Vinyl & Shellac
The craft of DJing with records — from the right stylus to the seamless transition.
Tango Argentino · Vinyl · Music Archive
The sound of a golden age,
played for today.
I’m Patrick — a tango DJ from Cologne. I’ve been dancing tango since 2001, and since 2009 I’ve been behind the decks at milongas: files at first, records by preference today — with time in between at the digitising desk and in my tango library.
D'Arienzo · Di Sarli · Troilo · Pugliese · Canaro · Fresedo · Laurenz · Biagi · Caló · De Angelis · Tanturi · D'Agostino · D'Arienzo · Di Sarli · Troilo · Pugliese · Canaro · Fresedo · Laurenz · Biagi · Caló · De Angelis · Tanturi · D'Agostino ·
As a DJ
Milongas with a feel — and with records
I’ve danced tango since 2001 — and since 2009 I’ve DJed milongas, in Cologne and beyond. Always reading the room, the energy and the moment: tandas that carry, cortinas that let you breathe.
I started out with files; over the years the path led me ever closer to the source. Today my trademark is playing LPs and shellacs — fully analogue. Vinyl brings a warmth and presence into the room that no file can replace — and every record tells its own story.
At the heart of my sets is the music of the Época de Oro — joined by fine transfers of the early Guardia Nueva and, for an extra edge, tangos of the Vanguardia. In short: a varied, compelling evening for the dancers.
Profile · Side A
- In tango since
- 2001
- DJing since
- 2009
- Style
- Traditional · tandas & cortinas
- Audio format
- Analogue: LP & shellac · digital: FLAC
- Sources
- Gehberger · TangoTunes · TangoTimeTravel · Discogs
Listen Back · Side B
A few evenings live on here — as playlists on Spotify. They show what I play, not how it sounds: at the milonga the music comes from records and carefully restored transfers, with a warmth and depth no streaming can capture. The selection is true — the sound is live only.
Beyond the digital catalogue — groove by groove
After building my tango library for more than 15 years, I hit the limits of the digital market. Beyond it lies another world: thousands of performances preserved on records — many of them rarely heard today and hard to reach through digital channels.
That discovery became one of my most rewarding projects as a DJ and collector: I digitise records from my collection and contribute them to the archive at tango-dj.at — many thousands of tracks from 1927 into the 1970s, including orchestras and recordings that are scarcely available in digital form. And the next crates are already waiting.
In cooperation with tango-dj.at — the world’s largest digital tango archive. Members can preview every track, compare versions and explore the analogue layer of tango history: unfamiliar orchestras, alternative recordings, later generations of musicians. For collectors it’s an invaluable tool, too — before buying a record you can often check what awaits you on it.
No. 01
No. 02
Sound Restoration
Careful de-clicking and equalising — as close to the original as possible, with as little intervention as necessary.
No. 03
Musical Knowledge
Orchestras, eras, recordings and pressings — knowledge grown over many years.
The Library
Collected, read, loved
Books, discographies, magazines and records from decades of tango history. Here I show finds from my collection and tell what makes them special.
»A collection is never finished — it only keeps getting more beautiful.«
Fancy a conversation about music?
A question about a recording, about DJing with vinyl or about a particular pressing — I’m happy to hear from you.
Send a message