Track Listing

1. Ante Tus Ojos
2. Postales
3. Despertar
4. El Amor De Este Pueblo
5. Esta Noche
6. Diario De Viaje
7. Mona
8. Salvacion
9. Contigo
10. Malena
11. Un Lugar
12. Besos De Sal

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14665 in Music
• Released on: 2004-02-24
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Young Argentine guitarist Federico Aubele became transfixed with the music of Astor Piazzolla even as he listened to the cool lounge sounds of Thievery Corporation and the Six Degrees label. Incredibly, he put these influences together for an exceptional debut album entitled Gran Hotel Buenos Aires. It's produced by the Thievery guys, but one gets the sense that this really came from Aubele. He surrounds his downtempo beats delicate acoustic guitar figures, an array of sexy women singers (all vocals are in Spanish), and a rich tapestry of sounds and tones. Pushing flamenco and various styles of Latin music to the fore, he also draws upon dub and ambient, and it's the grace of this hip fusion that puts Aubelle up there with such genre benders as Manu Chao and the Gotan Project. Highlights include the upbeat "Ante Tus Ojos" and the rich Latin groove "Esta Noche," but the album is strong from beginning to finish. A truly impressive first effort. --Tad Hendrickson

Customer Reviews

hypnotic music
Federico Aubele's album on ESL comes as a refreshing twist in the downtempo/international music scene. Taking guitar-rich songs from his native Argentina, packing them onto the thievery-built sonic cruiser and stopping off in Kingston to drench it all in dub.

There are plenty of dub records out there, and plenty more from Argentina, but this may be worth your time if you dig mellow, haunting downtempo songs with both live and sampled vocals. Good music for chillin'.

The one drawback, I guess, is that this music can seem too-much like wallpaper or fashion music. But taken as part of a deep collection of music or for inclusion in mixes - I'd say this record rates as a classic of its genre. B+

Lovely
One night, in a lounge usually blanketed with generic background electronica, the sneaky dub reggae base of the track "Ante Tus Ojos", at once latin/folky/ambient with sexy Spanish vocals, got my hips swaying and had me bubbling over with excitement! Soon after, I received a copy of Federico Aubele's "Gran Hotel Buenos Aires". If the rest of the album were as good as the opening track, I'd give it a 5. However, they are duller cousins of the first - with the same blend of guitar, female vocals, and ethereal vibe. Not an insult in the least, given the stellar quality of #1 (Esta Noche being second best) The Spanish vocals add even more mystery and sensuality to the already surreal layers. Now if only I could get someone to translate... This album introduced me to the world of Thievery Corp (I also bought their Mirror Conspiracy, Outernationalist, and Babylon Rewind cds). Gran Hotel is a definitely a spawn of a much larger body of work, but with Aubele's Argentinean influence - is a product of its own. I agree that this album does not fall into a specific genre... its not categorically ambient, nor folk, nor lounge. Gran Hotel can be played anywhere: lounge, car, bedroom... as long as you are in the mood to be carried away in a sexy transcendental ride.

Best downtempo/dub/lounge CD to date?
It's hard to believe that such a terrific album was the artist's freshman effort - if you're a fan of downbeat/downtempo/lounge/dub music, you honestly won't find a better CD on the market today than Hotel Buenos Aires

Those of you who are fans of Thievery Corporation, K&D, Hi-Fi Dub sessions, Cafe del Mar, or Morcheeba should probably turn on Amazon's One-Click ordering and get this CD right now. You'll be ecstatic as you listen to Aubelle blend South American style with reggae-infused beats and absolutely terrific Spanish vocals.

I bought this CD a little over a year ago, and it's still one of the staples that comes on the stereo everytime I have a BBQ or a pre/after-hours party. Truly an awesome purchase...pick up this disc and keep it in your changer until his next album comes out - you won't be disappointed.