Tango fusion group Bajofondo keeps the energy in its music through its high-tech, long-distance relationship.
Two of its members, drummer Adrian Sosa and producer-composer Gustavo Santaolalla, live in Los Angeles. Four more are in Uruguay, and two are in Argentina.
Collaborating through the Internet, members send song concepts by e-mail and upload funky beats and melodies to FTP sites.
"Ten years ago, I would talk to my mother in Argentina on the phone, and it was like she was on another planet," Sosa said in a recent interview. "Now I can talk to someone in Buenos Aires on a chat program and it feels like he is right here with me."
Sosa said the distance gives Bajofondo, coming to the Rialto Theatre for the first time next Thursday, a leg up on other groups of its kind.
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"Every time we see each other, it is like a celebration," he said, adding that less practice means more spontaneity during shows.
Of course, the group isn't sweating much competition Stateside these days. The prevalence of nationally touring tango fusion groups is minimal at best. Tucson is a part of the band's first 14-day nationwide run and will be its last stop before it hits the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif.
Bajofondo is the brainchild of guitarist Juan Campodónico and Santaolalla, who is known best for his production work with artists such as Juanes, Molotov and Café Tacuba, as well as score work for the films "Brokeback Mountain" and "Babel."
When the band first took shape in 2002, the goal was simple: create songs that combined fresh electronic beats with the traditional acoustic instrumentation that made up tango music.
The concept, at the time, was still new, which is probably why Bajofondo, then known as the Bajofondo Tango Club, celebrated so much success. The band won a Latin Grammy in 2003 for its self-titled debut and has sold more than 300,000 copies of it since.
With its 2008 release, "Mar Dulce" (Sweet Sea), Bajofondo evolved and branched out into new territory.
The group dropped "Tango Club" from its name for this release and included elements of other musical styles found along the Río de la Plata, the estuary that separates Montevideo, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires.
The recording has a little milonga and some candombe. Classic sounds swirl around contemporary rhythms in a mix of live piano, violin, upright bass, drums and plenty of electronic sampling.
"We've expanded our horizons," Sosa said. "It is not like we don't like tango. We do plenty of that, too. We just avoid saying we do electronic tango. We do the music from the Río de la Plata."
An array of popular artists adds new dimensions to the group's sound. Vocalists Mala Rodríguez, Nelly Furtado and Julieta Venegas sing atop lush and vibrant soundscapes.
Even Elvis Costello takes a stab at tango on Santaolalla's "Fairly Right," the only track on the album in English.
"They might not have anything to do with tango," Sosa said of the guest artists, "but we felt they had a tango vibe. There is a tango vibe in a lot of artists, even if they don't know what tango is. We felt Elvis was one of them."
Seasoned tango performers also have a place on "Mar Dulce."
Japanese bandoneón virtuoso Ryota Komatsu guests on the dance track "Pa' Bailar," and legendary tango vocalist Lágrima Ríos brings that classic appeal on the track "Chiquilines."
It would be Ríos' last recording before her death in 2006.
"Sometimes with traditional tango musicians, you have to be careful, because it is hard for them to understand what we are doing," Sosa said. "They think we are manipulating their music. But she was interested. She listened and said, 'You have this great young energy, and that is good for all of us.' "
Sosa said the group is still deciding what to do next. Whatever it may be, he adds, tango will still be at the heart of it all.
"All of us remember our fathers singing tango while shaving or from the sidelines while we were playing soccer," he said. "When I was a kid, I was more into rock. I wanted to be a drummer. But living in Argentina, you find that tango is inside of you. You discover it is part of your DNA."
• What: Bajofondo in concert.
• When: 8 p.m. next Thursday.
• Where: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St.
• Cost: $21 in advance and $23 the day of the show through the box office, 740-1000.
