We've had our Latin love affair with Cuban music and our bossa nova bonanza with the sounds of Brazil. could tango be the next world rhythm to cross over to ineffable dub coolness' The Paris-based Gotan Project are leading the way already by rescuing Argentina's national dance music from its Rudolph Valentino image and middle-aged Mecca ballroom manners with their audacious mix of ekctronica and accordions, Now, from the label that gave us Mariza and rendered Portuguese fado hip again, comes Sandra Luna's debut intemational release. Looking like Bebel Gilberto's Argentinian cousin. Luna has an acoustic approach, and her subtly nuanced backing of bandoneon, strings and acoustic guitars is more traditional than Gotan's daring electronic tango adventure. But she balances the weight of tango's history with a thoroughly contemporary aesthetic as her strong dramatic voice restores the original sensual earthiness to prewar tango classics and makes more recent numbers by the likes of Astor Piazzola entirely her own. The one complaint is that for some inexplicable reason the best and boldest tracks such as the percussive Me Llaman Luna and the intoxicating Que Nadie Sepa Mi Sufrir all seem to have been kept until the end. This means that the casual listener dipping into the first two or three tracks might easily be thrown off the scent. But stick with Tango Varon and you'll soon hear star quality as big as Argentina's bank debt. ****

NIGEL WILLIAMSON / Times