Archive for the ‘Electro Disco’ tag
Robot Rock du Jour: Bernard Fevre aka Black Devil – Dali(1975)
Then the French said, “Let there be dark disco.” And it was really, really good.
Right?! 1975. Whoa.
As a music genealogist, moments where new musical (sub)genres are born are pretty much the stuff of dreams.
Within this span of 84 seconds, from an offbeat library (ie music snippets) album “The Strange World of Bernard Fevre,” foundations are laid for the deepest, darkest, most esoteric disco album ever made, Black Devil’s”Disco Club” in 1978.
SCHEMATIC: The entire legendary “Disco Club” LP and a live performance! Read the rest of this entry »
Robot Rock du Jour: LCD Soundsystem – Someone Great (2007)
So, I pretty much avoid big time acts and there are very few “modern” bands that make what I deem to be exceptionally rad music. LCD Soundsystem, however, is the king + queen of them all.
I created this stop-motion video as part of my graduate program thesis work. 100 hours of wood cutting and photographing. If you dig it, peep my process photos.
SCHEMATIC: Videos for Home, Daft Punk is Playing at My House… Read the rest of this entry »
Robot Rock du Jour: Alexander Robotnick – Problèmes D’Amour (1983)
Close your eyes.
Picture Rusty Griswold at a topless disco in National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985). Do you hear that song playing in the background? How awesome is it??!! Well, this was the track.
Alexander Robotnick, aka Maurizio Dami, rewrote Italo by attaching a ground wire to Electro and letting the current rip. He also set the bar for performance names. This fellow is a legend who still exercises his servos and gives one hell of a live performance.
SCHEMATIC: Rare dub and live versions, an interview and a very special song…
Read the rest of this entry »
Robot Rock Du Jour: ‘Lectric Workers – Robot is Systematic (1982)
I assure you, my friend, that this robot is indeed systematic.
Nearly 30 human years ago, this track was putting hairy-chested robots into full-frame meltdown on space disco floors all over Planet Italy. ’Lectric Workers members Franco Rago and Gigi Farina were also responsible for Decadance’s considerably darker, yet ultimately synthulescent On and On (Fears Keep On).
SCHEMATIC: Instrumental version, album cover art and record label scans…
Robot Rock du Jour: Marcello Giombini – I Adore Commodore (198?)
Italian film composer and experimental synth maestro Giombini put up this track sometime in the early 1980s as a promo for the Commodore 64. I wonder if this video somehow inspired the seminal film, Weird Science?
SCHEMATIC: Cuts from Giombini’s landmark 1981 LP Astromusic Synthesizer…
Robot Rock du Jour: ‘Lectric Funk – Shangaied (1979)
Man, have I ever been there?! There is a ubiquitous sample in this track at 1:53 followed by a pretty sick instrumental jam. I can see why Johnny Jewel (Italians Do It Better) moved to Montreal: This is how chicks dress there. Thank you American Apparel.2
Shangaied (Music Video Version)
SCHEMATIC: LP and 12″ extended versions…
Keyser Söze Alert: Magnifique – Magnifique (1979)
There is absolutely no fronting on this straight-up funky disco track from Canada (Ontario, I think)! The video, which features clips from the terrible 1979 flick Roller Boogie, is a stroke of genius. Now, the first three minutes of this song may not do much for you, but when the breakdown begins, the song deconstructs into some pretty trippy disco.
Real Genius: Giorgio Moroder – From Here to Eternity (1977)
Moroder is the undisputed progenitor of Italo. The uncanny resemblance to SNL’s Father Guido Sarducci notwithstanding, Moroder is a synth god. More machine than man, Moroder is to Italy as Kraftwerk is to Germany.
Although Moroder made some Taleggio over the years, From Here to Eternity is an early Italo masterpiece. First published as an LP in 1977 on US-based Casablanca Records, near mint copies of this album are still widely available for about $20. Synthspotters love this video…
SCHEMATIC: Some Moroder TV appearances, a Casablanca Records promo video, more details…
Robot Rock du Jour: Zodiac – Zodiac (1980)
Communist disco?! YES! This Latvian state-sponsored disco was actually composed in a music conservatory.
Zodiac is some seriously spaced-out synthy disco goodness. The simple composition of this eponymous track from their 1980 debut LP Disco Alliance brings the lush sythscapes and analog textures to the forefront. Loving those live drums. This exceptional track is essentially unknown in NA and generally available for about US$20 + international shipping. And peep that cover art!!
SCHEMATIC: Three more videos and some fantastic cover art… Read the rest of this entry »
Robot Rock du Jour: Cerrone – Supernature (1977)
This decidedly bizarre pre-Spike Jonze/Michel Gondry video features mutants, naked chicks à la Rio, a vintage Rolls-Royce and a kick-ass rainbow-coloured acrylic drum set.
Supernature is a cautionary post-apocalyptic tale of scientific hubris and genetic experimentation gone awry. Although there are numerous tracks from the 70s and 80s that pay homage to space, robots and computers (thank God), few disco/synth tracks really drop earth science. Me like! Me like!
SCHEMATIC: High quality extended vinyl rip MP3, lyrics, cover art…