Eagle-eyed observers may have noticed the word ‘Gotan’ is actually Tango with its syllables reversed. Rest assured though, there’s nothing back to front about this suave outfit.

With an even broader sound palette than ever before, rich instrumentation weaves melodies that in short will charm the pants right off of you. According to the humble opinion of Christoph, it’s by far the trio’s most accomplished and most heartfelt work to date

Philippe Cohen Solal, Christoph Mueller and Eduardo Makaroff otherwise known to you and me as Gotan Project, coalesced formally at the tail end of the 1990s through a mutual love and understanding of electronic and acoustic musics.

Their aim was ambitious and inspiring; to produce a new form of music never heard before. And looking as stunningly dapper as they did in their sharp tailored suits, you would have believed them too.

Today Fly is having a brief chinwag with Christoph, who on the eve of the trio’s hotly-anticipated new album seems in upbeat mood, rating its chances of success as extremely good.

Half a decade later and Lunatico is the Parisian trio’s first studio outing since their 2001 debut La Revancha del Tango. Fusing all variants of electronica with the alluring seductive rhythm of tango their debut proved a sound phenomenon, selling in excess of a million copies worldwide.

Those familiar with the work of the Gotan’s will know that fusing instrumentation with electronic trickery has always been their speciality. However, Christoph stresses that for Lunatico it was the trio’s intention to have instrumentation in the driving seat this time around

With recording split between Buenos Aires and Paris, this much anticipated follow-up features a whole host of local session musicians and vocalists such as Caceres, Jimi Santos, Koxmoz and Cristina Vilallonga. There are gorgeous collaborations aplenty, not least with long time Gotan Project collaborator Argentinean pianist Gustavo Beytelmann and the Tucson-based collective Calexico to highlight just a few.

With an even broader sound palette than ever before, rich instrumentation weaves melodies that in short will charm the pants right off of you. According to the humble opinion of Christoph, it’s by far the trio’s most accomplished and most heartfelt work to date.

Listen to ‘Amor Porteno’ the smoldering opener with luscious warm vocal support courtesy of Cristina Vilallonga; title track ‘Lunatico’ a number that struts and swings yet’s laced with a hint of pathos; ‘Mi Confesion’ a formidable hard hitter featuring the deft MC work of Koxmoz and the cover of Ry Coopers ‘Paris, Texas’ a wonderfully somber introspective closer, and you’ll know what I’m saying.

The album title Lunatico actually derives from the name of tango hero Carlos Gardel’s champion racehorse of the 1930s. Acknowledged by many as the King of Tango Gardel

One of the most striking of all the tracks and the natural choice for first single is ‘Differente’; the most infectious of grooves, its pulsating bass and driving percussion reverberates on a level par with the classic dance floor swagger of ‘Triptico’.

Those familiar with the work of the Gotan’s will know that fusing instrumentation with electronic trickery has always been their speciality. However, Christoph stresses that for Lunatico it was the trio’s intention to have instrumentation in the driving seat this time around.

A dedicated strings arranger drafted in to explore the trio’s love of cinematic music reaped impressive results, classic traditional tango patterns abound — reminiscent of the work of genre legends such as Anibal Troilio.

One person that has more of an abiding influence on the work of the Gotan however is Carlos Gardel.

The album title Lunatico actually derives from the name of tango hero Carlos Gardel’s champion racehorse of the 1930s. Acknowledged by many as the King of Tango Gardel or ‘El Zorzal Criollo’ (The Creole Thrush) as he was fondly known was, Christoph believes, he was as important to tango music as Sinatra was to the Americans.

Gardel was tango’s first superstar, his presence throughout Latin America and Western Europe was of heavyweight proportions and remains so today in the eyes of The Gotan.

It’s at this point of our chat that Christoph gets all over-excited. This gush of enthusiasm speaks volumes about the Gotan’s love and respect for this revered legend.

An extensive touring schedule is underway for the Gotan Project and if the last tour was anything to go by, their return to the fray is something that should be treated as a little bit special. Christoph for one is certainly excited to take to the road what he believes is the most driving, dancefloor friendly work ever to be unleashed by the Gotan.

Raising the bar once again by exploring the potential of tango further than ever before, The Gotan Project aren’t just needed in the sphere of world music, they’re absolutely neccessary.

Lunatico is available now on CD or LP format on XL recordings.

Gotan Project photographed by Pablo Carrera Oser