That's right, they can easily be mixed and extended. I once expanded a Bajo Fondo piece up to 20 minutes using my Traktor controller. The dancers were thrilled and cheered me on. But that was at my birthday party in late summer, not at a formal milonga. Young people need (and seek) more formal channels of expression. Improvisation and freestyle overwhelm them. We seniors have an advantage in this regard.
Not overly keen on some of their music, but it's a subjective matter of taste. Live music is, most often, welcome.
The key instrument in earlier AT music is, of course, the bandoneon. But it's about the effect it achieves, by the skill of the player on those notes, not just the tune. Other instruments (more common, 'easier') can approach that effect. We live in times where we can't afford the full orchestra, so compromises must be made. (And, if you had a full orchestra, or even some live band, then I wouldn't expect TTVTTM, or 4-song tandas!). The key element, for social AT, is that it should be danceable by regular dancers snd not require 'performers'.
How many milongas in NYC have 3 songs tandas ?
I have heard a lot of live sets where some songs are originally composed by the band itself. They are very danceable. Gotan project music is good to listen to but goes in a different direction.
Wow. I didn’t know there were so many contemporary bands. But I am not surprised.
I don’t think that is their purpose. I know my non-tango friends who like listening to these on long drives.
Hoy Milonga has a pretty great orchestra page that links to at least one song of the bands that are active in the BsAs scene. It’s pretty great Orchestras
And the technical level of these musicians is incredibly high. Even though some say the GA bands are unsurpassed, I often find the contemporary musicians much better. Back then, orchestras were larger, and from the third violin and fourth bando onward, it was only about volume. I played in the "Orquestra Doble-H" for a while. The classically trained violinists literally had to relearn their instruments because the bowing technique in 1940s BsAs was completely different.
I can’t remember the names, but I have danced to live music by may be half of these mentioned. In a year if I am going out regularly I end up dancing to about 20 different bands/groups. Some local, and some visiting. They might play a few originals.
I use different terminology. For me, the music you're referring to is "retro", since it mostly uses old arrangements and is based on the sound of historical models. I find Gotan &al. is contemporary.
I'm an so-called 80:20 tango DJ (i.e., 20% non-, neo-, what-the-?, otros ritmos). Not because I love in particular neo-tango and the like, but simply because the average traditional milonga audience loves variety. I always get a lot of compliments that someone is finally brave playing neo-tango at traditional milongas. It's not about pure doctrine; we DJs have to cater to the masses, not the die-hards.