dialogue: Martín Ramiro Vázquez

Founded in 1996 in Buenos Aires, Orquesta El Arranque has performed more than 200 shows in Argentine theaters and milongas in its first years. The tango orchestra El Arranque has participated in festivals and tours in many parts of the world and has recorded 7 albums and has a solid place in the tango community. I had the opportunity to meet one of the band members, Martín Ramiro Vázquez, an electric guitar virtuoso, about 10 years ago in Turkiye. During my trip to Argentina this year, I had the opportunity to spend more time with Martin and his family. I asked him some questions about the music and the changes created by the era and he answered them from his point of view. 

At what age has your interest in music started? 

At 8 years old I was learning to play songs on guitar, but it was at 12 that I became conscious of that interest.

What has influenced and led you into the music world? 

It was a sensation that I never since forgot when I heard Bach’s fugue of the Tocatta and fugue in D minor for first time. That feeling kept coming back through the years with all kinds of music. 

You have been bringing Tango music, which is identified with Argentina, to listeners in different countries around the world. Could you share your reflections on that and your interactions with them as well?

There is something in Tango music that gets the attention of people of all around the world. It’s a bit of a mistery that goes beyond languages and cultural differences. The blend of Italian elements, as well as Spanish, French, German, and even African (syncopation) that are present in Tango, probably make it attractive to any listener anywhere. And because it’s not just music, but also dance, poetry and a special way of singing, a wide spectrum of audiences will find a reason to dive into the theatrical drama, comedy, and eroticism that makes them experience the unspeakable.

What are the positive and negative aspects of making music as part of an orchestra rather than individually?

When you play in an orchestra there are times that everything seems to fit and connect perfectly, and you feel  something like a total communion, an absolute agreement, a sentiment of diving in an ocean while you are the ocean. It’s a very powerful sensation that seems to happen especially within a collective. But eventually that takes you to the opposite perception, a dissolution of the individual that you also are, which can be alienating. We humans need to balance between too much solitude and too much melting with the multitude.

Among the musicians you made music with, who influenced you the most? 

Violinist, composer, and director Ramiro Gallo.

With the reflection of the postmodern era, many musical genres are intertwined and becoming eclectic. What is your comment on this situation?

When a musical genre seem to be exhausted it might require the use of tools, forms, formulas and/or elements of other genres as a way to expand its boundaries. Sometimes you can tell from the results that the mixture served the purpose, because you recognize the original genre inside the new stretch of its limits. But it often happens that the final product is neither one thing nor the other. It’s a matter in which creativity has to deal with the “musts” imposed by the entertainment industry.

Do you think that the populist attitude of eclectic music with an electronic infrastructure, which has developed due to financial concerns, is an escape to the easy way out?

It depends on the composers and their purpose. A genius like Jacob Collier uses electronics to his advantage. He might be a rare case, but still a visible proof that what the electronic tools can produce depend on their use and not in the tools themselves. Nevertheless, there were trends that changed things forever. For instance, when electronic drums appeared it made things easier and cheaper, so much so that for a lot of situations now you don’t need a drummer anymore. There are musicians that prefer amp simulators rather than a tube amp like before. And so on. Who knows where things will go with AI. One thing is true, and it is that no matter how far electronics get, it can’t replace a simple thing like a cup or a glass. A human will always need to drink water, and he will be holding a glass of water or a cup of coffee while hitting buttons in front of a screen. What is that glass in music?

q’s by Fırat Tunabay