From the so-called folklore inspired by provincial cultures to the tango that once took over the big cities, from the vibrant rock of yesteryear to the pounding urban music that dominates the market today, Argentina has a musical history full of crossovers. And it is in this field of mixture between the new and the old, between the emerging and the traditional, that local electronic music has excelled. Electronic music in Argentina has become a global genre, capable of merging everything, uniting the opposite and giving new life to the past. The Argentine electronic music scene has experienced a remarkable growth over the last four decades, evolving from niche underground parties to massive international festivals. Today it remains one of the most distinctive scenes in the world.
Electronic music began to emerge in Argentina in the 1980s, but it wasn’t until the early 2000s that the genre started to break into the mainstream. Since the second half of the 1990s, the Argentine electronic music scene experienced a fundamental breakthrough, driven by a new generation of DJs — key figures like Dero, Hernán Cattáneo, Diego Ro-K, Carlos Alfonsín, Zuker, Javier Bussola, Aldo Haydar and Carla Tintoré. Also, the Urban Groove collective played a crucial role in cultivating the scene, while clubs such as The Age of Communication, Morocco, Ave Porco, and Pachá became iconic points of this emerging culture. The first local raves held at Parque Sarmiento — known as Underground Park — embodied the raw, rebellious spirit of the time, helping lay the foundation for the explosive growth of Argentina’s electronic music scene in the following decade.
The rise of pioneering DJs such as Hernán Cattáneo occurred precisely — and not coincidentally — as Argentina became more and more present in the global electronic music scene. In the early 2000s, his success helped put Argentina on the map for high-level electronic music. As one of the most internationally recognized DJs, Cattáneo brought legitimacy to a local scene that continued to grow. In line with this expansion, Buenos Aires became a hotspot for international DJs and electronic music festivals, from Creamfields to MUTEK. At the same time, a burgeoning underground movement was exploring new experimental fusions of electronic beats with popular music such as cumbia villera and traditional local sounds such as tango and folklore, creating a unique and innovative, distinctly Argentine soundscape.
Electronic tango fuses the traditional with the modern, reflecting Argentina’s dynamic musical evolution. At the forefront of this movement is Bajofondo, a collective founded in the early 2000s by Argentinean Gustavo Santaolalla and Uruguayan Juan Campodónico to bring a new sound to the urban life of the Río de la Plata. Bajofondo’s music carries the essence of tango — its melancholy, sensuality, and dramatic flair — while incorporating trip-hop, ambient, and dance beats. Their groundbreaking album Bajofondo Tango Club (2002) marked a pivotal moment, revitalizing the iconic sound of tango, with its rhythms and orchestral arrangements, and propelling this project into the global electronic music scene. They proved that electronic tango is not merely a remix of the past but a fresh expression that honors tradition while pushing boundaries. Their collaborations range from legends like Gustavo Cerati to rising rappers like YSY A.
Commendable electronic music label that raised the flag of digital cumbia, ZZK Records is now a cultural platform that includes record releases, music and art showcases, films, and multimedia projects that explore the intersection of education and entertainment. But there’s a story behind all this, a story that dates back to late 2006, when Grant C. Dull, Guillermo Canale and Diego Bulacio began shaping the Zizek party series in Buenos Aires. Preceded by Festicumex and Dick El Demasiado’s experimental cumbia performances, Zizek Club quickly gained popularity under the umbrella of an avant-garde sound: bastard pop. This hybrid mixes electronic music, hip-hop and dancehall with Latin rhythms such as cumbia and reggaeton. In 2008, ZZK Records was born to capture an underground scene of artists exploring electronica’s hypnotic beats and cumbia’s joyful sounds. The first compilation ZZK Sound: Vol. 1 includes names that would become emblematic of the label: Chancha Vía Circuito, King Coya, El Remolón and Faauna.
Co-founder of Zizek Club and ZZK Records, Diego Bulacio is best known for his stage name Villa Diamante and his skills as a mashup DJ. With a long career in the underground club circuit, as well as performances at major festivals such as Creamfields and Lollapalooza, Villa Diamante emerged twenty years ago to disrupt the dance floor, daring to mix everything that had not been mixed before, from music genres to social classes. That’s why, although he’s one of the most popular DJs in Argentina, his name is not only linked to electronic music but also to cumbia, rock, folklore and hip-hop. A passionate explorer of all mutations of cumbia, from Colombia to Peru, from the province of Santa Fe to the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Diego is curious by nature. He has the concept of mixing in his DNA. There are his mashup albums to prove it: Bailando Se Entiende La Gente (2007), Empacho Digital (2012), Por Amor Al Baile (2013) and Lanús Oeste (2016).
This is not only about digital cumbia but also about digital folklore. Since the beginning of ZZK Records, there’s Pedro Canale with his project Chancha Vía Circuito. A wizard in the art of mixing folklore and cumbia with electronica, Canale uses a minimalist approach to blend afro-dance, downtempo, dub, tribal house, IDM and murga rhythms. Over two decades, he has released several albums, EPs and remixes, with vocal collaborations ranging from Lido Pimienta and Mateo Kingman to Luvi Torres and Fémina. There’s also Gaby Kerpel, a pioneer in the fusion of electronic music with Latin American folklore, with his danceable alias King Coya. Digital folklore continued to expand at ZZK with the arrival of Agustín Rivaldo, a musician and luthier with a nomadic spirit who performs as Barrio Lindo. Part of a generation of artists who take up the legacy of the continent’s ancestral rhythms to recreate them from the electronic culture, Barrio Lindo has collaborated with Nicola Cruz (Ecuador), Dengue Dengue Dengue (Peru) and El Búho (UK).
Twenty years ago, almost in sync with the ZZK laboratories in Buenos Aires, the electronic folk duo Tonolec emerged in the northern province of Chaco. There was singer Charo Bogarín and producer/multi-instrumentalist Diego Pérez, who honored the ethnic culture of their region by fusing soulful folklore melodies with electronic beats. Years ago, Diego also ventured out as a solo artist under the alias Nación Ekeko to expand his sonic palette and map of influences. Just recently, Tigre Sounds published an exclusive interview with him to promote his brand-new album Gran Espíritu.
Electronic music in Argentina is growing beyond mainstream hits, even beyond export fusions with traditional sounds such as tango and folklore. As in its origins, Argentina’s underground scene remains a vital part of the country’s electronic music culture. Small, intimate venues and underground parties have long been a space for local DJs and producers to experiment, collaborate and create new sounds. There has always been a lot of back and forth with avant-garde rock. Some support came from emblematic artists such as Gustavo Cerati and Daniel Melero, who always had an electronic profile alongside their careers as singer-songwriters, and who didn’t hesitate in the 90s to sponsor emerging talents such as Leandro Fresco and Flavio Etcheto. Some bands like Babasónicos continued this trend by releasing remixes and collaborating with DJs.
This organic connection with rock continues with Peces Raros, one of the most solid referents of local electronic music and probably the most impressive performance to be seen live in Argentina today. Formed by Lucio Consolo and Marco Viera, this duo from La Plata already has ten years of career and five albums released. They were formed in rock but had their breaking point playing an electronic set at a Time Warp festival. Influenced by The Chemical Brothers and that time when raves were lived as trippy experiences, Peces Raros bets on taking the energy of the live show to the maximum.
Looking ahead, the Argentine electronic music scene shows no signs of slowing down. As digital platforms continue to expand their reach, more local DJs are gaining international recognition. Emerging talents like Franzizca, Ludmila Di Pasquale, Mariano Mellino, and Juan Hansen are leaving their mark with acclaimed performances and unmistakable sounds. Co-founder of the Techno Moon party, Franzizca is known for her bold acid techno style, driving hypnotic beats and infectious bass lines that take dance floors by storm. Ludmila Di Pasquale blends deep house with minimal techno, crafting immersive, atmospheric sets that showcase her intuitive sense of groove and space. Mariano Mellino is known for his smooth progressive house that masterfully combines melodic elements with subtle and atmospheric touches. Juan Hansen, who closes Babasónico’s shows and remixes some of their songs, has a strong rock influence that blends with progressive house and techno. The result is a sound as eclectic as it is organic, always ready to dance.
Of course, when we talk about dance trends, we can’t ignore the advance of techengue. We know that it’s an amalgamation of two genres: “cachenge” — as party music is called, whether it’s reggaeton, trap or cumbia — and “techno” (or tech house, if we want to be precise). And we know that its most successful reference is DJ Gordo, alias of the American-Nicaraguan Diamanté Anthony Blackmon. Argentina also has a techengue movement, led by DJs such as Facundo Majdalani, Nacho Serra, and Luciano Troncoso. Perhaps the most distinctive local feature is the addition of RKT (a subgenre of cumbia villera, from the suburbs of Buenos Aires, with the addition of the reggaeton vocal style).
Last but not least, we cannot fail to point out that Baño María, the first full-length album that Ca7triel & Paco Amoroso released after years of singles and breaks for parallel projects, is quite electronic musically. Released last April, this album of electronic songs loaded with sharp rhymes may disorient many who are looking for something similar to the sensational performance that the duo gave not long ago at Tiny Desk Concerts. True to their restless spirit, they continue to dazzle with their live shows, their delirious concepts, and their talent for experimenting with hip-hop, funk, pop and electronic music.