When you cruise around the tango pages of the world, you do find references to my restoration work. Now, more and more, you see also others talking about "cleaning". This decade has been really important in the development of tango from the standpoint of making the great old music sound better. (If you aren't familiar with the story of why the old tango recordings have come down to us in such a poor-quality state, there are many pages here telling it).
When I embarked on my personal restoration saga in 2001, I was quite alone in the undertaking. And actually, I still am - in the serious sense.
I do applaud the initiative of dj's who have purchased some kind of software which allows them to process the noise out of old recordings. Dancers NEED the music to sound as clear as possible. Even running cuts through simplistic processing takes a lot of time for experimenting and file managment and a big learning curve about all the things that can go wrong with you start playing with audio. People even doing it as a hobby are doing a great thing for tango dancers and I hope they are shown appreciation for their work.
I have my own appreciation I wish I could truly show to the many dj's around the world who have supported me by buying my restorations over the years. And also to the dancers who just wanted to get a few CD's now and then of a particular artist. I became obsessed and devoted my life to it for a long period of time and needed that support. Even now, with around 1500 songs done but thousands more that could be done, I probably still am a little too obsessed. Crazy me! I just love hearing the music as good as it can be, for the musicians were so inspired and inspiring.
I do know that my way of restoring is not what others are doing by "cleaning." I have a series of processes I go through to enhance the sound after I take away the noise and artifacts of the old 78 surface noice; and I know no one else is sitting re-drawing wave-forms to eliminate them as I do. There are things machine processing just cannot get to without totally destroying the natural sound of the instruments. If all you do is use noise reduction software, you are still left with all the clicks and scratches. Not to mention missing notes through drop-outs, etc. which need repairing. Here, you really have to be creative and have intricate tools.
The world's first records manufactured for sale were made in Montreal in 1900 by the inventor of the phonograph record and player, Emile Berliner (1851-1929). His company became the RCA record label - THE biggie in the world for the first few decades of "recorded" history. The company which recorded most of the big tango orchestras of the Golden Era.
It wasn't until after I moved here (to Montreal) that I began my restoration odyssey. But I always felt it was some kind of fate that, after a lifetime of a fascination with sound (first in broadcasting, then music production), I would be drawn to this project affecting my beloved tango just when I found myself living only a few blocks away from where IT ALL BEGAN. (You'll find information on these various stories in pages within this site).
Now in our sixth year of cleaning, enhancing and vitalizing the old Argentine tango recordings, the restoration project continues. The results are available on CD or external drive (MP3 - if desired).
The great tango standards do sound somehow "different" after restoration. Sweeter; softer in many cases; but richer altogether and even more impressive (and moving) than in the noisy, distorted form they have come down to us (see "Destruction of the Masters" below). Without the distraction of noise and clicks, it can sound like the musicians are in the room with you.
This ever-expanding cleaned library is a long-term project - begun in 2001.
My entire Artist series (including vals and milonga) has been re-done this year and now numbers 55 CD's; the Tandas series now 60 CD's.
To those who say they LIKE the scratches and noise of old records, I say - you gotta be kidding. Why? The artists did not ask for all that guck to be overlaid on their beautiful sounds.
I ask those sceptics to understand that, when the noise is taken away, the performances still remain a product of their time. A 1936 recording doesn't all-of-a-sudden sound as though it were recorded in 1998 ... just CLEAN, clear, bigger and warmer.
Some Samples in MP3:
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More Samples:
Carlos Di Sarli
Troilo/Piazzolla
About Restoration
Over 100 CD's of cleaned and enhanced Tango Dance Greats to choose from ...
Have ToTANGO's Exclusive Restorations In Your Collection!
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The Destruction of RCA's Masters
And now - the Details
When RCA destroyed it's Masters of tango recordings 40 years ago, a major reason for our Restoration Project took place.
The original RCA studios are about to be re-opened as a concert hall. From Buenos Aires newspaper stories just published in connection with this re-launch, we have an account of what happened and why the day they torched the legacy.
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