LAS CHICAS DEL TANGO

Las Chicas del Tango was founded in 2000, when its members discovered they shared a common passion for tango music.  Under the talented trio’s handling, classics of both Argentinean and Finnish tango are fused with an urban whirlpool of tango neuvo, Helsinki-style.  As the years have passed, the group has followed its natural projection and composed more of its own work, although they have never forsaken the influences of their virtuoso tango predecessors living and dead.  

Many expressions have been used to describe the trio’s work: potent, masterful, intense, intoxicating, unprejudiced, fresh, airy and stimulating…  Some have found in the voice of vocalist Kukka-Maria the sweetness of a first girlfriend, the warmth of a mother, the ethereal throatiness of a suffering artist, and the sombre tone of a femme fatale. One thing is certain: the trio does not shy away from nuance or impassioned interpretation.

In 2002 Kukka- Maaria Ahonen was crowned Tango Princess at the Seinäjoki Tango Festival singing contest in Finland.  That same year Johanna Juhola and Milla Viljamaa won the international Citta di Castelfidardo Award in the Astor Piazzolla Music Section in Italy for their performance as a duo. These accomplishments propelled the trio along their way to the highest echelons of the tango neuvo elite in Finland, and they are now regarded as trailblazers in the development of tango neuvo and the one of the finest exporters in the performance and composition of new Finnish tango abroad. 

On their first album, La Voz Femenina (Texicalli Records 2007), Las Chicas del Tango focused on the argentinian tango flavored with some of trios own compositions and lyrics. The songs on the second album Tango de Norte a Sur, that will be released in February 20120, were born from a desire to build a bridge between the Finnish and Argentinean worlds of tango by combining Spanish lyrics with its trio member compositions. 

Las Chicas del Tango’s long-standing dream to work with tango legend Horacio Ferrer came true on this album when Ferrer was gracious enough to write lyrics for the trio to set to music.  Maestro Ferrer puts in guest appearance here, reciting his revered musings on three influential Finnish icons: Unto Mononen, Jean Sibelius and Alvar Aalto. At the request of Las Chicas del Tango, the half Finnish-half Bolivian songstress and poet Siboné Oroza  returned to their second album to contribute lyrics on such contemporary themes as the unrestrained pursuit of youth, our need to cherish and look after the planet and environment, and finally, love that can stand the test of time.  

Also found on the album is the work of the great Argentinean poet Alfonsina Storni (1892-1938), one of the most significant Latin American lyricists of her time.  Her work is known for her feminist positions on the role of women in a male-dominated world.  Intrigued by the depth of Storni's descriptions of love and death, the trio chose to compose music to her poems about the eternal embrace of the sea and distressed human relations.

Besides Las Chicas del Tango’s CD:s, Juhola and Viljamaa have also released two works as a duo: Piazzolla Passage (Finlandia Records 2003) and Mi Retorno (Texicalli Records 2007).