Gran Hotel Buenos Aires

Argentine is first and foremost a guitar player. But inspired by artists as diverse as avant-garde composer , , and , he set out to create a solo record that crossed , and Latin guitar music while capturing the sound and feeling of Buenos Aires. The resulting album, -- actually produced by and released on their label, -- is like the reverse image of . 's songs are atmospheric, driven by sampled beats, and even employ scratching in some cases, but unlike is sunny, free-spirited, and celebratory. Always at the center of tracks like and is 's hypnotic guitar. Around that he collages an entire band worth of instruments and samples and, finally, sultry female vocals sung in Spanish -- provided by friends of from Buenos Aires. The format seems ultimately liberating, allowing the ability to masterfully apply solid beats to jazzy numbers ( for example) and to allow what could be Argentine songs to drift into the realm of electronic ambience and (the beautiful ). is a wholly brilliant album and may be to Argentina what is to Iceland: the most forward-thinking and experimental artist to capture the sound of his homeland's cultural, symbolic, and physical geography. ~ Charles Spano