La Revancha del Tango

Gotan Project formed in Paris around an Argentine, a Frenchman, and a Swiss producer; gotan is tango with the syllables flipped. Their debut takes the bandoneón, the wheezing accordion at the heart of tango, and sets it over downtempo electronic beats, scratches, and dub bass. Santa Maria (del Buen Ayre) became the calling card: a slow, smoky groove that turned up in films, ads, and clubs for a decade. It made old Buenos Aires music sound brand new.