As far as I remember everyone played tango tandas of four tracks and vals and milonga in three.
Friday: DJ Martin Lutsch (Stuttgart)
I heard nearly four hours of music. Up until after midnight there was enough that was nice for me. I remember though being disappointed when the lights went down during the Demare and then stayed down. The milonga and probably most vals I remember as classics. I wasn’t dancing and paid more conscious attention to the music. Of the tangos there was for example:
D’Arienzo of type - Cicatrices, La Morocha, Charamusca; Fresedo/Ray of type Ojos muertos, Vuelves; the famous Castillo vals often played together as here: e.g.. Unitaria. La pulpera de Santa Lucia, Violetas; Demare e.g.. Telón, Igual que un bandoneón, El aguacero, Malena; great Troilo of type Una carta - Cautivo - En esta tarde gris; Canaro vals of type El día que te fuiste, Cuando estaba enamorado and something a bit less well known to me, Di Sarli, type: Tú, el cielo y tú, Déjame, no quiero verte más
Some of the Rodriguez with Fernando Reyes I liked a bit less: Alma en pena, La casita está triste. Then there was an odd mixed tango tanda of Biagi (El recodo?) - Varela (Sábado inglés?) - De Angelis (Pavadita?) - Federico (Leyenda Gaucha). Soon after was I think a cover band (Solo tango orquesta?) playing e.g.Toda mi vida and Esta es el rey. I should have quit at this point but did not realise this might be an arc/mood DJ possibly going into a new phase. There followed Rodio/Serna of type Corazon Que Has Hecho, Rosa Celeste, Vieja Esquina, Esta noche en Buenos Aires. I rarely hear this music for dancing but hearing it again it reminds me of Maderna - nicer to listen to. I think there was Biagi /Duval, of type: Alguien, Triste comedia, Espérame en el cielo then fast D’Arienzo vals, Cabeza de novia. That vals is very nice but I felt the tangos were turning less mainstream and the general theme going into “passion mode” so I quit. It felt like a style I associate with late night in Berlin or the more extravagant - usually younger - side of Buenos Aires. In memory it was also loud. Something was loud that weekend, either that or an overload of overloud simultaneous KLM announcements in Schipol but my ear still hurts.
Saturday afternoon: DJ Stephan Resch (Auckland, New Zealand)
I heard all but the last maybe 1 or 2 tandas of the set. It was not all what I think of as mainstream but it was mostly lovely music. I remember the set started really well which is always reassuring. There was great Caló, then D’Arienzo - No me lo digas, Yunta Brava, Por que razón - how I love that track - Derecho Viejo. I remember thinking in that tanda that the sound wasn’t always great and certainly that it was too quiet at one point but that improved. There was good milonga, good rhythmic Di Sarli, really great D’Agostino etc. At one point I danced tracks I couldn’t place and wondered if it was rhythmic Lomuto but knew something didn’t fit. When I heard Dulce Amargura I thought: Fresedo - who has done one version - but knew it too was not right. Upon request, Stephan told me it was early 30s Caló. Later there was Biagi with Saavedra and Heredia I didn’t know or know well. I heard two of his Fresedo choices as I was leaving. They were not my very favourite but they were far from bad Fresedo and there is a lot of bad Fresedo. This was the set I liked best in Tango Loft.
Stephan struck me as a smart, approachable guy. He and his wife were popular dancers. I noticed he danced very socially with a range of women which I somehow find particularly nice in a good dancer and DJ.
Saturday night: DJ Gabriela Manea (Bukarest, Rumania)
I arrived sometime before midnight. I cannot say I heard much of the set to give a representative picture because I quit after 2 hours. There was a Canaro which did not really grab me including I think Desaliento which I rather like but I think it was the version by Rafael which is the weaker as I think is the case with all the tracks I have heard covered by those brothers. Then there were great tandas but very rhythmic, high energy, strong Troilo, I think I heard another Canaro /QDP but rhythmic, Biagi milongas that I love, superb Tanturi instrumentals, and a packed floor. I loved those tandas. But it was too relentlessly rhythmic and the floor was a scrum. I don’t like it when DJs whip up an atmosphere like that and I left. People were leaving before me.
Sunday afternoon: DJ Alia Ramadan (Damaskus, Syria/Frankfurt, Germany)
I was only there for the last 90 minutes and I can believe that a DJ might feel pressure to try to explore new territory in a final milonga but I found the music on Sunday afternoon ropey. I heard Tanturi-Campos - that irritating track Calla bandoneón. There was an unnecessarily mixed milonga tanda with tracks that were very different in style. I think it included Biagi and I think Biagi so distinctive and individual he never mixes well. To be fair, I was chatting for a while so paid less attention to the music but was aware what I heard was not great for me.
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