Tango DJ

I started dancing tango because I liked the music. Now I occasionally play it at milongas.

I started dancing tango because I liked the music. Now I occasionally play it at milongas. On this page:

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Being a tango DJ

In tango we always dance to, if I exaggerate a bit, to the same 25 songs. Still, each milonga feels special. If the selection of music—order of songs and their combinations—is good, everything flows better. Dancers are more peaceful, but also more creative. The whole dancefloor is moving faster, but there are less crashes. People dance more with strangers. Whenever my favorite DJ (Andres Molina) plays, it feels as if I dance better.

All dancers have our own styles, our own advantages and limitations. We listen to different aspects of music. Therefore, a good DJ plays a wide spectrum of music, and he plays it so, that we appreciate also the music we would not choose ourselves. A good DJs does it in an original and honest way.

As I am developing as a dancer, my musical taste is also changing. Some songs are becoming more interesting, other less. When I play, I try to emphasize with the dancers, but, still, I am limited by what I understand.

For me, a good milonga is based on four strong orchestras: D’Arienzo, Di Sarli, Pugliese and Troilo. All four kept developing through multiple decades. The longer I dance, the more I appreciate them. It seems to me that every tone in their music carries a special feeling. I prefer early D’Arienzo to early Biagi, late Di Sarli to late Biagi, early Di Sarli to early Demare, Troilo to Calo.

I play other orchestras sparingly. I love Laurenz, D’Agostino, and Fresedo. I also like to dance to newer tangos. My favorite modern orchestra is Tango Bardo.

I can not play music I find boring. I do not understand it, so I can not blend it into the evening well. I do not play orchestras of De Angelis, Rodriguez or most Canaro.

The great four

The great four orchestras produced for decades and kept developing through all that time. I list their songs I particularly like.

D'Arienzo:

Di Sarli:

Troilo:

Pugliese:

Sound quality

On traditional milongas we mostly dance to music recorded before 1950. Many original recordings were lost long ago: we dance to copies of copies. Recordings are therefore often quite bad.

As I dancer I find better recording more inspiring. For me, the sound is good if the singer and the violins are clear and natural. On the other hand, I do not mind some background noise.

Some DJs like to emphasize low frequencies—I do not, because for me, the crux of tango lies in melodies, which are usually sung, or played by violins, bandoneons and the piano.

These days, TangoTunes makes the best digital transfers. I bought enough to deserve the badge below.

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Previous milongas

As a young DJ, I am still searching for my style, still changing a lot. Every milonga teaches me something new. I am very grateful to all organizers who trusted me with their milongas.

2015:

2016:

2017:

2018:

2019:

2020:

2021:

2022:

2023:

2024:

Summer Tango Camp, Kolašin, Montenegro. Photo: Dušan Babić

— 2023/09/25