ZYX Germany Vinyl & CDs

Review: Somewhat confusingly, much of the music we assume was recorded by Italian Italo-disco group Koto was actually made by Dutch producer Michiel van der Kuy - albeit in a similar style. From The Dawn Of Time, which first surfaced in 1992 three years after he controversially acquired the name, is one such release. This reissue - the first on vinyl, as far as we can ascertain - shows what van der Kuy brought to the project, namely a rush-inducing sense of euphoria, synth riffs reminiscent of Euro-dance club cuts from the period, and rock-solid musicianship. Combine these with throbbing, Italo-disco and Hi-NRG style basslines, bustling machine drums and plenty of sonic star-gazing, and you have a post-Italo album that sticks closely to the blueprint laid out by the Dutchman's Italian predecessors.