Biography
Born in Buenos Aires in 1957, Daniel Melingo works as an Argentine multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. During the 1980s he appeared constantly on the local rock circuit, yet by the start of the new century he had transformed his identity into that of a tango performer and established a thriving second career on the European world-music circuit. He trained in music and composition inside Argentina, concentrating on the clarinet, but departed at age twenty-one to escape the harsh political climate then prevailing under the military regime that governed the country from 1976 to 1983. He settled first in Brazil and later joined Milton Nascimento’s ensemble before returning to Argentina in the early eighties to join Los Abuelos de la Nada, a foundational group that helped reshape Argentine rock.
Fronted by fellow returnee Miguel Abuelo and featuring a teenage Andrés Calamaro, the band blended rock, pop, reggae, and Latin rhythms to inject a fresh measure of unforced, lighthearted energy into a scene previously dominated by somber tones associated with the dictatorship years. As civilian rule resumed, Los Abuelos captured the country’s revived optimism and the decade’s emerging pursuit of pleasure. Melingo contributed saxophone and wrote several numbers, most prominently the reggae piece “Chalaman,” which appeared on the group’s 1982 debut album and ranks among its most enduring tracks; it remains one of the two or three Melingo compositions familiar to virtually everyone in Argentina.
Restless by temperament, Melingo chose to participate in Los Abuelos as an occasional collaborator rather than a permanent member, freeing time for additional ventures. With the irreverent Hugo “Pipo” Cipolatti he co-founded the satirical outfit Los Twist, where he handled guitar and vocals. Their debut album, La Dicha en Movimiento, produced by Charly García, achieved immediate success in 1983 and elevated both Melingo and Cipolatti to rock-star status; the record is still regarded as one of the landmark Argentine rock releases and contains the Melingo staples “Cleopatra, la Reina del Twist” and “Jugando Hulla Hulla.” Momentum proved difficult to maintain, however, and the band had effectively dissolved by 1985. Melingo nonetheless stayed extremely active throughout the decade, functioning, alongside Gonzalo “El Gonzo” Palacios, as one of the country’s few prominent rock saxophonists and appearing on numerous albums and stages. A notable credit came when he joined a young Fito Páez and future GIT members in the backing ensemble for Charly García on the 1984 album Piano Bar.
As the eighties ended and hyperinflation ravaged the economy, Melingo relocated to Spain, a path soon followed by several compatriots including Andrés Calamaro. There he immersed himself in the underground scene, forming the reggae-funk-rave group Lions in Love and issuing two albums in 1992 and 1994. After the band disbanded the next year, Melingo released his first solo effort, H2O, which attracted little notice despite production by former Los Abuelos bassist Cachorro López and guest appearances by Calamaro and Cipolatti. Attempts to revive Los Twist with Cipolatti in the early nineties proved both artistically and commercially unsuccessful.
Once back in Buenos Aires, Melingo unexpectedly launched an entirely new trajectory by reemerging as a tango vocalist. Long-standing tensions between Argentine rock and tango stemmed from the latter’s conservative circles, which viewed long-haired youths with electric instruments with suspicion and hostility; by the 1980s rock had clearly supplanted tango as the nation’s dominant urban music. Leading rock figures such as Charly García, León Gieco, Fito Páez, and Luis Alberto Spinetta, however, had often welcomed tango elements into their own work. By the late 1990s a younger cohort raised on rock began exploring tango, prompting a modest revival and gradual rejuvenation of the genre that continued into the twenty-first century.
Melingo emerged as a significant contributor to this renewal of tango’s musical and lyrical conventions. In 1997 he hosted the cable program Mala Yunta, inviting rock musicians to interpret classic tangos alongside him. His distinctive interpretations of standards, together with his own idiosyncratic compositions, generated sufficient interest for the 1998 release of Tangos Bajos, his first all-tango album. The record received favorable attention and featured the near-hit “Narigón,” a humorous depiction of an unlikeable cocaine user that became emblematic of Melingo’s new persona; its lyrics, like most on the album, were composed in strict lunfardo, the Buenos Aires vernacular that serves as tango’s traditional tongue.
Despite renewed domestic curiosity, tango innovators such as Melingo remained cult figures. Five years passed before he issued a second tango album, the equally notable Ufa. Recognizing that international listeners offered greater prospects than local ones—most tango audiences in Buenos Aires consist of tourists—Melingo again focused on Europe. In 2006 he teamed with Eduardo Makaroff, the Argentine member of Gotan Project who directs the world-music label Mañana. Their first project for the label was Santa Milonga, a compilation drawn from Melingo’s two tango records. He also began regular European tours with his ensemble Los Ramones del Tango. His hypnotic approach to tango, paired with an exuberant stage presence, has built an international reputation and prompted comparisons to Tom Waits, Nick Cave, and Paolo Conte. The entirely new collection Maldito Tango appeared in late 2007 to widespread critical acclaim.
Fronted by fellow returnee Miguel Abuelo and featuring a teenage Andrés Calamaro, the band blended rock, pop, reggae, and Latin rhythms to inject a fresh measure of unforced, lighthearted energy into a scene previously dominated by somber tones associated with the dictatorship years. As civilian rule resumed, Los Abuelos captured the country’s revived optimism and the decade’s emerging pursuit of pleasure. Melingo contributed saxophone and wrote several numbers, most prominently the reggae piece “Chalaman,” which appeared on the group’s 1982 debut album and ranks among its most enduring tracks; it remains one of the two or three Melingo compositions familiar to virtually everyone in Argentina.
Restless by temperament, Melingo chose to participate in Los Abuelos as an occasional collaborator rather than a permanent member, freeing time for additional ventures. With the irreverent Hugo “Pipo” Cipolatti he co-founded the satirical outfit Los Twist, where he handled guitar and vocals. Their debut album, La Dicha en Movimiento, produced by Charly García, achieved immediate success in 1983 and elevated both Melingo and Cipolatti to rock-star status; the record is still regarded as one of the landmark Argentine rock releases and contains the Melingo staples “Cleopatra, la Reina del Twist” and “Jugando Hulla Hulla.” Momentum proved difficult to maintain, however, and the band had effectively dissolved by 1985. Melingo nonetheless stayed extremely active throughout the decade, functioning, alongside Gonzalo “El Gonzo” Palacios, as one of the country’s few prominent rock saxophonists and appearing on numerous albums and stages. A notable credit came when he joined a young Fito Páez and future GIT members in the backing ensemble for Charly García on the 1984 album Piano Bar.
As the eighties ended and hyperinflation ravaged the economy, Melingo relocated to Spain, a path soon followed by several compatriots including Andrés Calamaro. There he immersed himself in the underground scene, forming the reggae-funk-rave group Lions in Love and issuing two albums in 1992 and 1994. After the band disbanded the next year, Melingo released his first solo effort, H2O, which attracted little notice despite production by former Los Abuelos bassist Cachorro López and guest appearances by Calamaro and Cipolatti. Attempts to revive Los Twist with Cipolatti in the early nineties proved both artistically and commercially unsuccessful.
Once back in Buenos Aires, Melingo unexpectedly launched an entirely new trajectory by reemerging as a tango vocalist. Long-standing tensions between Argentine rock and tango stemmed from the latter’s conservative circles, which viewed long-haired youths with electric instruments with suspicion and hostility; by the 1980s rock had clearly supplanted tango as the nation’s dominant urban music. Leading rock figures such as Charly García, León Gieco, Fito Páez, and Luis Alberto Spinetta, however, had often welcomed tango elements into their own work. By the late 1990s a younger cohort raised on rock began exploring tango, prompting a modest revival and gradual rejuvenation of the genre that continued into the twenty-first century.
Melingo emerged as a significant contributor to this renewal of tango’s musical and lyrical conventions. In 1997 he hosted the cable program Mala Yunta, inviting rock musicians to interpret classic tangos alongside him. His distinctive interpretations of standards, together with his own idiosyncratic compositions, generated sufficient interest for the 1998 release of Tangos Bajos, his first all-tango album. The record received favorable attention and featured the near-hit “Narigón,” a humorous depiction of an unlikeable cocaine user that became emblematic of Melingo’s new persona; its lyrics, like most on the album, were composed in strict lunfardo, the Buenos Aires vernacular that serves as tango’s traditional tongue.
Despite renewed domestic curiosity, tango innovators such as Melingo remained cult figures. Five years passed before he issued a second tango album, the equally notable Ufa. Recognizing that international listeners offered greater prospects than local ones—most tango audiences in Buenos Aires consist of tourists—Melingo again focused on Europe. In 2006 he teamed with Eduardo Makaroff, the Argentine member of Gotan Project who directs the world-music label Mañana. Their first project for the label was Santa Milonga, a compilation drawn from Melingo’s two tango records. He also began regular European tours with his ensemble Los Ramones del Tango. His hypnotic approach to tango, paired with an exuberant stage presence, has built an international reputation and prompted comparisons to Tom Waits, Nick Cave, and Paolo Conte. The entirely new collection Maldito Tango appeared in late 2007 to widespread critical acclaim.
Singles
