 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
| Italo disco | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1970s – early 1980s, Italy |
| Derivative forms | |
| Other topics | |
Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated asItalo-disco)[2] is amusic genre which originated inItaly in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, pop, and electronic music, both domestic and foreign (hi-NRG,Euro disco) and developed into a diverse genre.[3] The genre employselectronic drums,drum machines,synthesizers, and occasionallyvocoders. It is usually sung in English, and to a lesser extent in Italian and Spanish.
The origin of the genre's name is strongly tied to marketing efforts of theZYX record label, which began licensing and marketing the music outside Italy in 1982.[notes 1] Italo disco faded in the early 1990s, then split into many genres (Eurobeat,Italo house,Italo dance).
The term "Italo", a generic prefix meaning Italian, had been used onpop music compilation albums inWest Germany as early as 1978, such asItalo Top Hits on the K-Tellabel and the first volume ofItalo Super Hits on the Ariola label.[4]
There is no documentation of where the term "Italo-Disco" first appeared, but its origins are generally traced to Italian and other European disco recordings released in the West German market. Examples include the phrase "Original Italo-Disco" on the sleeve of the West German edition of "Girls on Me" by Amin-Peck in 1982, and the 1983 compilation albumThe Best of Italo-Disco.[5] These records, along with theItalo Boot Mixmegamix, were released byBernhard Mikulski on hisZYX label, who was therefore credited with coining the term "Italo disco".[2][6] TheBest of andBoot Mix compilations each became a 16-volume series that culminated in 1991. Both series primarily featureddisco music of Italian origin, often licensed from independent Italian labels which had limited distribution outside Italy, as well as songs in a similar style by other European artists.
The presenters of the Italian music showDiscoring (produced byRAI) usually referred to Italo disco tracks as "rock elettronico" (electronic rock) or "balli da discoteca" (disco dance) before the term "Italo disco" came into existence.
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(April 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Italo disco originated in Europe in the late 1970s. AfterDisco Demolition Night in 1979, American interest in disco sharply declined, whereas in Europe the genre maintained mainstream popularity and survived into the 1980s.
The adoption ofsynthesizers and other electronic instruments by disco artists led toelectronic dance music, which spawned many subgenres such ashi-NRG in America andspace disco in Europe. Italo disco's influences include Italian producerGiorgio Moroder, French musicianDidier Marouani, Italo-French drummerCerrone, and theSan Francisco-based hi-NRG producerPatrick Cowley, who worked with singers asSylvester andPaul Parker.
In the late 1970s, Italo disco group D.D. Sound (La Bionda) released the song "1, 2, 3, 4, Gimme Some More".[7] In 1979,Jacques Fred Petrus andMauro Malavasi created the soulful post-disco groupsChange andB.B. & Q. Band.[8] In 1981, both groups gained US R&B and Dance hits with "Paradise" and "On the Beat" respectively.
Italo disco often features electronic sounds,electronic drums,drum machines, catchy melodies,vocoders, overdubs, and heavily accentedEnglish lyrics. By 1983, Italo disco's instrumentation was predominantly electronic. Along with love, Italo disco themes deal withrobots andspace, sometimes combining all three in songs like "Robot Is Systematic" (1982) by Lectric Workers and "Spacer Woman" (1983) by Charlie.
Then also new musical genres that had set aside the rock of the 1970s thanks to new groups, such asDuran Duran,Depeche Mode,Spandau Ballet and great pop artistsMichael Jackson andMadonna. The 1980s brought the electronics with real instruments, experimenting new sounds, in short, it was a decade of great change in modern music.[9]
In 1983, there were frequent hit singles, and labels such as American Disco, Crash, Merak, Sensation and X-Energy appeared. The popular labelDiscomagic Records released more than thirty singles within the year. It was also the year that the term "Italo disco" became widely known outside Italy, with the release of the first volumes ofThe Best of Italo Disco compilation series on the West German record label ZYX. After 1983, Italo disco was also produced outside Italy.
Although Italo disco was successful in mainland Europe during the 1980s, only a few singles reached theUK charts, such asRyan Paris's "Dolce Vita",Laura Branigan's "Self Control",Baltimora's "Tarzan Boy",Spagna's "Call Me" andSabrina's "Boys", all of which were top 5 hits. Italo disco maintained an influence in the UK's underground music scenes in the UK, and its impact can be heard in the music of several British electronic acts such as thePet Shop Boys,Erasure andNew Order.[2]
.jpg)
![La Bionda, considered among the pioneers of Italo disco[10]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aLA_BIONDA_%2526_ETIENNE.jpg)
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(December 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Canada, particularlyQuebec, produced several remarkable Italo disco acts, includingTrans X ("Living on Video"),Lime ("Angel Eyes"), Rational Youth ("City of Night"), Pluton & the Humanoids ("World Invaders"), Purple Flash Orchestra ("We Can Make It"), and Tapps ("Forbidden Lover"). Those productions were called "Canadian disco" during 1980–1984 in Europe andhi-NRG disco in the U.S.
In English-speaking countries, it was called Italo disco and hi-NRG. In Mexico, the style is known just as "disco", having nothing to do with the 1970s genre.[citation needed] West German productions were sung in English and were characterized by an emphasis on melody, exaggerated production, and a more earnest approach to the themes of love; examples may be found in the works of:Modern Talking,Fancy, American-born singer and Fancy protégé Grant Miller,Bad Boys Blue,Joy,Silent Circle,the Twins,Lian Ross,C. C. Catch,Blue System andLondon Boys.
During the mid-1980s, spacesynth, a derivation of Italo disco, developed. It was mostly instrumental, featured space sounds, and was exemplified by musicians, such as:Koto, Proxyon, Rofo, Cyber People,Hipnosis,Laserdance andMike Mareen (whose music inhabited the spacesynth/hi-NRG overlap).
As Italo disco declined in Europe, Italian andWest German producers adapted the sound to Japanese tastes, creating "Eurobeat".[11] Music produced in this style is sold exclusively in Japan due to the country'sPara Para culture, produced by Italian producers for the Japanese market. The two most famous Eurobeat labels are A-Beat-C Records and Time Records. One traditional Italo disco label, S.A.I.F.A.M., still produces Eurobeat music for Japan.
Around 1989 in Italy, Italo disco evolved intoItalo house when Italian Italo disco artists experimented with harder beats and the "house" sound.
| Space disco | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins |
|
| Cultural origins | Mid-1970s, Europe |
| Local scenes | |
| Norway | |
Space disco is a type of dance music using synthesizers and space-like sounds and themes.[citation needed][12]
At least one modern history of "space disco" traces the genre's origins toscience fiction themes (outer space, robots, and the future) in the titles, lyrics and cover artwork of dance music in the late 1970s.[13] Plausible associations are drawn between the popularity ofStar Wars (released mid-1977), the subsequent surge of interest in science fiction themes in popular culture, and the release of a number of science fiction themed and "futuristic"-sounding (synthesizer andarpeggiator-infused) disco music worldwide.[13][14] The most commercially successful space disco tracks were "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" (1977) byMeco, and "Automatic Lover" (1978) byDee D. Jackson, with each song reaching the top ten in a number of countries, including the United Kingdom.
Even in Italy the Space genre had some followers, including I Signori della Galassia who showed up with glam sci-fi inspired clothes and whose albumIceman is still highly sought after by collectors today.[15]Additional examples of space disco usually include the compositions "Just Blue" and "Symphony" (both 1978) ofFrench bandSpace,[13] the same for the track Magic Fly; additional tracks by Dee D. Jackson during the 1970s and 1980s, and "I Feel Space"[14] byLindstrøm.
Labels producing this type of music include[14]
New York City-based post-disco record labelEmergency Records specialized in reissuing/selling records from Italy (e.g. Kano "I'm Ready"),[16] since the 1970s.Kano is noted for incorporating American musical elements ("heavy funk" influences, "breakbeat" rhythm, the use of vocoder) with electronic music while using rudimentary synthesizers,[9] constituting one of the earliest forms of Italo disco. This form of Americanized Italo disco, that also includesKlein + M.B.O.[9] ("Dirty Talk", "Wonderful", "The M. B. O. Theme"), re-entered the States and was known to be influential on the development ofhouse music.[9] Doctor's Cat ("Feel the Drive"), likewise, was one of the earliest "house music" songs.[17]
Record labels include
