20/09/2026
by Richard Stoll
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Today I want to talk about a tango dance figure that puzzles many students and tango enthusiasts. On the one hand, because it seems so easy to teach, and on the other hand, because it’s so difficult to learn.
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07/09/2026
by Richard Stoll
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In the 1920s and up until the mid-1930s, tango was still interpreted in a more traditional rhythmic style by smaller ensembles (sextetos). Many orchestras successfully performed with singers (mostly in the role of estribilista) and were able to establish themselves musically and commercially. At the same time, two movements emerged that aimed to revolutionize and modernize the traditional concept of tango music. On the one hand, there were the orchestras of Cobián and De Caro, with the goal of musical and interpretive refinement. Parallel to this, however, we also see a new trend towards softer, more romantic tangos, not least due to the collaboration between Canaro and Maida as singers. In addition, another musician established himself, whose distinctive sound shaped and ultimately dominated the field of romantic tangos.
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18/08/2026
by Richard Stoll
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In our last post, we discussed using Spotify with Bluetooth-connected speakers. We initially focused on the content and the issues with the provider and the software environment. Today, I’d like to discuss the problems associated with wireless systems.
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18/08/2026
by Richard Stoll
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Last week I was a guest at a milonga, where I also occasionally DJ, and I listened to the music of the DJ there (who, by the way, did an excellent job). What I found interesting was that he was DJing with his mobile phone, obviously playing a Spotify playlist. The connection to his two portable speakers was also clearly via simple Bluetooth. I don’t mean to criticize my colleagues’ work at all, but it got me wondering if this is a viable technical option for my own work. I’ve prepared two posts on this topic.
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13/11/2025
by Richard Stoll
Comments Off on OTV – The Invisible Orchestra
Imagine a football association overseeing 20 teams with varying degrees of talent, including players and coaches, and then being invited to an international championship. What do they do? They assemble a team from their best players and have them coached by a gifted trainer. This isn’t just a football thing; it’s also a tango game.
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12/11/2025
by Richard Stoll
Comments Off on Francisco Lomuto
As a DJ, one naturally views the orchestral diversity in tango with different eyes than when considering this issue from a music historical perspective. Nevertheless, I often listen to tango music without any specific requirement of milonga suitability, and I personally enjoy many of these pieces, even though I would rarely, if ever, play them in a milonga. I’ve noticed that my preferences evolve over time. With music from the EDO era, these have recently tended to be recordings by Troilo and De Angelis, but I’ve also developed a new fondness for orchestras from the 1930s, whose clear musical lines appeal to me—less so the avant-garde sounds of De Caro, but rather the traditional style, which, despite the often challenging sound quality, still has its place in the milonga today. Here, I adhere to the old rule of playing classic tandas primarily in the early stages of a milonga playlist. So today, we’re talking about one of the oldest milonga-suitable orchestras, aside from Francisco Canaro. It is Francisco Lomuto who not only shares a first name with Canaro, but was also a contemporary and friend.
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29/05/2025
by Richard Stoll
Comments Off on Information about tango songs can be found at: Tango.Info.
A DJ’s job is to compile music. Interestingly, this also requires good documentation of the tracks in their collection. Knowing the title and orchestra is particularly important, which is usually not a problem. It becomes more complicated when an orchestra has recorded a track multiple times. This is especially difficult with artists like Carlos Di Sarli, who re-recorded many tracks with each change of orchestra or singer. Therefore, information about the recording session, matrix number, source (vinyl), and so on is crucial. My colleagues place great emphasis on accuracy here; I admit I take a simpler approach. I think that the year of recording is both important and sufficient. For my tandas, I always include the year of the track.
Where can one actually obtain this information, especially if the CD in question is only available in digital form or stored in some box in the attic?
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18/05/2025
by Richard Stoll
Comments Off on Audio cable: RCA to XLR
Normally, as a DJ, you have tons of cables in your toolbox. Last week, however, I ran into the problem of connecting a device with a balanced XLR input to my setup, which has an RCA output (phono jack). Finding suitable cables for this isn’t so easy; a bit of DIY is required, so it’s time to fire up the soldering iron. I usually make my own cables unless there’s a good-quality, off-the-shelf option available at a reasonable price. So here’s a little tutorial on making your own complex cables. It’s not directly related to tango, but we DJs do have a responsibility!
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26/04/2025
by Richard Stoll
Comments Off on Miguel Villasboas: En Australia
In my last blog post, I talked about my love for vals and presented an international tanda in the non-tango genre. Today, I’d like to continue this theme and present a contemporary vals that has received international acclaim. We’ll hear another tanda consisting of three songs:
Campero Sunset (1997) – Miguel Villasboas
Cold Nights (1997) – Miguel Villasboas
Vibrations of the Soul (1997) – Miguel Villasboas
24/04/2025
by Richard Stoll
Comments Off on Klezmer Valses
Did I ever mention that my heart beats for the tango, but my love belongs to the vals? As someone once described it: ‘The vals is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written.’
As a DJ, I find pure joy in the vals, as almost every orchestra offers beautiful valses, and with the vals, you can disregard all the rules and freely compose tandas to your liking. Many international (non-tango) musical genres lend themselves particularly well to this, and today I’d like to present one of my tandas (here for three tracks):
The Golden Pave (2001) – Klezmatics & Chava Alberstein
Di Krenitze (2001) – Klezmatics & Chava Alberstein
Ershter Vals (1989) – Klezmatics