Mateo y Trasante

Mateo y Trasante is a live recording documenting a pivotal collaboration between Eduardo Mateo, a cornerstone of Uruguayan Candombe-beat, and percussionist Jorge Trasante. Captured during a 1976 concert at the Alianza Francesa in Montevideo, the performance represents a raw and intimate chapter in Mateo’s career, following his more experimental psychedelic work. It serves as a vital historical document of the stripped-back, improvisational synergy between two of Uruguay's most influential musical minds, emphasizing the rhythmic complexity of the candombe tradition fused with Mateo's idiosyncratic songcraft.

The 2006 release on the Sondor label brought these archival tapes to a wider contemporary audience, preserving the spontaneous energy of a performance that had previously circulated primarily through underground channels. The design and presentation were intended to honor the stark, unadorned nature of the original recording, stripping away studio artifice to highlight the duo’s technical prowess. Upon its release, the album was well-received by Latin American music historians and fans of experimental folk, recognized as an essential testament to the evolution of Uruguayan popular music during a politically fraught era.