Born and raised in Buenos Aires, he started playing music at 12, with his early musical influences coming from his mother, an amateur guitarist and a notary by profession. He moved to Berlin in 2001 during the Argentine economic crisis, where he lived for several years. After submitting a demo via email to Thievery Corporation's Eighteenth Street Lounge Music, he was signed quickly to the label and in 2003 released his debut album Gran Hotel Buenos Aires , produced by Thievery Corporation. In 2006, he played at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. His song "Esta Noche" was featured in the 5th season of the TV series Alias. After Berlin, he moved to Barcelona where he began working on his next album, Panamericana, which was released on September 18, 2007, also produced by Thievery Corporation.
He now lives in Barcelona, Spain and he frequently returns to Buenos Aires.
Malena
Federico Aubele Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
y en cada verso pone su corazon.
A yuyo del suburbio su voz perfuma,
Malena tiene pena de bandoneon.
Tal vez, alla en la infancia, su voz de alondra
tomo ese tono oscuro del callejon,
o acaso aquel romance que solo nombra
cuando se pone triste con el alcohol.
Malena tiene pena de bandoneón.
Tu cancion
tiene el frio del ultimo encuentro,
tu cancion
se hace amarga en la sal del recuerdo.
Yo no se
si tu voz es la flor de una pena,
solo se que al rumor de tus tangos, Malena,
te siento mas buena,
mas buena que yo.
Tus ojos son oscuros como el olvido,
tus labios, apretados como el rencor,
tus manos, dos palomas que sienten frio,
tus venas tienen sangre de bandoneon.
Tus tangos son criaturas abandonadas
que cruzan sobre el barro del callejon,
cuando todas las puertas estan cerradas
y ladran los fantasmas de la cancion.
Malena canta el tango con voz quebrada;
Malena tiene pena de bandoneon.
The song Malena by Federico Aubele is a tribute to a woman named Malena who sings tango like no one else, putting her heart into every verse. The song describes her voice as fragrant like a suburb weed and her songs as the abandoned creatures that roam through the mud of the alleyway. Malena has sorrow like a bandoneon, an accordion-like instrument used in tango music. Perhaps Malena's voice took on the same dark tone as the alleys in her childhood or the romance that she only mentions when she's sad with alcohol. Malena sings with a shadowy voice that carries her sorrow like a bandoneon.
The second verse of the song speaks directly to Malena, acknowledging the coldness of their last encounter and the bitterness that arises from reminiscing. Federico sings about his uncertainty surrounding whether Malena's voice is born of sadness, but he feels her tangos in his heart and knows that she is good. Her eyes are dark as oblivion, her lips tight as venom, and her hands like two cold doves, with veins full of the blood and passion of the bandoneon. Malena's tangos are the creatures left behind, wandering the street when all doors are closed, and the ghosts of the songs howl in the background. The last line repeats the chorus, highlighting Malena's broken voice and sorrowful heart.
Line by Line Meaning
Malena canta el tango como ninguna
Malena sings the tango like no one else
y en cada verso pone su corazon.
and puts her heart into every verse.
A yuyo del suburbio su voz perfuma,
Her voice perfumes the suburb's weed
Malena tiene pena de bandoneon.
Malena's heart aches for the bandoneon.
Tal vez, alla en la infancia, su voz de alondra
Perhaps in childhood, her lark-like voice
tomo ese tono oscuro del callejon,
took on the dark tone of the alley.
o acaso aquel romance que solo nombra
Or perhaps that romance she only mentions
cuando se pone triste con el alcohol.
when she becomes sad with alcohol.
Malena canta el tango con voz de sombra;
Malena sings the tango in a shadowy voice;
Malena tiene pena de bandoneón.
Malena's heart aches for the bandoneon.
Tu cancion
Your song
tiene el frio del ultimo encuentro,
has the coldness of the last encounter,
tu cancion
your song
se hace amarga en la sal del recuerdo.
becomes bitter in the salt of memory.
Yo no se
I don't know
si tu voz es la flor de una pena,
if your voice is the flower of sorrow,
solo se que al rumor de tus tangos, Malena,
all I know is that at the sound of your tangos, Malena,
te siento mas buena,
I feel you're better
mas buena que yo.
better than me.
Tus ojos son oscuros como el olvido,
Your eyes are as dark as oblivion,
tus labios, apretados como el rencor,
your lips, tight like bitterness,
tus manos, dos palomas que sienten frio,
your hands, two doves that feel cold,
tus venas tienen sangre de bandoneon.
your veins have the blood of the bandoneon.
Tus tangos son criaturas abandonadas
Your tangos are abandoned creatures
que cruzan sobre el barro del callejon,
that cross over the mud of the alleyway,
cuando todas las puertas estan cerradas
when all the doors are closed
y ladran los fantasmas de la cancion.
and the ghosts of the song bark.
Malena canta el tango con voz quebrada;
Malena sings the tango with a broken voice;
Malena tiene pena de bandoneon.
Malena's heart aches for the bandoneon.
Contributed by Jacob I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.