Dango
DANGO is a musical concept born out of a wish to unite two worlds; the Danish Song Book and tango. This has been done by creating tango versions of the best Danish melodies.
My present project is called DANGO. It’s a personal and fusional project that unites my present and past. Dango takes beloved songs from the Danish Song Treasure and transforms them into tango arrangements for traditional Orquesta Típica - some of them with Spanish translations of the Danish lyrics. As a Danish tango musician living in Buenos Aires with annual visits in Denmark, I have a lot of experience with both the Danish and Argentine milonga environment. At some point it occurred to me to give the Danish tango dancers an experience with the tango, as if they were Argentines. Argentines dance to tunes they’ve been listening to their whole life and inside the lyrics are inspiring tales of love, passion, frustration, nostalgia, social criticism and a lot more. When a Dane starts listening and dancing tango, it is not music that resonates. To begin with, it all sounds a bit the same and typically creates images of a forgotten past in a remote corner of the world. The tangos you listen to in a milonga are typically from 1930-1960 and from Argentina. For many Argentines, it also sounds from a different epoch, because normally you strangely won’t hear the newly composed tango music in the milonga. Nonetheless, for many, the old tangos are the soundtrack from their childhood or their grandparents' homes and have lyrics that speak of the city and its culture. DANGO started out with me wanting to create a music that was possible to dance tango to and at the same time spoke of a common origin among Danish people.
As it happens things are not necessarily what you expect them to be and the dangos have come to signify a lot more to me. It has been a personal journey that has demanded a lot of artisanal work with the songs to make them fit into a tango form, always trying to respect both origins. The songs I’ve chosen are from different periods and different genres but they all have in common that they are songs that have had an important role in the musical history of Denmark and at the same time are very dear to me on a personal level. I’ve wanted to find songs that could make it into the tango world without losing its essence and maybe even with the possibility to give new experiences to the listener of these very known tunes. Of course it's also a way especially for the translated versions to share these pearls from Danish Culture with new audiences.
The first dangos was recorded thanks to a crowdfunding campaign, where tha Danish tango dancers could come with suggestions to the songs. For the second recording DANGO received La Beca de Creación from El FONDO NACIONAL DE LAS ARTES in Argentina and the upcoming tour is supported by TEMPI - Roots Music of Denmark.
DANGO went touring in Denmark for the first time.
In 2023 the DANGO ensemble will visit three Danish cities and consists of:
Singers: Marisol Martinez (AR) and Camilla Marie Dahlgreen (DK)
Dancers: Eva Lehrmann (DK) and Daniel Carlsson (AR/SV)
Piano: Mariano Flores Gonzales (AR)
Violin: Gonzalo Lesta (AR)
Double bass: Luigi Coviello (IT)
Conducting and bandoneón: Stine Engen (DK)
My present project is called DANGO. It’s a personal and fusional project that unites my present and past. Dango takes beloved songs from the Danish Song Treasure and transforms them into tango arrangements for traditional Orquesta Típica - some of them with Spanish translations of the Danish lyrics.
As a Danish tango musician living in Buenos Aires with annual visits in Denmark, I have a lot of experience with both the Danish and Argentine milonga environment. At some point it occurred to me to give the Danish tango dancers an experience with the tango, as if they were Argentines. Argentines dance to tunes they’ve been listening to their whole life and inside the lyrics are inspiring tales of love, passion, frustration, nostalgia, social criticism and a lot more. When a Dane starts listening and dancing tango, it is not music that resonates. To begin with, it all sounds a bit the same and typically creates images of a forgotten past in a remote corner of the world. The tangos you listen to in a milonga are typically from 1930-1960 and from Argentina. For many Argentines, it also sounds from a different epoch, because normally you strangely won’t hear the newly composed tango music in the milonga. Nonetheless, for many, the old tangos are the soundtrack from their childhood or their grandparents' homes and have lyrics that speak of the city and its culture. DANGO started out with me wanting to create a music that was possible to dance tango to and at the same time spoke of a common origin among Danish people.
As it happens things are not necessarily what you expect them to be and the dangos have come to signify a lot more to me. It has been a personal journey that has demanded a lot of artisanal work with the songs to make them fit into a tango form, always trying to respect both origins. The songs I’ve chosen are from different periods and different genres but they all have in common that they are songs that have had an important role in the musical history of Denmark and at the same time are very dear to me on a personal level. I’ve wanted to find songs that could make it into the tango world without losing its essence and maybe even with the possibility to give new experiences to the listener of these very known tunes. Of course it's also a way especially for the translated versions to share these pearls from Danish Culture with new audiences.
The first dangos was recorded thanks to a crowdfunding campaign, where tha Danish tango dancers could come with suggestions to the songs. For the second recording DANGO received La Beca de Creación from El FONDO NACIONAL DE LAS ARTES in Argentina and the upcoming tour is supported by TEMPI - Roots Music of Denmark.
DANGO has been touring in Denmark twice in 2022 and 2023 with the following musicians:
Singers: Marisol Martinez (AR) and Camilla Marie Dahlgreen (DK)
Dancers: Eva Lehrmann (DK) and Daniel Carlsson (AR/SV)
Piano: Mariano Flores Gonzales (AR)
Violin: Gonzalo Lesta (AR)
Double bass: Luigi Coviello (IT)
Conducting and bandoneón: Stine Engen (DK)
Article in the French magazine "La Salida"Know more about DANGOS recent activities
