Tango music is not always just for milongas, nor is it always just for tourists. In my humble estimation, less than 40% of all tangos are intended for the dance floor. Therefore, I was recently very surprised to find out that a well-known tango teacher did not know “Querquesta Tipica Fernadez Fierro” (OTFF).
I actually had a lovely conversation with a friend from Buenos Aires about the music of this orchestra. When I asked him what made this music unique, he responded with a question: “Tango is about deep feelings from the soul. Do you expect to hear only beautiful music? Do you think tango is completely devoid of feelings of anger, rage, and despair? This music is truly chromatic and offers an extreme range of emotions, from gentle despair to explosive rage.”
The OTFF (an orchestra with 13 musicians) was founded in Buenos Aires in 2001. Organized as a cooperative, it produces its own CDs on independent labels. Since 2004, the OTFF has even run its own club (Club Atletico Fernandez Fierro in Abasto). The OTFF sees itself as part of the New Tango movement, aiming to revolutionize the “stiff tango scene” of Buenos Aires.
All information can be found here: http://fernandezfierro.com/
The music is modern, contemporary tango with an expanded dynamic and emotional range, sometimes traditional, sometimes dissonant, chromatic, and unsettling. The typical music of the OTFF is not aimed at pleasing or being constructive, but rather desperate and angry. The music doesn’t seek to change the world or pretend that everything is love and perfect. It simply wants to unleash despair, violence, and rage.
For me, this is the essence of tango and makes the OTFF one of my favorite orchestras. Some songs are danceable for modern tango dancers (“Orlando Goni,” “Adios Bardi,” “A los que se fueron,” a melody by Binelli), some are well-suited for shows (like “Milongero Viejo,” actually a melody by Di Sarli), and some songs are purely traditional with a disturbing aftertaste. For example, the traditional “Recuerdo” (which I consider a link between the old Golden Age and modern tango music) and the traditional “Corrientes y Esmeralda.”
Here’s a short trailer about the philosophy of OTFF.
Let’s start with some easy listening, perhaps a reinterpretation of an old Gardel song:
And now, OTFF in full action:
Abrazos,
-Richard