Mood Area 52 and Cosmos:
Guevara’s Ghost
Guevara's Ghost is collaboration between Mood Area 52, a Northwest tango orchestra, and producer Cosmos Corbin, combining the collected talent of Mood Area 52 with Cosmos' beats and keyboard work. Groups such as Gotan project and Narcotango have made the connection between tango and electronic music, but Guevara's Ghost breaks new ground. The album works within the tight, organic song structures of Mood Area 52's original compositions, while exploring themes inspired by the spirited and idealistic character of Ernesto Che Guevara.
Mood Area 52 began developing their distinctive sound in 1998 when accordionist Michael Roderick assembled some of his most talented musical acquaintances to play Argentine tango music. Since then the band has expanded to include the talents of many notable Northwest musicians in the development of original compositions by accordionist, Roderick, and cellist, Amy Danziger. This is their third release.
Cosmos Corbin, a member of the nationally acclaimed production trio Raging Family, was inspired to work with Mood Area 52 after listening to their music and contemplating the music's roots as dance music. He had recently returned from a trip to Cuba, and wanted to create a sound which recontextualized tango music using abstract hip hop rhythms, glitchy micro-sampling of the original tango compositions, deep bass tones, and subtle electronics, Cosmos combined the cut and paste aesthetic of musicians such as Prefuse 73, Boom Bip, and Raging Family, with the soul of Argentine tango music.
Roderick recently spent time in Buenos Aires promoting Mood Area 52 and gathering ideas for Guevara's Ghost. He was interviewed on Argentina's national public broadcast network and garnered radio play on commercial stations.
OtherMood Area 52 projects include burlesque shows, cabaret shows, classic movie scores, concerts with bands such as the Bay Area's Rasputina, the Tin Hat Trio, The Damo Suzuki Network, Naim Amor, and writer Chuck Palunuik. Explorations such as these have resulted in college radio play and a crossover market with younger listeners. Roderick hopes that Guevara's Ghost will resonate with younger audiences. Live performances of this and other Mood Area 52 material feature drummer James West.
Guevara's Ghost is the fourth release on Eugene's Rocketboy Arts label. Other releases include Mood Area 52, Nine Fancy Tango's, and Scrambled Ape's Complete Atlas of 21st Century AM Radio Classics. All of these are available for purchase at www.rocketboyarts.com.
Check out the artist's website:
http://moodarea52.comTrack List:
1. Antitank
2. Habitaciones
3. Fight Song Prelude
4. Los Museos
5. Gauchos
6. Mousetrap Redux
7. Drop Eldorado
8. Palomitas
9. Gold Pop Maze
10. My Bird Aflame
11. Occluded Pets
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