Press release
PABLO JAURENA PRESENTS NEW MONUMENTAL ALBUM FUEYERÍAS
Fueyerías derives from the slang term “fueye,” the word we use to refer to the bandoneon. But more than a definition, the term evokes a scene: bellows coming together, engaging in dialogue, breathing in unison. A fueyería is, at its core, a gathering; a space for exchange, exploration, and improvisation among bandoneonists. This album stems from that idea and takes it to an uncommon scale. From duos to sextets, Fueyerías explores the universe of bandoneon ensembles as a territory in its own right: a demanding, unusual format, capable of sustaining the entire musical architecture on its own. Here, the bandoneons are not part of an orchestra: they are the orchestra.
The project brings together 31 bandoneon players from 5 countries and 3 continents, in recordings made in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Paris, Madrid, Medellín, and Tokyo. Musicians ranging in age from 90 to 22 participate in this intergenerational collaboration, which brings together diverse career paths, schools, and aesthetic approaches. The production was carried out independently and benefited from the invaluable contribution of Latin Grammy winner Ignacio Varchausky, who served as musical co-producer. Together, Pablo and Ignacio outlined the project’s conceptual framework and made many of the decisions that shaped this journey.
Among the guests at Fueyerías are the renowned masters Víctor Lavallén, Rodolfo Mederos, Néstor Marconi, Lisandro Adrover and Daniel Binelli, alongside prominent figures from later generations such as Juanjo Mosalini, Ryota Komatsu, Claudio Constantini, Ramiro Boero, Lysandre Donoso, Fabrizio Colombo, Santiago Segret, Damián Torres, Jun Hayakawa, Camilo Ferrero, Ayelén Pais, Gaspar Tatián, Giovanni Parra, Satoshi Kitamura, Marco Blandón, Carmela Delgado, Daniel Ruggiero, Juan Pablo Jofre, Natsuki Nishihara, Leandro Yoyo Pane, Franco Bruschini, Astor Cuquejo, Takatoki Susuki and Felipe Etkin. The album also features special guest appearances by double bassists Horacio Cabarcos, Ignacio Varchausky, and Lucas Eubel Frontini on three tracks, bringing the total number of musicians on the recording to 34.
The repertoire is organized into three sections...
The historical revival section presents arrangements and versions for bandoneon ensembles that had remained unpublished or unrecorded for decades. These works are revisited alongside some of their original performers in a gesture that directly connects the past and the present. The new compositions expand the instrument’s language toward contemporary aesthetics. Written specifically for this project, these pieces propose new sounds and open up perspectives on the future of the bandoneon. The new arrangements engage with a fundamental tradition of tango: that of the great bandoneonists-arrangers. Works that had not been previously recorded find their first recording here, renewing that creative lineage.
Fueyerías is also the result of a quest: to explore, understand, and share a repertoire that, in many cases, had remained scattered, neglected, or inaccessible. This work has both artistic and documentary purposes: to document, to create material, and to contribute to the continuity of a tradition.
In that manner, the project also extends into an audiovisual dimension. Each work has its own video recording, and throughout the process, rehearsals, recordings, trips, and encounters were documented: moments of work as well as of shared life. Based on this material, recorded by Yael Szmulewicz and Tan Kurttekin, plans are underway to produce a documentary that captures everything surrounding and shaping Fueyerías.
