows what do I mean....

Do you prefer playing alone or sharing the night with a / colleague. Generally prefer to work alone, or with friends who you feeling? Or, you love the thrill of experimenting with a colleague ever heard until then?

If you mean to split the night in two, that depends on how long can be one DJ schedule...I would prefer to do more than 3 hours for sure, for me this is a minimum time to build up an energy line to create something. 

If you mean to play with somebody „duo”, my answer is Yes....I am open for that. I think it is more challenging since you need to pay continuously attention what the other DJ is playing. However I can imagine playing duo with somebody I already know his music taste and is not totally opposite of mine. 

If someone asks you the name of a track you say it to him, perhaps suggesting where the CD is included, or invite him to venture into the trouble of searching?

Yes sure I will say the track name. Sometime I am also helping to fing it. 

The public bother you with absurd requests: what do you do? Are you a jukebox?

I like to listen the public request opinion. In a regular milonga it might be possible to fulfill some of the music requests. In festivals, marathons usually people are not bothering with special request but I think I would not be open to change my mind.

Do you like to dance and listen to your colleagues enjoy the selections and styles of others from your performances?

Yes, I like when I can dance on other DJ’s music and when the music inspiring me .

Do you believe that the art of “musicalizador” is different for geographic areas? 

Argentina, USA, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean ... or is it similar in every countries?

I know about Europe and I went once to Buenos Aires. 

YES in Europe definitely. Buenos Aires was a bit different from Europe, they were mostly playing „Golden Age” tango music, while here in Europe we are more open to play from earlier ages or later ones. I was in Buenos Aires in 2010, so today it can different.

The classic point-blank questions you have to answer, you cannot refuse:

Three orchestras that can not miss in one evening.
Di Sarli, Canaro, D’arienzo

Your three favourite orchestras, which may also be different from the previous ones. 

Biagi, Canaro, D’arienzo

Suggest a tanda of tango instrumental, 

Di Sarli, Instrumental from ’50: 9 Puntos, Indio Manso, Una Fija, Cara Sucia,

a tanda of tango singer, 

Biagi with Amor: Tus labios me diran, Adios Pampa Mia, Hoy te quiero mucho mas, Cuando Llora la milonga

one of vals 

Biagi: Amor y vals (Lago), Tu melodia (Ortiz), Paloma (Amor)

and milonga. (candombe)
Candombe: La rumbita candombe (Enrique Rodrigez), San Domingo (Julio Sosa), Siga el Baile (Orq. Osvaldo Requena)

What are the three bands or singers you can not stand? 

Tanturi-Castillo

Demare-Qiuntana

De Angelis-Larroca

What is the band most underrated by the general public and which is the most overrated? 

Troilo, Donato, Pugliese

Teorema...si puo' davvero essere rivoluzionari?

Pasolini lo si ama o lo si odia. E lo stesso vale per la maggior parte dei suoi film. Duri, enigmatici, scomodi , disturbanti, sia nelle immagini che nei contenuti, apocalittici, tragici, senza redenzione. Non fa eccezione Teorema. Ancora oggi mi chiedo, dopo quella prima folgorante visione, anni addietro, chi é il misterioso giovane che scardina, rovina e distrugge una rispettabilissima famiglia alto borghese milanese? Quale simbolo incarna? La trama di questo film é nota. Un misterioso studente, interpretato da Terence Stamp, si presenta ex abrupto in una famiglia modello depravandone in poco tempo i costumi. Tutti i membri di questo nucleo microcosmico faranno l'amore con lui, ma la sua dipartita portera' conseguenze nefaste ed imprevedibili per quella che sembra essere la societa' delle apparenze piccolo borghesi. La domestica morira' in odore di santita', la madre dara' sfogo alla sua ninfomania con giovani virgulti, la figlia diventa pazza, il figlio sceglie di fare l'artista mentre il capofamiglia si disfa della fabbrica e si incammina nudo senza meta. Uno dei film simbolo del sessantotto dove si celebrava, o meglio si auspicava,  senza mezzi termini, il crollo della famiglia e della societa' moderna attraverso l'amore ed il sesso. Una profezia non avveratasi, se leggiamo il tutto 40 anni dopo, ma che ancora oggi evoca un profondo senso di sacro, quel misticismo senza tempo, laico e religioso al tempo stesso di cui era intriso Pasolini. La normalita' dello studente che infrange gli schematismi della famiglia ha una profonda carica rivoluzionaria. Non serve la violenza come grimaldello per la ribellione. Ancora una volta si ripensa all'Eden perduto, ma in nome di cosa e di chi bisogna combattere? Chi davvero é rivoluzionario? Su questo l'autore, come per una ultima beffa, non si pronuncia, ma lentamente inizia a scavare quella parabola della discesa agli inferi che tocchera' il suo ultimo vertice in Salo'o le 120 giornate di Sodoma.

Porcile: la societá borghese non perdona

La bellissima Villa Pisani di Stra e le selvagge falde dell'Etna. Sono i due paesaggi dove Pasolini ambienta uno dei suoi film piu' crudeli e disperati. Porcile é l'amara parabola di una mancata redenzione, quella di una umanita' asservita ai suoi bisogni primordiali che viene fagocitata dalla civilta', dalle sue regole perveniste, dalle logiche di potere. Siamo pur sempre in pieno sessantotto e questa pellicola inevitabilmente ne porta le stimate, forse piu' datata di altre, anche perche' intrisa di ideologia rivoluzionaria. Le due storie che si muovono in parallelo sono le altrettante facce di una stessa , sudicia moralmente, medaglia. Nel primo episodio, ambientato in un remoto passato, un gruppo di cannibali tra cui l'indimenticabile Pierre Clementi , si nutrono, stuprano e fanno scempio della carne umana. Catturati dal potere ecclesiastico vengono per contrappasso condannati ad essere sbranati da una muta di cani selvaggi. Il secondo episodio vede un giovane rampollo di una ricca famiglia industriale, il mitico Jean Leaud, condurre una esistenza atavica indeciso se ribellarsi al padre, capitalista post nazista o seguire la via rivoluzionaria della propria ragazza. Finira' tragicamente, durante una festa in cui si celebra l'alleanza capitalista del padre e di un partner industriale dal torbido passato finirà' sbranato dai maiali con cui é solito accoppiarsi. L'amara riflessione di Pasolini sembra condurre ad una sola soluzione, recuperare i valori della civilta' contadina, mitico eden, libero dai tentacoli mostruosi della societa' borghese e capitalista, dove non esistono vincitori. La condanna é unanime e travolge sia chi si ribella, sia chi cerca di cavalcarne la tigre. Con questo lavoro l'autore rifiuta la ribellione fine a se stesa, puro gestualita' che si specchia nel proprio narcisismo. Un grandioso ed estremo ritratto della decadenza del mondo occidentale ormai irrimediabilmente compromesso dove l'unico barlume di salvezza é il personaggio del contadino interpretato da Ninetto Davoli, la semplicita' che puo'disarmare l'anarchia apocalittica.

Melina Sedo' : It‘s about finding the right balance of rhythm, romance and drama. Equilibrium. My wish is is, that dancers with different preferences, with different kinds of energy, will both be happy with the evening.

I play traditional music for social dancers. This is the line of Melina Sedo', one of the leading names of the TangoDJing. Her DJing is maximum Danceability but as Melina says "There Will Be always at least two Tandas by Di Sarli to Milonga - no matter how short. El Senor Tango can never be forgotten." a new episode with the masters of the console

From the beginning : I suppose that your first approach with tango, like for other dj, was with the dance. What inspired you to get into console and play music? A conscious decision or was the result of chance? 

Sure, I started out as a Tango dancer as every one. But very soon, from 2001 on, I got into teaching Tango and organising events. In those first years, Detlef used to DJ with a big set of CDs and he put a lot of work into it. I was fascinated and very much interested in trying it out as well, but would panic in front of a set of programmable CD players. I vowed that I would only DJ with a laptop. In 2003 we (my partner Detlef Engel and I) initiated our first regular Milonga and in 2004, I got my first iBook. So I actually had three years to prepare mentally for that challenge.

What was your early taste of tango? There are significant di!erences with the current scene? 

Tango changed so much over these past years. I started dancing Tango in 1994. Back then, there were no Milongas in our region and you had to travel far to go to Festivals. To find information about Tangoevents was very challenging and the level of social dancing was disastrous wherever you went.

But the internet and cheap flights have changed the Tangoworld: Now information is easily accessible and people can be inspired by other dancers not only via Youtube, but also by meeting them at hundreds of international events. This had a great impact on the development of very decent local Milongas, which you can now find in every part of Europe - well - almost every part... In general, the quality of dancing and djing has developed tremendously since the first years of the millennium. Someone who starts doing Tango now, has a great choice amongst good teachers, decent local Milongas and exiting international events all around the world. This is why new dancers will progress so much faster than the earlier generations. Tango has become a global phenomenon and is re-created anew in every Tango-community around the world. This is a very exiting time. There were of course also setbacks: A couple of years ago, I was a little scared and annoyed by an ongoing process of standardisation - everyone wanted to imitate the current Campeones Mundiales and you saw the same moves and gestures wherever you went. This was quite boring. But that‘s over in most parts of Europe. Thank god! People can now develop their individual styles and take the best input from di!erent directions.

Do you remember your first engagement as a tango dj?

Yes, this was in 2004. My first night as a DJ took place in our own Milonga in a small German town, St. Wendel. The attendants of the Milonga were mostly our students or friends from the region. I had prepared many months for that first evening importing music, tagging it, cutting cortinas... And was very proud of my new iBook!

I don‘t remember what I played, although I recall, that it was well received by the audience. Only fellow DJ Andy Ungureanu complained that I played too much old stu! by Donato, Carabelli and Petrucelli. I guess he was right back then, but nowadays, that‘s en-vogue again. So, when I come to think of it: I was quite avant-garde. ;-)

When do you prepare or construct your Set? A long time before the gig, on the day of the milonga, or do you improvise freely during the evening? 

I prepare an entire playlist for the Milonga in the days before the gig. I like to take my time and build up new Tandas and a dramaturgy for the evening. Sometimes this will be done in one or two hours, sometimes it takes days... But I will not stick to my playlist and be always prepared to change my plan in the course of the evening.

As I will not (or only very little) dance during my work, I always keep an eye on what is happening on the dancefloor an if something does not go as desired, I will insert Tandas or replace them or do whatever is necessary to keep up a good energy.

But I have to say: very often, there is no need to change anything, as I usually know the (kind of) audience very well in advance and will construct a set for that special occasion.

Have you ever played a boring set? Did you maybe understand too late that the milonga could not give you the right motivation and you could not wait to finish? 

Well... that‘s up for the dancers to decide, but usually the „pista“ is full, when I DJ. ;-)

No, honestly: I always try my best and play the most danceable music. Surely no DJ can always be brilliant, but if he/she sticks to some simple rules and tries to vary style and energy of the Tandas, the evening can never be really bad.

But: in rare cases, I am bored or annoyed. When I see the dancers moving without connection to the music or behaving in a unsocial manner on the

dancefloor, I will not be very content and look forward to the end of the night. I won‘t feel very inspired on such an occasion! Sometimes, I post on Facebook during a DJing gig. You can always read from my comments, if I am happy or not.

Do you accept whatever gig is o!ered to you or do you try to select engagements, preferring a special location or fascinating evening with friends? 

I usually accept every gig that is o!ered to me in combination with a teaching engagement as I comprehend it as part of „the mission“ to teach musicality and give an example of decent DJing.

When o!ered to DJ independently of our teaching, I will only accept gigs that go conform with my general philosophy: events for social dancers in a close embrace and with a preference for traditional DJing. I have once or twice DJed at events that were of a very di!erent nature and su!ered to much when watching the dancefloor. Seeing people throw their legs into the air to a romantic Di Sarli with Podesta just makes me want to cry. So I won‘t do that again.

How would you define your style? Has it evolved over time? Into which direction? What can influence you during an evening, the audience, the dancers, the acoustics of the location, the duration of the Milonga...

I play traditional music for social dancers - preferably those who dance in a close embrace. But do I have a style? I don‘t know... Some DJ‘s specialise in the 30‘s, some in rhythmical music, some prefer a more dramatic style...

I will to play Tangos of all epochs, starting with the late 20‘s until the late 50‘s. My emphasis will of course be on the 30‘s and 40‘s, and I will never chose more recent recordings. (It goes without saying that I will not play neotango, electrotango, Piazzolla, non-tango or the like.)

In my first years as a DJ, I still used contemporary Tango orchestras once or twice an evening and I mostly played one Tanda of Electrotango per Milonga. But that‘s over. When constructing an evening, I pay a lot of attention to varying the general style of music systematically. A clearly rhythmical Tango (or Vals or Milonga) will always be followed by something more lyrical and vice versa, highly energetic music will be interchanged with „cooler“ Tandas... Once in a while, I will play a dramatic Tanda (late Biagis, late Di Sarlis, very seldom Pugliese), but I will not overdo it. The old recordings (late 20‘s, early 30‘s) play an important role in every set, but I will make sure, that they don‘t dominate an evening - this can get boring soon.

It‘s about finding the right balance of rhythm, romance and drama. equilibrium. My wish is is, that dancers with di!erent preferences, with di!erent kinds of energy, will both be happy with the evening. In social Tango, there are two mainstreams of dancers: those who want to move and play with the music and those who want to cuddle. All of them should leave the Milonga in a happy mood.

So: what defines my DJing is a constant search for the „perfect equilibrium“. Mind you: it‘s an ultimate goal, not easily to be achieved and sometimes I might fail. But I am working on it. Another important priority of my DJing is maximum danceability. I will exclusively play Tangos that can be interpreted by social dancers without a formal musical education or ballet training. If a Tango is too expressive or too complex, I will surely not play it. This choice will of course be influenced by the level of proficiency of the audience: some Tangos (e.g. Belgica by Biagi) might be used in the setting of an international Encuentro with experienced dancers - but I would most-likely not use them in a local Milonga, that I visit for the first time. So: of course my DJing will be influenced by skills of dancing in a certain place, by the general ambiance, even by the length of a Milonga: if you have got only 3,5 hours, you have to play a perfectly chosen set with only the most danceable Tandas.... if you‘ve got 7 hours, you might take a risk once or twice an evening. ;-)

There‘s one last important feature of my DJing: There will be always at least two Tandas by Di Sarli per Milonga - no matter how short. El senor del Tango can never be forgotten!

Do you prefer playing alone or sharing the night with a / colleague. Do you generally prefer to work alone, or with friends who you feeling? Or, you love the thrill of experimenting with a colleague ever heard until then?

In general, I like to work alone, but I have sometimes DJ‘d with my colleagues of the Tangokombinat Uwe Willié and Andreas Wichter. That was great fun and I am looking forward to doing it again.

I don‘t know if I would DJ with an unknown colleague though...

If someone asks you the name of a track, do you give him the requested information, perhaps mentioning the CD where he can find it, or do you refuse and thus force him to engage into an adventure of search and find? 

I will always share my information willingly.

The audience bothers you with absurd requests: what do you do? Are you a jukebox? 

No! An organiser who invites me will know my style, as should the public attending. If someone wishes for a nice Tanda of D‘Arienzo and I have not played one yet, I will surely fulfil his wish in the course of the evening. But I will not play anything that does not belong into a traditional Milonga, like: non-Tangos, Electrotango, Piazzolla, Rock‘n-Roll, Salsa or the like. I will also not play anything that would interrupt the flow of the evening, like playing a Vals Tanda after a Milonga Tanda. I play by order TTMTTV and will stick to it - with slight changes towards the end of the evening.

So, when someone approaches me with an absurd wish, I will kindly ask him or her to go away. But actually... the last time this happened was in 2005. I guess people are intimidated by my stern look. ;-)

Do you like to dance and listen to your colleagues enjoy the selections and styles of others from your performances?

I love visiting Encuentros and examine the work of other DJs, dance to their music, exchange opinions with them. Sometimes you get a real good idea for a new Tanda - although I would never „steal“ the Tanda of another DJ. My favourite DJs are Lampis Zalavras, Theo Chatzipetros and Alan Spotti. And of course there are my collegues in the Tangokombinat, which whom I exchange a lot: Andreas Wichter, Lynn Collins and Uwe Willié. It is always an inspiration to work with them.

Do you believe that the art of “musicalizador” is di!erent for geographic areas? Argentina, USA, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean ... or is it similar in every countries? 

Sure. There are great di!erences, but they are not only connected to geography, but also to di!erent styles of Milongas. There is e.g. the „Mediterranean-Cachirulo-Style“, DJ‘s mostly in traditional Milongas in Italy and the south of France who play mostly very rhythmic music wanting to re-create the atmosphere of one of the most famous Milonguero-Milongas in BA, the Cachirulo. Some of these DJs will manage to play a whole evening without a Tanda of Di Sarli or another more lyrical orchestra - that‘s a torture for me, as I like both rhythmical AND lyrical music.

Then, a lot of typical Buenos Aires Milongas seem to use almost exclusively the BIG orchestras like Pugliese, Troilo, D‘Arienzo, De Angelis, Di Sarli, Laurenz. European Milongas integrate more tandas by other orchestras like OT Victor, Donato, much more Canaro, other older orchestras... or very late Di Sarlis with singers, which I have not heard so often at Milongas in BA. But

then I am no specialist for BA Milongas as I have only been there three times. There‘s much work and fun to be had in Europe! ;-)

Would you like to have a milonga just for you, furnish it with the appropriate facility to your desires, try to create a wave that satisfies you over to play when you want and create a calendar of events to measure your tastes? 

I organized Milongas in my homeregion in Germany over the course of 5 years and DJ‘d at another Milonga on a monthly basis. So: I already HAD the pleasure of creating my own Tango-DJ space! This work was very rewarding, but not possible at the moment, as we are away most of the year on teaching engagements. I still organize an annual event, the Festivalito con Amigos, but for this occasion, I invite DJs, as I cannot host an international Encuentro AND DJ at the same time.

Three orchestras that can not miss in one evening.

Di Sarli D‘Arienzo Canaro

Your three favourite orchestras, which may also be di!erent from the previous ones. 

Di Sarli Canaro Biagi

Suggest a tanda of tango instrumental, a tanda of tango singer, one of vals and milonga.

Tanda instrumental: Canaro (all 1927)

La Vuelta De Rocha Vuelve Arrepentida La Quimera Caminito

Tanda with a singer: Di Sarli with Duran

Duello Criollo, 1946 Gracias, 1946

Manana No Estaras, 1946 Yo, 1945

Vals: OT Victor

Anita, 1939, with Mario Corrales Intima, 1940, with Carlos Lafuente Temo, 1040, with Mario Corrales

Milonga: Donato

De Punta A Punta, 1939, with Horacio Lagos Papal Calientes, 1937 Elle Es Asi, 1938, with Horacio Lagos

And here my solution to play Confesion (which is the new Poema at the Encuentros). A Ronda de Ases which festures Elvino Vardaro as leading violinist: Dominio, Victor, 1928

Alma, Carabelli, 1932 Cosas Viejas, Petrucelli, 1929 Confesion, Brunswick, 1931

What are the three bands or singers you can not stand?

Varela, De Angelis, Racciatti

What is the band most underrated by the general public and which is the most overrated? 

Most underrated: Biagi. I hear so much critique about Biagi: that his orchestra is nothing compared to D‘Arienzo‘s, that he played simple music, that his Tangos are undanceable. What I find indeed is, that his music is pure genius and almost always danceable, although not easy to interpret. Also he has evolved his style very much over the years, keeping always the same high quality - and you cannot say this about all orchestras.

Most overrated: D‘Arienzo. All Milongueros love D‘Arienzo. I like some Tangos, but find that his performance declined drastically over the years. His later oeuvre is unbearably aggressive and undanceable. And let‘s face it: what would D‘Arienzo have been without Biagi?

Your top three nights (in your opinion of course ...)

1. The Friday opening Milonga of the first „Abrazos“ in 2011. I think, this was a magical night for everyone. Outside, a rainstorm was howling, inside

the dancers embraced with such an enthusiasm for that first Encuentro Milonguero in the UK. I loved it. 2. The Sunday Milonga of one of our teaching-engagements in Bramshaw (UK), I think it was in 2010. I have never received such a great applause for a simple afternoon-Milonga.

3. A gig for Tine Herreman at the Tango Lounge (New York) in 2010. I really loved the energy of that place and I got such a great feedback after the Milonga. 4. I just DJ‘d at Tango del Mar 2013 in Romania. Although this was one of my most di"cult sets (because the Milonga was 7 hours long) I also think, that it was one of my most successful. People would just not stop dancing and we greeted the sun rising over the Black Sea.

We are less serious: Last night a dj saved my life. Are DJs sexy? have you ever had a relationship with a fan or a flirt with a colleague? 

Dear Sir, what an impertinent question! A gentlewomen never kisses and tells!

And then, let‘s be honest: we Tango-DJs are rather nerds and not very likely to be perceived as sexy. It is the maestros and good dancers who get all the hot guys and gals. I‘m so glad that DJing is not my only Tango activity... ;-)