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ACL: Gotan Project
There’s not a lot of evidence that the Gotan Project are big believers in casual … well, anything really. Their set included a bandstand for a string section, everyone wore white suits or gowns, and they generally looked like exactly what they were — Parisians refusing to acknowledge that there was heat, that they were outdoors or that they were anywhere other than an ornate ballroom.
The 10-year-old combo blends Euro-style beat science with Argentine tango, which means samples rub up against nylon string guitar, accordian mixes with thudding bass, and live strings amplify sampled orchestrations. It was the civility of 1951 meeting the thrum of 2001; they got along famously.
Putting the band on at 7:30 on the Dell stage was most appropriate. Of the moment yet aiming for a timelessness, exotic yet calming, the music served as a balm for exhausted, overheated fans. You could dance to the rapping and sampled beats, but you could also chill to the strings. As the evening went on, the set became more thuddy and less delicate, the ballroom turning into the South American club. To paraphrase the New Pornographers, the Gotan Project can sing me Spanish disco anytime.
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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