Review: Some artistic edits from a brand new series. We're not sure who the "unknown artist" is behind the reworks (which date from this year and 2016 respectively), but it's clear that they know what they're doing. A-side "Baby Baby Please" is a wonderfully dubbed-out and glassy-eyed revision of a lesser-known Italo-disco/Hi-NRG cover of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' classic "Don't Leave Me This Way" that boasts a killer vocal breakdown midway through. Over on the flip, "True Destiny" is an epic, low-slung revision of an obscure disco number that rightly emphasizes the heavy groove pushing the track forward and includes some tasty delay and echo trickery.
Review: It would be fair to say that Charlie's "Spacer Woman" is timeless; an Italo-disco classic that has aged far better than many of its cheesy contemporaries. Recorded and released in 1983, the track is far more cosmic and intergalactic in feel than many of its synth-pop influenced contemporaries, doffing a cap to U.S electro as well as the electronic disco productions of Giorgio Moroder and Patrick Cowley. It became something of a dancefloor anthem in Chicago and Detroit on the eve of the house and techno revolutions and remains one of the best electronic dance records of all time. Here both the vocal and instrumental versions are presented in re-mastered form on hand numbered vinyl. If you don't already own a copy, snap one of these up pronto.
Review: REPRESS ALERT: This is a reissue that will have all Italo hunters rejoicing - Topo's "Ba Ba Go, Go" is the kind of holy grail jam that gets bootlegged and still commands high prices. It's not hard to see why - it's a masterclass of otherworldly electronic disco with a prog rock bent and an insanely catchy, oddball vocal hook. With its minimal synth lines and subtly spooky futurist mood, it's every inch the curveball classic. It's shocking it's taken this long for an official remastered version of this track to surface, but don't sleep because it might not be around for long.
Review: Here comes the Best train with a payload of disco delights from the depths of time, and this is one trip you don't want to miss. "Il Veliero" is a club classic immortalized in so many great versions, from Lucio Battisti's original version to the epic cover by The Chaplin Band, but here's LAMA's English language version "Love On The Rocks" from 1983, which gives the infectious melancholy an electro injection. On the flip things take a more ominous turn with the gothic Italo tint of "Nineteen Ninety Three" - camp and dark hearted in equal measure, and utterly magnificent.
Review: Coral City return early in 2022 with an excellent release. N&W are on duty again here with three stand-out tracks. 'Rave' the A-Side is exactly what it says on the tin. It's 808 State meets Larry Heard with a touch of Inner City. Stripped down and four to floor. Classic Roland 909 drums are met with aAhook that shakesAany dancefloor, expect early support with this. 'Speed' is a killer Nu-Disco / Boogie affair with a nod to the seedy underworld of the '80s, Picture Michelle Pfeiffer throwing shapes on the dancefloor in Scarface, and you are right on the nose. Finally, 'Cherry' is an all-out Italo / Hi-NRG workout, the linndrums, the driving arpeggio bassline and overall melancholy feel, is reminiscent of Bobby Orlando.
Review: Best are really reaching for the serious stuff here - Stopp was one of those mythical one hit wonders of the Italo disco era that somehow caught a wave on distant shores. It's not hard to see why "I'm Hungry" was huge with the early Chicago house wave and DJs like Ron Hardy. It's a surefire banger, all daggering arpeggio basslines and romantic, mystical lead lines with a catchy vocal chant line to really set the party off. The "Caramba Mix" is no slouch either, edging in a little more club-ready dynamics for those who need a more beat-oriented ingredient for their proto-house cocktail.
Review: Tobias Bernstrup is a contemporary musician and video artist born 1970 in Gothenburg, Sweden. He received an MFA from Royal College University of Fine Arts Stockholm in 1998. Using the visual language of pop culture, video games, sci-fi, classicism and gothic noir, he has created a stage persona with notorious live performances. Dressed in elaborate costumes of skin-tight rubber suits and fetish gear, Tobias' external appearance is androgynous. He raises questions about representation of identity, the body and physical space in both virtual and non-virtual realities. Between 1997 and 1998 he self-released two limited CD-R EPs. In 2002 his debut album 'Re-Animate Me' was released by Tonight Records followed by two limited 12" singles for the song "27" and the Italian version "Ventisette".
Review: Moana Pozzi was primarily a pornographic actor, but during the 1980s and early 90s also notched up a number of club and crossover hits in her native Italy. This 12" from Mondo Groove brings together her three most sought-after cuts, adding in an extra unreleased treat in the shape of 'Bonita', a breezy-and-sleazy house-not-house number of the Balearic kind that was apparently a firm favourite in her 'spicy' live shows. Perhaps the best known of the included classic cuts is 'Supermacho (Extended)', where Pozzi's sleazy and dead-eyed vocals rise above a throbbing Italo-disco groove and chiming melodies. Elsewhere, 'Impulso Di Sesso' is a more dubbed-out and dreamy chunk of eccentric Italo-disco, while 'Let's Dance' is a synth-sporting, Madonna-influenced synth-pop treat.
Review: For his latest outing on the Good Timin' imprint he set up some years back, Jex Opolis is joined by Ian D Knight. The St Louis-based performance artist notably makes his presence felt on "Look At My Car", delivering a vocal inspired by "consumerism and rampant motorism" over the NYC producer's superb, Padlock-inspired, boogie-dub groove. The Compass Point influence also comes to the fore on closer "Guitar Sands", where intertwining guitar and synthesizer motifs stretch out across a Larry Levan-friendly backing track. The EP's other cut, "Rimini Nite", successfully pays tribute to the halcyon days of Italo-disco. It's every bit as thrilling as the rest of this superb 12".
Review: Italo-disco classic alert! Recorded and released in 1983, 'Cybernetic Love' was the first of a string of Italo-era club hits from the late Salvatore Cusano AKA Casco - an undeniably the most impactful and timeless. On the A-side you'll find the original mixes: a sweet vocal version featuring lyrics seemingly about falling in love with a robot, and an instrumental tale in which Cusano and his collaborators' dreamy chords, sparkling synthesizer melodies, funky electro bass and unfussy machine drums come to the fore. Over on the flip you'll find a new remix from Danilo Braca. He wisely retains the feel of the original, adding a few clonking electronic bleeps and a more chugging groove, whilst retaining the sparkling melodies and immersive chords.
Review: Craft Music's Good For Dance series continues with its second instalment and this one has been curated by none other than DJ Craft himself. Joining him are talented pals Schmoltz, Bogdan Ra, Romain FX, and Outra, also known as Joutro Mundo. These deep diggers are celebrated for their prowess in unearthing hidden gems and transforming them into dancefloor anthems and that's what they do here as each artist brings a unique flavour to the mix. Schmoltz's 'Luv The States' is a peak-time percussive disco jam, Bogdan Ra brings some slap-funk drums and glossy Italo synths and 'Tell Me Why' has crunchy drums and jagged synth stabs before a camp closer in 'Colosso'.
Review: Twenty nine years ago (can you believe it) Alexander Robotnick released his first album, Ce N'Est Q'Un Debut, featuring what's arguably his most defining track "Problemes D'amour" with the Harajuku-cute vocals of Martine Michellod. It's this album that has influenced countless French synth pop acts and a horde of old school electro lovers, and all this time later it's been repressed (again) by the label that first released it, Medical. Keeping the sacredness of this LP firmly intact by sticking with the keyboard-head artwork, Ce N'Est Q'Un Debut - along with Man Parish's 1982 self-titled debut - should be in all of our record collections.
Review: Shannon's debut single from her debut album, 'Let The Music Play', defined an era. It was a huge crossover hit and one of four number ones from the American singer and was the start of the huge dance-pop sound that dominated for many years after. The gated 808 drums are one of the most popular sounds of the time (also heard on the likes of Phil Collin's 'In The Air Tonight') and here they are paired with some spaced out reverb, crisp snares and big keyboard stabs. It's prickly and futurist even mow, and that vocal is always going to get any club going wild. Two versions are served up here next to the original on a slick purple vinyl.
Review: Parisian crew Discomatin have come up with some little known boogie brilliance here from Belgian producer Jay Alansky, with lyrics by Jacques Duvall and falsetto vocals from Clara Capri. It's a fine fusion of Italo disco basslines, shimmering electronics and 80s pop and r&b, with more than a hint of early house vibes also thrown in for good measure. All remastered from the original tapes, the tracks are loud and crisp and are perfect dance floor hymns. The long version is the one DJs will reach for, with its sleek lines and hypnotic leads all finished with some elastic bass.
El Signo - "Dimensiones Ocultas" (Ric Piccolo edit) (5:17)
Ultimate Warriors - "Running Away From You" (5:25)
Abaddon - "No Es Computable" (3:29)
Toby - "Ain't That Better" (Harari edit) (5:02)
The Originals - "Vamos A La Playa" (5:20)
Mike Ribas - "Secuencia Sin Consecuencias" (3:13)
Adalberto Cevasco - "Reencuentros No 2" (7:29)
Los Moesicos Del Centro - "Esquirlas" (3:41)
Divina Gloria - "Mediterranee Club" (3:58)
Mike Ribas - "Como Son Los Retratos" (Harari edit) (4:39)
Delight - "I Wanna Make You Mine" (4:54)
Gaita - "Mueve Tu Cuerpo" (8:03)
Donald - "A Ver, A Ver" (Ric Piccolo edit) (5:09)
Bad Girls - "Dance To Dance" (4:46)
Carla Rab - "Sexy Films" (6:18)
Los Musicos Del Centro - "Aire De Tropicos" (3:52)
Jorge Lopez Ruiz - "De Mama Candombe" (5:36)
Jorge Alfano - "Fuego" (7:38)
Review: Revisionist history is just as important for music as it is for geopolitics or economics, so we're more than happy to recognise this 'Alternative Vision Of Argentinian Music' throughout one of the most important decades in popular music history. Whereas popular thought tended towards Argentina being a hotbed for 'rock nacional' (national rock) music made in the post-dictatorship return to democracy, here Soundway focus on the more extreme ends of the experimental music fringes that cropped, thanks to the newfound freedoms allowed by neoliberal policies. Arthur Russell-esque disco, downtempo battle breaks, avant-garde obscurities - it's all there.
Review: Here's an interesting proposition: two new takes on one of Italo-disco's most celebrated tunes, Charlie's throbbing, synthesizer-powered 1983 masterpiece 'Spacer Woman'. Valentino Kanzayani steps up first, delivering an epic, 11-minute interpretation that subtly beefs up the beats and stretches out the spacey, arpeggio-driven groove before finishing on a lengthy, loved-up ambient section. Dana Ruh's flipside remix is a little more revolutionary, with punchy electro beats, a brand new, TB-303 driven bassline and undulating acid lines underpinning deep space chords, slowly shifting electronic motifs and snippets of the original vocal. It's tastefully done and pleasingly different, which is what you want from modern remixes of classic cuts.
Ubaldo Missoni - "Let Me Be Your Man" (instrumental) (4:19)
Teknoafro - "Mama Africa" (4:50)
Bokaye - "Ethno Groove" (5:41)
Nightmare Lodge - "Mirage IV" (5:09)
Nistri & Fiori Carones - "Marcia A Gorky Park" (3:05)
Aritmica - "Touch Another Flame" (6:12)
Zen - "Antiacid" (4:52)
Major Ipnotic Key Institute - "Minimal Kinetic" (10:19)
Leo Anibaldi - "Muta 3" (6:23)
Review: Much time has been spent marking the importance and excellence of some aspects of the Italian dance music story - think the 1980s Italo-disco movement, Baldelli's cosmic disco vibes, and the later Italo-house and Roman techno scenes - but there are still gaps in our knowledge. That's where this compilation from Dualismo Sound and Gabrielle Casiraghi comes in. Devoted to 'Italian dancefloor outsiders', it aims to educate us on some of the overlooked oddities recorded in Italy between 1987 and '94. It more than achieves its aims, delivering a mixture of proto-trance (Cy & Gy), Fairlight-powered instrumental synth-pop (Ubaldo Missoni), druggy Afro-cosmic throb-jobs (Teknoafro), sparkling "Worldbeat" (Bokaye), breakbeat-driven downtempo grooves (Nightmare Lodge), and impossible-to pigeonhole sonic insanity (Zen). A genuine 'must-check'.
Review: Remastered on vinyl for the first time since 1980, Kano's eponymous album is given a new life through limited edition and hand-numbered vinyl. Italian production duo Stefano Pulga and Luciano Ninzatti are considered pioneers of Italo by many, with their sound serving as a bridge to electro and breakdance later in the 1980s. Features dancefloor hits such as 'It's A War' and its instantly recognisable hook, the neon-lit night drive of 'Cosmic Voyager' and another golden oldie in the form of 'I'm Ready' with its funky vocoded goodness . This one is a new must have for disco lovers.
Review: Reissued from the 1983 original press on House Of Music - and subject to many a reissue since, for good reason - the Italian duo BWH hear their enduring classic 'Livin' Up / Stop' rereleased once more. Something about the collaborative effrots of Stefano Zito and Helene Zito made for a dizzying concoction in Italo, and the lasting interest in this single is backed up by the song's squeezy-clean mix and Hi-NRG synth rollicks. 'Stop' on the B-side, too, is slower and more rapacious, and without it, the single wouldn't be the same.
Review: The reissue of Electric Mind's Can We Go single brings back the early electro and post-disco vibes of 1983, captivating listeners with its Italo-Disco and Electro stylings. The album cover itself exudes retro charm, hinting at the futuristic soundscapes within. It transports listeners to a bygone era of electronic experimentation, with elements of Italo-Disco and Electro, creating a captivating sonic journey that feels both nostalgic and ahead of its time. With this reissue, fans old and new can rediscover the magic of Electric Mind's pioneering sound, a highlight to the enduring appeal of early electronic music.
Review: Semi Delicious return for their 19th outing in label head Demi Riquisimo's 'Perilous Joy' EP. The five-track release effortlessly meshes the classic influences synonymous with the now set-in-stone Semi Delicious sound with a nonetheless singular expression unique to Riquisimo themself. On the A come 'Sinewinder' & 'Direct Fix', a pair of four-to-the-floor tools. 'Sinewinder' brings a more diva-ish, big-room affected track, while 'Direct Fix' errs on the side of depth with a head-turning bassline. The flip kicks off with 'Perilous Joy', offering a nod to the sonics of the dreamy, progressive Italian house of yesteryear. Up finally is 'Thyme After Time', and with it more psychedelic house delvings. Finally, the artist lowers the pace on the Balearic chugger 'Autoglide'.
The Creatures - "The Other World Robots" (extended version) (7:26)
Sylvi Foster - "Hookey" (6:24)
Kirlian Camera - "Blue Room" (original extended) (5:04)
Xenon - "Galaxy" (club version) (6:38)
Steel Mind - "Bad Passion" (Flemming Dalum remix) (6:09)
Review: ZYX's new vinyl compilation The Dark Side Of Italo Disco is a contrast to their numerous upbeat titles, such as the recent ZYX Italo Disco New Generation that came with an awesome complimentary mousepad. Label boss Flemming Dalum has selected some deep, mystical and melancholic tackle on this one, with timeless classics such as like the bright like neon "Eagles In The Night" by Dario Dell'Aere, the post-punk swagger of The Creatures' "The Other World Robots" or the gothic romanticism of "Blue Room" by Kirlian Camera all showing an interesting side of Italo disco music.
Review: Gino Soccio's 'Dancer' is a standout record when thinking about the early days of disco, mainly thanks to the lush synths crafted by the Canadian producer. His magic on the keys helped set the sonic agenda of those times and led him to six hit singles and four albums. After all that success, though, he vanished in 1984 and left behind only a fine musical legacy. Random Vinyl pays homage to it with a revamped release of 'Remember,' featuring Fred Ventura's vocals and Ivy Sharrard's French verses. Producer Marc Hartman delivers a 2024 rendition, while Flemming Dalum adds a banging remix to make this a great tribute.
Review: First released way back in 1984 as the debut single from singer Maria Chaira Perugini - the first of three 12" singles she released before disappearing into obscurity - 'Eyes' has long been regarded as an underground Italo-disco classic. This reissue, which boasts new artwork based on the Italian singer's later singles, presents remastered versions of the single's two mixes. The A-side 'Original Mix' is top-notch, synth-powered Italo-disco, with Perugini singing in heavily accented English atop beats, bass and stab-happy lead lines that sit somewhere between classic Italo-disco and the Hi-NRG work of NYC producer Bobby Orlando. Arguably even better is the flip-side Dub, which doffs a cap towards the Afro-cosmic movement via Marimba melodies, echo-laden vocal snippets, and a more chugging, arpeggio-powered groove.
Review: Who doesn't love an obscure and hi NRG disco stomper from the mid-nineties? This one's been unearthed by the Bordello A Parigi crew and it was produced by the one and only Bobby Orlando. It has glistening disco arps and throwback drum machine sounds powering it along with a great female vocal singing lines like 'You can watch them making love on video.' The opening Digital Mix is the best for us but the V&S cut gets a little more pumping for the peak time so will also come in handy.
Review: A hard one to pigeonhole when it comes to genre, floating somewhere between Italo and synthpop, and originally released in Switzerland in 1985. Written by German pop group Hongkong Syndikat, both tracks on Ethereal Beat's 'Underboard' flaunt a hyper-distinct yet soothing sound, one which is hard to forget. 'Underboard' is a coolly paced downtempo number which builds up with layers of subtle percussion, lusciously adorned by heavy, saxy reedsmanship and mysterious vocal accents with no real message - 100% chill o'clock served on ice. 'Cedar Of Lebanon' picks up the tempo a notch, once again setting the scene for the reeds to shine as the catchy melody is presented; beautiful 80s instrumentalism from a golden age, and clearly not made in Ableton. The B-side features a respectful DJ tool style remix by contemporary producer Anatolian Weapons.
I'm Ready (Mousse T extended club remix instrumental) (7:38)
Review: There are few bigger or more celebrated Italo-disco singles than Kano's 'I'm Ready', which became an anthem on underground U.S dancefloors (as well as in its native Italy) following its release in 1980. Here it gets a new pressing courtesy of re-established original Italo-disco label Full Time Production, with Kano's original mix - a soaring, synth-heavy sing-along driven forwards by waves of arpeggio-style synth sounds and insatiably funky bass - being joined by a trio of 21st century revisions. Mousse T delivers vocal and instrumental takes that cleverly chop-up and loop up key sections to re-imagine the track as a surging funky house number smothered in vintage Italo-disco synth sounds, while FrescoEdits stretches out an extra-percussive disco groove before throwing in choice synth sounds and vocals from Kano's peerless original mix.
Review: An anthem often heard at Mexico's Sonidos movement parties, "Sweet Magic" was originally released in 1989 at the tail end of Hi-NRG and when house music emerged. Produced by Los Angeles-based duo Michael J & Abbe Kanter, better known as Dreams Come True (aka Tyrants in Therapy) with singer Stacy Dunne, it has remained an underground hit ever since. Faithfully remastered from the original tapes, which Berlin's Thank You managed to find and digitise in Los Angeles, there's the inclusion of a new stripped down extended mix by Castro (Sound Metaphors) using the original stems.
Review: Some suitably sizzling summer fare here from the dusty-fingered Thank You crew, whose latest reissue focuses on a little-known, house-era Italo-disco gem from 1990. First time round, the single was a private press seven-inch, meaning that only a limited number of copies were ever pressed up. In its original vocal mix form 'Tengo La Sangre Caliente' blurs the boundaries between Euro-synth-pop, colourful Italo-house and Italo-disco. It's good, but the accompanying instrumental mix is even better. Over on the flip, Castro delivers two killer re-edits: an extra-percussive version that emphasises the more house and Flamenco-inspired elements of the 1990 original ('Tengo Las Castanetas Caliente'), and a sweat-soaked 'beats' version for those who like getting busy in the mix.
Review: Rarely does Italo disco ever bare its soul so sensitively. Kriss' 'Hey Mister Mister' was released in 1988, and while the Italian genre's first wave then may have been facing its death knells, that didn't stop producer and songwriter Raff Todesco form making his absolute most vulnerable best of the terminal sound. A frank drum machine makes for a firm but fair bedrest for an easygoing, clean-channelled guitar vamps, which only languidly peak out of the mix at select points, suggesting an ease wrought from years of yearning. Todesco's original vocals steal all the limelight, as unruffled synths truss appeals to spontaneous getaways and falsetto yearnings for the right guy.
Review: Stockholm exports Elfenberg find themselves on Bordello here with four cuts of mind-expanding and life-enriching synth goodness. The skilled duo kick off with the high-speed arps and tight kicks of the retro-future smoother 'Forever Alone' then slow things down to a more Balearic and breezy vibe on 'Conga Coronation' with its finger clicks and lush pads. There is soft acid magic at the heart of 'Sphere Of Missing Out' while 'Cosmic Tribune' lulls you into a nice widescreen cosmic world of tumbling chord sequences and warped bass.
Gaz Nevada - "IC Love Affair" (original 12" mix version)
I Signori Della Galassia - "Archeopterix"
Cerrone - "La Secte De Marrakech Suite"
John Foxx - "Burning Car"
Thomas Leer & Robert Rental - "Monochrome Days"
Cabaret Voltaire - "Red Mask"
Caution - "UFO" (original 12" mix version)
Martin Rev - "Nineteen 86"
Pascal Comelade - "Sequence 1"
The Flying Lizards - "An Age"
Throbbing Gristle - "Beachy Head"
Terminal City - "Mugin For Unknown"
Review: Jon Savage's second delve into the diverse sounds of the post-punk era offers another enlightening listen, and this is a limited CD with 12 page digisleeve booklet. Do You Have The Force Volume 2: Jon Savage's Alternative History Of Electronica 1978-82 traverses the worlds of electronic music, disco, experimental, and proto-techno and looks for the similarities and differences between those niche sounds with music from the likes of John Foxx, Soft Machine, Cabaret Voltaire, I Signori Della Galassia and many more. The meticulous curation is a testament to Savage who is deservingly celebrated as a renowned cultural commentator, writer and filmmaker.
Review: Between 1983 and '87, Fun Fun - a studio project fronted by a trio of female vocalists - delivered some of the most commercially successful Italo-disco records around, with a trademark sound that drew much from the club-ready sound of Hi-NRG. This double-disc collection, subtitled 'The Final Edition', rounds up their greatest hits, B-sides, album tracks, alternative mixes and club versions. Fittingly, it begins with their most lauded track of all, the 'Scratch Mix' of 'Happy Station', before offering up such gems as the tactile and dreamy synth-pop perfection of 'Sing Another Song (Remix)', the soaring Hi-NRG pop perfection of 'Baila Bolero', the sing-along joy of 'Give Up Your Fight (Boxer Remix)' - which sounds like a lost Shep Pettibone club rework from 1986 - and a silly-but-fun cover of the Monkees 'I'm a Believer'.
Review: Antoni Maiovvi's latest synth EP 'Birds of Paradise' is a dark, brooding release that draws inspiration from classic horror soundtracks, avian themes and early synthwave. Like something between an 80s title theme for the mothman and a modernist fever dream for automobiles taking flight, each track here is named after a quirkily-named bird, whether that be the Quetzal or the Streamertail. In keeping with the thermal-riding and soaring feel of the music, every track contains subtle birdsong as its texture, not to mention beautifully danceable yet minimal melodies.
Review: Molen's 'Future Is Gone' delivers four standout techno tracks, bringing a futuristic energy to the dancefloor. Side-1 kicks off with the title song, driven by a pulsating bassline and a powerful groove, enhanced by spacey sound effects that add an extra dimension. Next up is 'Medano', a journey into a sci-fi world with an exciting acid line and a rhythm that builds in intensity, making it a true trip. On Side-2, 'Suggestion' keeps the momentum going with a killer beat that makes it another solid addition to the release. Finally, 'Basic Instinct' brings an 80s-inspired groove, blending new beat and electro influences for something fresh and unique. This EP from Special Bounce packs plenty of variety, perfect for fans of innovative techno who are looking to get lost in a futuristic vibe.
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