Gotan Project is an electrotango group based in Paris, consisting of French… Read Full Bio ↴Gotan Project is an electrotango group based in Paris, consisting of Frenchman Philippe Cohen Solal, Eduardo Makaroff from Argentina, and Christoph H. Müller, from Switzerland and a former member of Touch El Arab.

They formed in 1999. Their first release was Vuelvo Al Sur/El Capitalismo Foráneo in 2000, followed by the album La Revancha del Tango in 2001. Their music is clearly tango, but also uses electronic elements such as samples, beats and breaks.

Live material was broadcast on Gilles Peterson's world music show Worldwide on BBC one in May 2004. Philippe Cohen Solal has also released a DJ set: Inspiracion, Espiracion (P. Cohen Solal DJ Mix) (2004). This album is a compilation of classic tangos from the likes of Anibal Troilo and Astor Piazzolla and Gotan Project remixes. The album also includes a bonus CD with the track La Cruz del Sur - which was meant to be included on La Revancha del Tango, but didn't make the cut in 2001.

Their last album Tango 3.0 was released on April 19, 2010.

The name of the trio comes from a form of wordplay very common in Rioplatense Spanish's argot named vesre. This wordplay involves the reversal of syllables. Thus, the word 'Tan-go' becomes 'Go-tan', the name the trio have chosen for their project.

Last Tango in Paris
Gotan Project Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

We don't exist
We are nothing but shadow and mist
In the mirror we look as we pass
No reflection's revealed in the glass
Don't you know that the blood in your vein is as lifeless as yesterday's rain?
It's a game where we come to conceal the confusion we feel
But as long as we're nameless our bodies are blameless
You cried when we kissedIt was nothing but shadow and mist

Two illusions who touch in a trancemaking love not by choice but by chance
To a theme that we tore from the past to a tango we swore was the last
We are shadows who dance
We don't exist
We are nothing but shadow and mist
In the mirror we look as we pass
No reflection's revealed in the glass
Don't you know that the blood in your veinis as lifeless as yesterday's rain?
It's a game where we come to conceal the confusion we feel
But as long as we're nameless our bodies are blameless
You cried when we kissedIt was nothing but shadow and mist
Two illusions who touch in a trancemaking love not by choice but by chance
To a theme that we tore from the past to a tango we swore was the last

We are shadows who dance
We are shadows who dance

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Gotan Project's Last Tango in Paris convey a sense of existential nihilism and transient passion. The opening lines assert that the characters in the song, and by extension, all people, are ephemeral and insubstantial, mere "shadow and mist." They pass through life like ghosts, with no lasting impact on the world or others around them. This idea is reinforced by the image of looking in a mirror and seeing no reflection, which implies a lack of identity or substance. The next line "Don't you know that the blood in your vein is as lifeless as yesterday's rain?" emphasizes the point that humans are mere biological beings, who are born, live, and die, ultimately leaving nothing behind.

The song then takes a turn towards romance or perhaps just physical intimacy. The lyrics imply that the characters experience an intense connection, but it is not a choice - it is something that happens by chance, perhaps out of loneliness or desperation. The lines "Two illusions who touch in a trance/making love not by choice but by chance" evoke a sense of surrender and a desire to escape the emptiness of existence. The tango music they dance to is borrowed from the past, but the lyrics suggest that it is the final dance, signaling an end to the fleeting connection they are experiencing.

The repetition of the line "We are shadows who dance" serves as a refrain, underscoring the idea that the characters are fleeting, insubstantial beings who are caught up in the momentary pleasure of their dance. The song is a reflection on the transience of human life and the search for something transient and meaningful.

Line by Line Meaning

We don't exist
Our existence is fleeting and insignificant

We are nothing but shadow and mist
We are insubstantial and ethereal

In the mirror we look as we pass
We are transient and fleeting, like a reflection in a mirror

No reflection's revealed in the glass
Our true selves cannot be seen in a mirror

Don't you know that the blood in your vein is as lifeless as yesterday's rain?
Our existence is no more alive than the lifeless precipitation of yesterday

It's a game where we come to conceal the confusion we feel
Life is a game in which we hide our confusion and uncertainty

But as long as we're nameless our bodies are blameless
As anonymous individuals, we cannot be held accountable for our actions

You cried when we kissed It was nothing but shadow and mist
Our emotional connection was fleeting and insubstantial

Two illusions who touch in a trance making love not by choice but by chance
Our love is not a deliberate choice, but rather a result of circumstance and illusion

To a theme that we tore from the past to a tango we swore was the last
Our love is based on past experiences and we know it will come to an end

We are shadows who dance
We are fleeting and insubstantial beings who dance through life