Tango 040
Duo Diagonal

Tango Zero-Quatro-Zero
The debut-album of the Tango-masters Duo Diagonal -
an acoustic feast for violin and accordeon

The Duo Diagonal from Hamburg is quite an unconventional musical duo. With violin and accordion the two musicians Hans-Christian Jaenicke and Jörg Siegloch present Argentinean tango and French musettes in such an individual way, that the audience is torn between emotion and subtle comic, totally seduced by the charm and the musical sensitiveness of the duo.

Jaenicke and Siegloch receive enthusiastic feedbacks at their live-performances and they are on their way to become one of the top ensembles all over Germany. Violinist Jaenicke and accordionist Siegloch write all the arrangements on their own, giving each other enough freedom to fill the tunes with spontaneous interpretations.

You might hear on "Tango 040" (040 stands for the phone area code of Hamburg) the variety of Tango Argentino and its influences from France, Russia, from classical music and Jazz. Both instruments are switching positions and attitudes, and their communication is creating scenes and dialogues of music. Well known tango tunes such as „Adios Muchachos“ can be heard alongside with oeuvres from Astor Piazzolla with its partly experimental soundscapes.

The diagonal dialogue of both musicians is unfolding the main topics of Tango as love and passion, nostalgic and touching melodies. But with its great variety of interpretations Duo Diagonal overcomes the mere clichés of Tango. It presents on "Tango 040" an adventure which goes underneath your skin, finds its way through your ears to your head, even more to your heart and also to the dancer‘s legs.
  

Duo Diagonal - Tango 040 in the press :

"Playing the violin is normal, but dancing the violin is really special. [...] With huge and sloping steps he follows the long stroke of his bow, goes down to his knees to play the quiet tones. Siegloch is the stable part reduced to the horizontal movement of his bellows, but with great emotional feeling. A strange picture, with a touch of comic, but also full of vivid expression, that moved the audience, also because the duo has great musical skills.“
Reinhard Palmer / Süddeutsche Zeitung 3.4.2004

"These are not boring copies pressed on CD, but high musical art! Both instruments complete each other perfectly. The CD travels with delight through the varied world of Tango Argentino and you also feel influences from French and Russian Music, from classical and Jazz. To me this is one of the best new releases in the Tango genre at the moment!"
Jörg Buntenbach / www.tangokultur.info

"In all cases Duo Diagonal is a beautiful change to the usual hurdy-gurdy Tango heard between Flensburg and Feuerland."
Jochen Hille

"The Duo Diagonal from Hamburg presents itself in a daring way. They explain their version of Tango and its variations with violin and accordion. Sometimes frightening, but performed with so much pluck, that it is a great fun to listen to them."
Sven Ferchow / NMZ Neue Musikzeitung

"Tango was born in harbour bars in Argentina. In Hamburg you find this bars close to the harbour, too. Maybe this is the reason why one of the most exciting German Tango duos comes from Hamburg. The violin of Hans-Christian Jaenicke weeps, sings and cries, while Jörg Siegloch is tearing a bunch of unexpected sounds out of his accordion. On their record "Tango 040" Duo Diagonal present all kinds of classical musical knowledge and their musical imagination. They easily leave the trodden paths of Tango just to come back one bar later to the erotic and dark origins of this music, Duo Diagonal offers a rollercoaster of emotions."
Roland Altenburger / Querfunk

"Tango 040 is an adventure that not only gets under your skin but is also full of catchy tunes and finds its way to the dancer's legs. The Duo Diagonal knows how to present more than the typical stereotypes of Tango."
buch.de

"They without doubt offer the weirdest Tango at the moment, as if Jeanette Biedermann would have been refreshed with the Sex Pistols and a touch of 'The Libertines'. Violin and accordion play the main part in this great piece of Tango, but sometimes they sound very unusual, they let their instruments take part, they have a life of their own and everybody seems to have his precise roles. Duo Diagonal is easily avoiding all stereotypes, just to test the audience in the next bar with the bow scratching its nerves and simultaneously presenting French Musettes like cheesy sweet Tangos. This is daring, is glowing with artistry and gives new power to a tired genre."
MusikOutlook

"Actually Tango is not diagonal. But Duo Diagonal are enjoying themselves with a chaplinesk comic. Jörg Siegloch is pumping up his accordion to the humming of an orchestra and Hans-Christian Jaenicke presents the sweet melody of ,Balada para un loco' on his violin with overwhelming emotions and you realize the comedy both are presenting. **** (Good)
Hans-Dieter Grünefeld

"Very passionate - although only with two instruments - the German Duo Diagonal with its Tango-improvisations is pointing out the spirit and emotions of Tango more than some traditional recordings. The 'Milonga 040' starts with the scratching sounds of the violin like the crackling of a fire, which is lightened when listening to the music. The violinist Hans-Christian Jaenicke and the accordionist Jörg Siegloch present in their Tango 040 influences from Russian and French Music, from classical and Jazz - and you never miss other sidemen."
Jazzthetik

"With their intense musical dialogues the partners take Milonga and Valse with the ardent stroke of the bow to the Alster. On the buttons of the Italian bellow, the Latin, and also a little bit the Slavic soul is dancing. A great delight for attentive listeners."
Jazz thing

Tango, a musical style loved by so many, that many musicians world-wide play and record their interpretations of this warm and passionate music. Duo diagonal is one of them and with Tango 040 they do a really good job. It's a German duo from Hamburg on violin and accordion. They play tunes by Piazzolla, Clausi, Arolas and others and even play an own composition which, in my opinion, is one of the nicest on the CD. This duo keeps the tango very small, very basic. I find the violin sounding almost classical at moments, beautiful when the accordion gives a heavy sound full of bass and the violin dances with an intense melody on this deep sound. I think Duo Diagonal plays the Tango like it should. It's pure and intense music. Sometimes the music is played so over the top, so orchestral, but this is how I like it. Small and back to basic. Very, very nice.
Folkworld

More Info on Duo Diagonal