Articles

Notes on music, craft, and the era

332 articles newest first

Italo Disco

Italo Disco in Unexpected Places

Where you can run into Italo Disco - from kids' cartoons to video game soundtracks and space missions, the genre's unusual appearances in mass culture.

5 views
Artists

Tony Esposito: the Neapolitan With a Kalimba

Antonio Esposito - a jazz percussionist from Naples who recorded one of Italo Disco's most unexpected hits. African kalimba, the Boney M cover, and the 2020s return.

9 views
Culture

Italo Disco and Italian Cinema

How the genre and Italian cinema shaped each other - from '80s films built on Italo Disco hits to retro pictures today that use the classic tracks.

5 views
Artists

Giorgio Moroder: Father of European Electronic Pop

Giorgio Moroder - the South Tyrolean Italian who invented the language of electronic dance music. Donna Summer, three Oscars, the sequencer bass, and a comeback with Daft Punk.

14 views
Techniques

Vocoder in music: how a voice controls a synthesiser

A robot voice comes from two signals and a bank of filters, not one magic effect button. Follow the path from Homer Dudley to the Roland VP-330 and build an intelligible part.

5 views
Italo Disco

Bands like Mirage: seven routes through Soviet synth-pop

Similarity to Mirage can mean a synth arrangement, female vocal, producer-built backing track or nocturnal romance. Seven comparisons without pretending the bands are identical clones.

203 views
Charts & lists

Tracks for a Long Drive

The perfect soundtrack for car journeys - Italo Disco compositions that make long drives more enjoyable and atmospheric.

5 views
Culture

Italo Disco Through Foreign Eyes

How the Italian genre was received outside Italy - from adoration in Eastern Europe to the snobbery of the British press and a Japanese cult.

6 views
Artists

Hipnosis: the Mysterious Instrumental Project

Stefano Pulga and Carlo Maria Cecchiella's Italian project built meditative cinematic electronics. Pulstar, End Title, a niche cult among collectors.

4 views
Techniques

The Secret of the Signature Bassline

A breakdown of the legendary Italo Disco bass - what "springy" sound really means, how it was built, and why it makes the whole body move.

16 views
Culture

Festivals and Parties for Fans

A survey of the main retro festivals and regular parties dedicated to Italo Disco - where the genre's fans gather across Europe.

4 views
Artists

Rockets: the Silver Robots of Space Disco

The French-Italian group Rockets performed in silver suits and made cosmic electronics before Italo Disco became a genre. Predecessors of Koto and Laserdance.

9 views
Eurodance

Italo House: the Subgenre Bridging to Eurodance

Italo House - a hybrid of Italo Disco and Chicago house of the late '80s and early '90s. Black Box Ride On Time, FPI Project, Starlight - a bridge between two eras.

7 views