Bajofondo

Bajofondo originated as Bajofondo Tango Club for its 2002 self-titled debut and functions as an Argentine-Uruguayan octet under the leadership of Grammy-winning producer Gustavo Santaolalla alongside producer and composer Juan Campodónico. Over an extended period the ensemble merged acoustic tango and candomble with electronic beats and textures to produce an unconventional interpretation of those traditions. The group adopted its abbreviated name with the 2005 release Remixed once its stylistic range had expanded beyond tango and candomble to encompass multiple additional genres. The musicians described their output simply as contemporary music from the Río de la Plata. In the 2010s Bajofondo released Presente, a concept album recorded solely by the core collective without any outside contributors for the first time. By the arrival of its fourth long-player Aura in 2019, the octet had reoriented both its sonic identity and studio methods around spontaneous improvisation and the full spectrum of Latin music.

Under Santaolalla, who contributes guitar, percussion, and vocals while maintaining production credits with Juanes, Café Tacuba, and Julieta Venegas, and Campodónico, responsible for programming, beats, samples, guitar, and overall production, the lineup also comprises Luciano Supervielle on piano, keyboards, and scratching, Javier Casalla on violin, Martín Ferrés on bandoneon, Gabriel Casacuberta on upright and electric bass, Adrián Sosa on drums, and Verónica Loza handling visuals and vocals. The ensemble entered the album market in 2002 via Tango Club on Santaolalla’s boutique imprint Surco Records, distributed through Universal Music. Later releases encompassed Bajofondo Tango Club Presenta: Supervielle in 2004, Remixed in 2005, and Mar Dulce in 2007, the last of which showcased an array of guest appearances including Gustavo Cerati, Nelly Furtado, Mala Rodríguez, Juan Subirá of Bersuit Vergarabat, Elvis Costello, and Julieta Venegas on the 2008 deluxe edition. The Pa’ Bailar EP appeared the same year, concluding the band’s association with Universal. Owing to individual projects pursued by its members, Bajofondo remained silent on record for five years yet still managed tours across Latin America, Europe, and selected U.S. cities. Following its 2013 signing with Sony Masterworks, the group delivered the 21-track Presente, an album that deliberately stripped back compared with earlier work. Santaolalla’s solo commitments again postponed new recordings, though the collective undertook an international tour in 2017 and saw a vinyl reissue of its debut. In October 2019 Bajofondo unveiled Aura, its fourth full-length. This project diverged from prior efforts through entirely organic tracking captured live on the floor of a Montevideo studio. Rather than arriving with prepared material, the musicians generated ideas in real time and developed them collectively through improvisation. The sessions avoided Auto-Tune and dense overdubs while minimizing electronic elements. Alongside murga, tango, and candomble, which remain foundational to the group’s identity, the recordings incorporated rhythms drawn from cumbia, canción ranchera, disco, psychedelic rock, jazz, and funk.