Paris has long been a musical, as well as an artistic, melting pot, earning itself a reputation as the global center for world music. The city's central and North African population have long been the main source of spice, but recently some new flavors are coming through.
For decades now, Paris has been home to a significant number of tango musicians in exile from the political turmoil in Argentina. Four years ago, one such group of musicians joined ranks with the sharpest of the city's cutting-edge club music producers to form the Gotan Project, which will be bringing its infectious neo-tango to Roppongi Hills Arena, Nov. 15-16.
In the late '90s, the phenomenal success of dance groups like Daft Punk, Air and Cassius turned club culture's eyes to France for the first time, and during this period one of the founders of the Gotan Project, Philippe Cohen Solal, was busy producing compilations of French house and techno, as well as his own music. He took a break to work as music supervisor for various film productions, working with the likes of Lars von Trier (director of "Dancer in the Dark,"), but it was hooking up with Eduardo Makaroff and other tango musicians that inspired his return to the studio and the launching of the Gotan Project.