Set list by Michael Freedman - Glasgow "Crypt" milonga 12 December 2015

The "Crypt" milonga

Michael DJd for the monthly Crypt milonga in Glasgow and kindly agreed to share his set list here.

I really enjoyed it.

I did not dance these Hugo Diaz tracks which I do not hear often but I enjoyed listening to them. I prefer milonga to the Rodriguez foxtrots but they were danced.

 I was sitting by Michael as he was deciding what to play for the last two tandas.  Michael defended his final tanda saying it was romantic and indeed nearly everyone danced it. He said he likes Di Sarli with Florio best.  Many people came up to Michael afterwards to thank him for the music. 

As I was leaving to catch my train Michael said an interesting thing:  that it is a conscious choice to play a traditional set. He said it is easy to be tempted to experiment. 

Fresedo-Ray

Cordobesita

Yo no se llorar

Siempre es carnaval

En la huella del dolor

D'Agostino- Vargas

Adiós arrabal

A quien le puede importar

Tres esquinas

Cafe Dominguez 

Caló vals

El vals soñador 

Jugando jugando

Bajo un cielo de estrellas 

Lomuto instrumentals 

Criolla linda 

Catamarca

La revoltosa

Sentimiento gaucho

D'Arienzo- Mauré

Humillación

Compadron

Ya lo ves

Dime mi amor

Canaro-Fama milongas

Milonga sentimental

Milonga del 900

Yo me llamo Juan te quiero

Donato-Lagos

El adiós

A oscuras

Mis pesares

Alas rotas

Pugliese instrumentals 

Recuerdo

La yumba

Raza criolla

Patatero

De Angelis vals

Soñar y nada mas

A Magaldi

Pobre flor

Di Sarli - Podestá 

Nido gaucho 

No està

Sombras del puerto

Al compás del corazón 

Hugo Diaz instrumentals 

El adiós 

Patatero sentimental 

Cafetin de Buenos Aires

Milonga para una armonica

Rodriguez foxtrots

Noches de Hungría

Por las calles de Estambul 

Cantar gitano

Laurenz - Juan Carlos Casas

Vieja amiga

No me extraña 

Desconsuelo

Amurado

Biagi-Falgas vals 

Dichas que viví

Déjame amarte aunque sea un día

El último adiós

Di Sarli - Ledesma

Novia provinciana

Organito de la tarde (instrum)

Fumando espero

De qué podemos hablar.

Two set lists from the Midlands

Two DJs from the Midlands well-known for sharing their set lists have kindly agreed I can show them here too. It is a wonderful thing when DJs share the list of music they played at milongas. It is the only way really. It shows generosity of spirit, confidence and a lack of concern in trying to protect or hoard ideas, which is never a good plan and in some way never really works out long-term. 

"Sharing ideas and ressources about Tango-DJing" can sometimes be not genuine sharing, but a commercial tag-line:  you pay for the musical and DJ knowledge in workshops in the same way that you sign up for dance classes. The number of these DJ workshops being offered by various maestros has risen but of those I have spoken to who have attended these sorts of things few have found them very useful, finding informal mentoring or just trial, error and experience more useful.

Being defensive and secretive about sets is in any case ludicrous because this music and the way it has been commonly combined for decades is far from a secret.  If you know what the track is by listening, the chances are you are not going to need any help to make tandas.  And if you don't, tools like Shazam make finding the name of a track you hear in the milonga easy. No doubt some version of these tools - if one doesn't already exist - will soon be able to be set on "long play" to record track after track making whole sets available to all. Tango DJs who don't share had better prepare for that scrutiny but those who already do will swim easily in the new waters. 

Besides, DJs who share let interested dancers who are not local know the kind of music they play, meaning those who enjoy the same kind of music can more easily decide whether to travel to find each other for dancing that music! 

Geoff and Clive's sets have some lovely traditional tango tandas and tracks. 

In Geoff's set has I would really enjoy dancing the tango tandas by D'Arienzo (first tanda), Caló, Lomuto, Tanturi, both Rodriguez tandas, first De Angelis tanda, Biagi, second Canaro tanda and I liked the tracks in the last Troilo tanda.

For me, it is less about the combination of the tracks but first and foremost are there three or four tracks together that I really want to dance - not just move to - but dance?   Give me the tracks first and the subtleties afterwards.   When there are more DJs playing great track after great track then let's talk about a set that's balanced between rhythmic and softer tracks, or how the tanda opens, develops, closes or how a DJ acts responsibly when it's a Saturday night at a popular venue and the floor is heaving and they don't drive the tempo up and up.  Well known DJs do this which they call things like "energizing" the dance floor, as though they were musical wizards, but for me it's more like smoke and mirrors.  It just creates miserable floor conditions and a stressed out ronda with dancers mimicking that irresponsibility, which is how you sometimes find the DJ will also dance.  These things are all linked.

I would've also enjoyed the first Di Sarli and the Fresedo (after the opening tracks) but contrarily it was the opener, El Entrerriano in the second De Angelis tanda that I liked best of that tanda. I thought La Viruta and Independiente Club by Gobbi were great and I liked the Pugliese too except Tierra Querida which I feel outstays any welcome it might have.  But then I am not a fan of the other nostalgic, patriotic songs Patria Mia by Laurenz and Adios Pampa mia in the Troilo version, nor the Canaro.  I would tolerate the Biagi better if there weren't already so many better tracks from which to choose. The Troilo and De Angelis vals from Geoff's set are famously popular. Many do like the Quinteto Pirincho milongas but they're not my own favourite for dancing. The QP vals are sweet and inoffensive but I like my Argentine vals more...Argentine, whatever that means or at least, less European than say Maria Esther. And generally I prefer anyway, faster tracks for vals. I think the QP vals have their place, like the QP milongas, I'm sure, just not too often for me.  To finish the set my guess is that Geoff's La Cumparsita was Troilo's classic 1943 version.

In Clive's set the Donato vals, Mendocina reminds me of something Ricardo Vidort said, talking about his childhood, when tango was on the radio and people would whistle or sing it everywhere. He said they used to call De Angelis the orchestra of the calesitas, but this Donato track also reminds me of the merry-go-round, most of all in the last thirty seconds. 

I really like the Biagi instrumentals, the D'Agostino, the Troilo vals. The Troilo instrumentals and the D'Arienzo-Echagüe are fantastic for me. The Caló tangos were nice and the Laurenz just lovely. I quite like the Tanturi, though I prefer the instrumentals and I prefer the singer Castillo to most Campos. I like the Di Sarli 1955 La Cumparsita. 

It is great when more and more traditional tango music spreads across the country.  It means that, especially when there are social dance weekends, there are more milongas to travel to and more dancers who enjoy dancing that music, to meet.

Victor's set, Counting House, Edinburgh

This is a set I heard on Tuesday which DJ Victor Hernandez-Urbina has allowed me to share.  He has been DJing since earlier this year.  In Scotland I dance in various milongas within 90 minutes of my home town and this is the best set I've heard locally for a long time, together with one by DJ Iain Dickinson at the last Milonga in the Crypt in Glasgow.  Iain too started DJing only within the last year.

I arrived at the end of the OTV and am only sorry the set did not start as it continued after the first two tandas.  I danced most of Victor's set from the Fresedo onwards. In fact I had initially planned to go on to the book group that was starting to replace, for me, going to the Scottish milongas because it has been so difficult to find good music for dancing.  But Victor's tandas and men and women I wanted to dance that music with kept me at the Counting House.  I left at the Hugo Diaz which is popular but I can't remember the last time I wanted to dance it.

I really appreciated hearing a wholly good tanda by D'Agostino, an orchestra that l seem to particularly mind hearing messed up perhaps because it is such very relaxing music. I skipped the first candombe Felicita, mostly because I didn't know it but might dance it next time. I would have liked some De Angelis tango for balance but his De Angelis vals were lovely.

I struggled with the Troilo mix. The tanda has two wholly different singers Fiorentino and Marino with the, again, very different instrumental Milongueando en el 40.  I made a mistake inviting my partner to Uno, which isn't really my thing and found Por las calles de la vida difficult because it does not make me want to dance. I apologised to her for choosing the music to dance to badly.  From the DJ box, which is behind the speakers, Victor watched the floor and brought down the volume in the Troilo when it became painfully loud.

I didn't know the Pugliese tracks Adios Nonino (composed by Piazzolla) and Ojos Negros well enough to dance them happily, even as the girl and wished I hadn't danced them on this occasion.  I find them anyway more like music for performance.

Most of all, I would have liked more strong, rhythmic tangos - particularly D'Arienzo, Biagi, rhythmic Tanturi and other Troilo for balance against the lovely, softer tandas.  In Di Sarli, personally I prefer it with more rhythm than drama or alternatively a few of the sweet and lovely early tracks from the sexteto but the kind of Di Sarli that Victor played is also popular.  

I also find "firm" tangos within Lomuto, other Laurenz, Rodriguez and Canaro - though for me they have a different strength to the other group. That firmness is even there in some of the sweet, strong OTV tracks which analogy with coffee reminds me of their track Mi taza de café though that tango is more soft than strong for me. In fact Victor's Canaro tanda did have some of that gentler firmness though Canaro in the 40s is not personally my favourite.

I really look forward to hearing Victor's DJ again.

Name	Artist	Genre
-- Dance Of The Knights
Jedna, jedyna	Mieczyslaw Fogg	Tango
Ta ostatnia niedziela	Mieczyslaw Fogg	Tango
Milosz pali jak slonce	Stefan Witas	Tango
Za rok	Stefan Witas	Tango
-- St. James Infirmary
Quasimodo	Jose Lucchesi	Tango
Tango Marina	Jose Lucchesi	Tango
Pebeta De Arrabal	Jose Lucchesi	Tango
Champagne Bubbles	Jose Lucchesi	Tango
-- Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White
Valsecito criollo	D'Arienzo, Juan	Vals
Vision celeste	D'Arienzo, Juan	Vals
En tu corazón	D'Arienzo, Juan	Vals
Valsecito De Antes	D'Arienzo, Juan	Vals
-- Il Trovatore
Pancho's bar (1928)	Orquesta Típica Víctor	Tango
Cardos	Orquesta Típica Víctor	Tango
Niño bien	Orquesta Típica Víctor	Tango
Che, papusa, oí	Orquesta Típica Víctor	Tango
-- Z
Isla de Capri	Fresedo-Ray	Tango
Siempre Es Carnaval	Osvaldo Fresedo - Roberto Ray	Tango
Cordobesita	Fresedo-Ray	Tango
Tigre Viejo	Osvaldo Fresedo	Tango
-- Dance Of The Knights
Se dice de mí	Quinteto Pirincho	Milonga
La cara de la luna	Quinteto Pirincho	Milonga
Arrabalera	Quinteto Pirincho	Milonga
-- St. James Infirmary
Din... Don...!	Lucio Demare	Tango
Solamente Ella	Lucio Demare	Tango
Igual que un bandoneón	Lucio Demare	Tango
Mañana zarpa un barco	Lucio Demare	Tango
-- Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White
Tarareando	Miguel Caló	Tango
Lejos de Buenos Aires	Miguel Caló	Tango
En Tus Ojos de Cielo	Miguel Caló	Tango
Qué te importa que te llore	Miguel Caló	Tango
-- Il Trovatore
Amor Y Vals	Rodolfo Biagi con Aberto Lago	Vals
Paloma	Rodolfo Biagi Con Alberto Amor	Vals
Dejame Amarte Aunque Sea Un Dia	Rodolfo Biagi canta Andrés Falgás	Vals
Lagrimas Y Sonrisas	Rodolfo Biagi	Vals
-- Z
Shusheta / El aristócrata	A. D'Agostino - A. Vargas	Tango
Caricias	A. D'Agostino - A. Vargas	Tango
Sólo compasión	A. D'Agostino - A. Vargas	Tango
Café Domínguez	A. D'Agostino - A. Vargas	Tango
-- Dance Of The Knights
Sinsabor	Edgardo Donato Y Sus Muchachos	Tango
El Distinguido Ciudadano	Edgardo Donato Y Sus Muchachos	Tango
Te Busco	Edgardo Donato Y Sus Muchachos	Tango
La melodía del corazón	Edgardo Donato Y Sus Muchachos	Tango
-- St. James Infirmary
Felicita	Jose Garcia Y Sus Zorros Grises	Milonga
Carnavalito	Lucio Demare & Raul Beron	Milonga
Azabache	Miguel Caló	Milonga
-- Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White
Uno	Aníbal Troilo	Tango
Percal	Aníbal Troilo	Tango
Por Las Calles De La Vida	Aníbal Troilo	Tango
Milongueando en el 40	Aníbal Troilo	Tango
-- Il Trovatore
Verdemar (2nd Version)	Carlos Di Sarli	Tango
Nido Gaucho (2a Version)	Carlos Di Sarli	Tango
Fumando Espero	Carlos Di Sarli	Tango
Nueve Puntos (2nd Version)	Carlos Di Sarli	Tango
-- Z
Flores Del Alma	Alfredo De Angelis Con Carlos Dante & Julio Martel	Vals
No Vuelvas Maria	Alfredo De Angelis Con Carlos Dante & Julio Martel	Vals
Pobre Flor (Primera Ilusion)	Alfredo De Angelis Con Carlos Dante & Julio Martel	Vals
Soñar y nada más	Alfredo De Angelis Con Carlos Dante & Julio Martel	Vals
-- Dance Of The Knights
Tango Brujo	Canaro, Francisco	Tango
Mas Solo Que Nunca	Canaro, Francisco	Tango
Esta Noche de Luna	Canaro, Francisco	Tango
Cristal	Canaro, Francisco	Tango
-- St. James Infirmary
Todo	Pedro Laurenz Canta Alberto Podestá	Tango
Que Nunca Me Falte	Pedro Laurenz Canta Alberto Podestá	Tango
Recién	Pedro Laurenz Canta Alberto Podestá	Tango
Garúa	Pedro Laurenz Canta Alberto Podestá	Tango
-- Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White
No hay tierra como la mía	Francisco Lomuto	Milonga
Parque Patricios	Francisco Lomuto	Milonga
Serenata	Francisco Lomuto	Milonga
-- Il Trovatore
La Yumba	Pugliese, Osvaldo	Tango
Chiche	Osvaldo Pugliese	Tango
Adios Nonino	Pugliese, Osvaldo	Tango
Ojos Negros	Pugliese, Osvaldo	Tango
-- Z
Malena	Hugo Diaz	Tango
Por una cabeza	Hugo Diaz	Tango
Milonga para una armonica	Hugo Diaz	Tango
-- Dance Of The Knights
Cristal	Bajofondo Tango Club	Electrotango