ENNERO 1 : 2009!

ITALOBLACK : ANNO NUOVO SPECIALE : 2009

come and celebrate 2009 on New Year's Day with Benetti + Cassavetes this Thursday! yes indeed, come and dance away those New Year's Eve hangovers and woes with the sparkliest diamonds in our Italo collections from all the years plus big colourful visuale; free entry and cheap drinks and friendly atmosphere as always - and with a late licence!!

baci e abbracci! xoxox
B+C

EVENING NEWS

In today's Evening News newspaper!

"My girlfriend took me to Sneaky Pete's a few Thursday's back to ItaloBlack and I've been a few times since. The tunes are brilliant and the DJ's create a real vibe that I've not felt anywhere else. You have such a great time mixing with everyone and letting the music get inside your head that by the time it ends you've lost all track of time"- Aaron Sleagh, Leith.

DICEMBRE 18

italoBLACK : FESTA NATALE 2008 : Thursday 18th December !!

DJ Benetti + Cassavetes have managed to unearth some super-rare italo disco Christmas gems to be unveiled for your dancing pleasure for JUST THIS ONCE and alongside all your italoBLACK favourites from 2008 !!

BUOOOOOON NATALE A TUTTI!
baci e abbraci,
B&C xxx

DICEMBRE 4

italoBLACK : MIAMI VICE ITALO STYLE : Thursday 4th DECEMBER !!

dancers are clamouring for EVEN MORE of the amazing dramatic thunderous Latin Freestyle beats mixed with our beloved ITALO DISCO for this week's event which we call 'MIAMI VICE ITALO STYLE'! naturally, your DJ Benetti + Cassavetes as always aim to please, satisfy and fulfil !!

baci e abbraci
B+C xox

NOVEMBRE 27

italoBLACK : ITALO-DISCO LATIN FREESTYLE SPECTACULAR : Thursday 27th NOVEMBER !!

something extra-speciale for everyone at italoBLACK this week! amongst the usual Italo favourites and rare gems and visuale prepare yourself for some hot Latin Freestyle hotmixes - think the coolest sweatiest Colombian downtown backstreet disco circa '84!

baci e abbracci
B+C xox

HEARTBREAK!

the finest new italo band in the world will be dropping by and joining us at italoBLACK this Thursday night for a last-minute live set, in support of their wonderful debut Lies which has just been released from Lex Records and has received an incredible reception from critics and live audiences alike; all for the grand price of… niente, nada, nothing - yes, totally free!

Benetti xxx

"If an album that sounds like being transported to 1984 Rimini inside a hand-sculpted marble bath tub filled with a mixture of uncut Bolivian cocaine and Veuve Clicquot Champagne (aka disco paste) is your kind of thing, you should check it out." – The Guardian

OTTUBRE 30

italoBLACK : LA DOLCE VITA : Thursday Oct 30th

viva Fellini! let's together jump into the Trevi fountain and celebrate the dark and the romantic with some deeply seductive Italo disco music and special visuals as provided by your hosts Benetti & Cassavetes!

free entry 10pm-3am at Sneaky Pete's, Cowgate

OTTUBRE 23

italoBLACK : MIKO MISSION SPECIALE : Thursday Oct 23rd

the one and only Miko Mission specially featured at our Thursday night with Benetti&Cassavetes - with all the un/usual wondrous sounds to fall in love with from the ItaloDisco galaxy and beyond....

free entry 10pm-3am at Sneaky Pete's, Cowgate

CANZONE DEL GIORNO #10

Video Club - Lost Time (7:03)

I <3 ITALO DISCO

two fantastic italoBLACK events coming your way this week!

italoBLACK : RIMINI NIGHTS : Thursday Oct 16th

regular Thursday night with B&C with all the usual italo treats plus some unexpected surprises flown in direct from Benetti's villa in Rimini

free entry 10pm-3am at Sneaky Pete's, Cowgate

italoBLACK : I ♥ ITALO DISCO! : Friday Oct 17th

first of our new monthly weekend nights at The Wee Red Bar with your favourite hotmix legend DJ Benetti & DJ Cassavetes are here to bring you a magical nonstop sound and visual odyssey to fall in love with! Doctor's Cat, Sabrina, Den Harrow, Crazy Gang, Ken Laszlo, Laserdance, Koto, Miko Mission, Fun Fun and so much much MUCH more!!

£4 on the door before midnight, £5 after
map to the Wee Red Bar:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=EH3+9DF
links
http://www.myspace.com/weeredbar
http://www.weeredbar.co.uk

CANZONE DEL GIORNO #9

Crazy Gang - Every Sunday (8:02)
Claudio Simonetti of Goblin fame is the genius behind Crazy Gang, an Italo outfit from 1983 that was at the time mostly ignored - however, the highly recommended and rare album We Are The Crazy Gang now has fabled status among cognoscenti for its extraordinary diversity and hauntingly beautiful music - the extremely melancholy lyrics and melody of Every Sunday is the stand-out track (extended mix cited here): it will hold you in and never let go

OTTUBRE 9

italoBLACK : PROFONDO ROSSO : 9th OCTOBER !!

if you adore Italo like B+C do, maybe also you love Italian horror movies from the 70s and 80s too! along with favourite nonstop Italo rare tracks and mixes from your DJ Benetti, lots of Italo disco versions of old movie soundtracks along with the ever wonderful visuale from Cassavetes !

a presto, baci a tutti !! xxx Benetti+Cassavetes

CANZONE DEL GIORNO #8

Den Harrow - Bad Boy (5:50)
when Italo disco started getting huge international success in 1984 and 1985, many of the rather faceless producers and DJs needed front persons to cope with the demand for TV and live performances and would get gorgeous looking models to do playback - Den Harrow (invention of master producers Chieregato and Turatti) is one of the most well-known examples of this - the name itself is a cunningly anglicised version of the Italian word for money, 'denaro', and a cute bit of irony that wouldn't have been lost on Italian audiences (there are in fact many examples of these linguistic in-jokes with the names for Italo acts); as for the music, although by now the style was much more commercial, the early Den Harrow singles are epic majestic masterpieces of composition with trademark huge dramatic instrumental intros leading into some of the most memorable songs of the era

ARTICOLO

OTTUBRE 2

italoBLACK : BAD BOY : 2nd OCTOBER !!

speciale Den Harrow! come and enjoy some special mixes and rare visuale from your Benetti + Cassavetes at italoBLACK this coming Thursday - plus of course all the usual amazing magical sounds that you expect every week - simply the perfect way to get the weekend started!

a presto, baci a tutti !! xxx Benetti

SETTEMBRE 25

italoBLACK : SILICON FISH FOR SILICON CAT : 25th September!

with the happy memories of last week's amazing ITALO KITTY night still in our minds, we have even more special treats for all Italo lovers from Benetti and Cassavetes this week - una notte speciale per i gatti più belli !!!!

a presto! baci xxxx Benetti

ITALOBLACK VIDEO !!

Come and enjoy these super italoBLACK videos taken by our dear friend Gregor!

italoBLACK video : #1


italoBLACK video : #2

ITALOBLACK SETTEMBRE 18

last night's ItaloBLACK : Italo Kitty has been the busiest night yet!

really great friendly atmosphere, dancing all night long, and lots of nice requests for good stuff by Ken Laszlo, Fokewulf, Martinelli, Curacao and others, and Benetti's new gems went down a storm! and of course Cassavetes really spoiled us all with this week's visuale treats

....now already impatient for the next week...!

xxx Benetti

SETTEMBRE 18

italoBLACK : ITALO KITTY : 18th September!

DJ Benetti is flying back pronto from Japan after a rapidissimo stop-off at the Rimini villa to pick up some new priceless italo gems, more precious than even the very Turin Shroud, and they are going to be unveiled alongside DJ Cassavetes latest magical visual innovazione for the first time at this Thursday's italoBLACK : ITALO KITTY : 18th September!

remember that Benetti also veritably adores requests so let us know what Italo magic would thrill you to dance to!

xxx your Benetti

ITALO AMICI

Received some nice emails from around the world recently including one from Cor & Melissa who have a super blog for you to check out! Please write about any other sites and projects!

SETTEMBRE 11

italoBLACK : TYRANT IS COMPUTER : 11th September!

Benetti will be in Japan this approaching weekend so meanwhile back at italoBLACK this Thursday 11th September, you'll be in the capable hands of DJ Cassavetes taking charge of both the visuale and the canzone! I'll be back on the 18th to see you all soon!!!

sayonara!!! xxx Benetti

BENETTI MONDO : SETTEMBRE

italoBLACK
Sneaky Pete's
73 Cowgate
Edinburgh, UK
Thursday September 4th / 18th / 25th : 10pm-3am

Yokohama Triennale 2008
Yokohama, Japan
Sunday September 13th : 9pm-11pm

ITALOBLACK AGOSTO 28

Theme From Verona featured some of the best superclassifica visuale from Cassavetes yet - until sadly the projector packed in a couple of hours from the finale! was fabulous to see so many new faces this week dancing on until closing time; hey, and look out for a Sabrina Salerno speciale from Benetti for September 4th!

CANZONE DEL GIORNO #7

Casco - Cybernetic Love (6:10)
in a year of so much absolutely vintage Italo music, 1983, this song by DJ/producer Salvatore Cusato captures the moment with a perfect synthesis of romantic scifi lyrics, some truly gorgeous vocal harmonies, and a disco beat that will be danceable for centuries to come

ITALOBLACK AGOSTO 21

let's get Italified!

this time an outrageous nonstop feast of Italo from your Benetti: yes, a 7-hour nonstop set! and this time accompanied by the superclassifica visuale from DJ Cassavetes on the big screen! a wonderful night where all the people danced right through till 5am! bravo!

baci xxx Benetti

FACEBOOK LIST

Come and join our Facebook list!

CANZONE DEL GIORNO #6

Novo - X-Dream-X (8:35)
the dub B-side of Novo's 'Extremix' is pure Italo instrumental delight, all the wonderful rhythmic flourishes and perfect gorgeous melancholic harmonies and mysterious voices you could ever wish for in a song

ITALOBLACK AGOSTO 14

cari amichi! another great night yesterday at italoBLACK - another 6-hour marathon Benetti set and bravo to all the wonderful dancers that kept going for so long! DJ Cassavetes prepared some great italo visuale for us, and next week (21st August) he will be doing it all live!

baci xxx Benetti

CANZONE DEL GIORNO #5

Barry Mason - Body! (Get Your Body) (disco version) (7:45)
if you are an avid musical archaeologist like myself, you are looking at one of the most remarkable records in the history of modern dance music - the 'disco version' of this 1983 (yes, 1983!!) release by the singer of the better known Italo outfit Camaro's Gang seems to be the original blueprint for the Chicago house and acid sound; much credit has been given elsewhere to other artists for the extraordinary trademark filtering of the Roland TB303, but this is where the revolution really begins; add to that the melancholy bluesy piano riff and the lyrics themselves and it becomes inconceivable that early house pioneers like Marshall Jefferson and DJ Pierre hadn't been heavily influenced by this incredible song - Italo disco has never been given enough credit within electronic dance music history and it's time to change that

ITALOBLACK AGOSTO 7

Molte grazie a tutti! The first italoBLACK night last Thursday in Edinburgh was a marvellous night and the busiest one ever at the venue so far - thanks to everyone who came and look forward to seeing you all again this Thursday! Cassavetes and I have much more planned for this week and in the future! Ciao ciao!

baci xxx Benetti

BENETTI MONDO : AGOSTO

italoBLACK
Sneaky Pete's
73 Cowgate
Edinburgh, UK
Thursday August 7th / 14th / 21st / 28th : 10pm-4.30am

INTERNATIONAL AMALGAMATION OF CHAMPIONS
(10th anniversary)
The Macbeth
70 Hoxton Street
London N1, UK
Friday August 29th : 10pm-4am

CANZONE DEL GIORNO #4

Freddy The Flying Dutchman And The Sistina Band - Wojtyla Disco Dance (part 2) (4:02)
this bizarrely named song from 1979 is one of the very finest of the early Italo disco tracks; it was notably co-written by Stefano Pulga who would go on to become a prolific Italo producer through the 80s and 90s (Kano, Pink Project et al.); Wojtyla Disco Dance has clear roots in 70s New York disco yet underpinned by an achingly beautiful rhythmic melody that's a pre-echo of the Italo magic to come

BENETTI MONDO

In addition to the weekly italoBLACK clubnight which commences on August 7th in Edinburgh, DJ Benetti will be in London (UK) at the end of August, and Yokohama (Japan) on September 14th. More details soon!

CANZONE DEL GIORNO #3

M&G - When I Let You Down (6:03)
M&G is essentially Italo legends The Creatures (the letters being the initials of the main members); whilst The Creatures had an eclectic output which ranged from progressive rock through to light pop and minimal electronic, and of course their trademark pure Italo sound which is present on this classic track; other versions of the song exist including one sung by Robert Tomasi

CANZONE DEL GIORNO #2

Dyva - On Fire (Caldo mix) (7:57)
Dyva's slow heavy brooding classic must have sent chills down the spines of the two musicians when they were recording, let alone the thousands that have since revelled in it at club level volumes - even the instrumentation list on the rear of the 12" sleeve tells you you're in for an unforgettable treat: Linn Drum, Simmons Drum, Yamaha DX7, Moog Voyager, OScar Synth

FATTI

Who is Benetti? Some facts from his bio:

• first gig at a Mafia-controlled pizza restaurant in Vigevano (Northern Italy) in 1980
• owns an enormous collection of rare Italo CDs and vinyl, filling three huge rooms and a basement in his house
• a cognoscento in making a special aphrodisiac spaghetti a la slinguata
• big in China, especially in cities like Shanghai and Hang Zhou (where he lived for 18 months as paid guest of the Communist town council)
• during a big Eurobeat party in Byelorussia last October he was playing at to 2,000 people, some visiting army recruits from the local garrison started firing guns into the ceiling and literally brought part of the roof down
• DJed at a katoey bar, Soi Cowboy, in Bangkok for two months before falling out with the local police force over unpaid bribes for live sex shows
• did a set of rapidissimo para para in Roppongi (Tokyo) which got out of control when a large group of teenage girls got assatanate and started stripping to Delta Force's Bang Bang and Lolita's Cherry Girl
• spends more than 50% of his income on his beloved D&G clothes and accessories

CANZONE DEL GIORNO #1

Doctor's Cat - Andromeda (7:35)
Aldo Martinelli worked in different projects under a number of aliases (Cat Gang, Doctor's Cat, Martinelli, Moon Ray), and produced much from around 1983 onwards - the recurring 'cat' reference no doubt a nod towards producer and music computer programmer Fabrizio Gatto ('cat' in Italian) who he often worked with; all of his projects have that unmistakeable slow achingly melancholic vintage italo sound, a baroque appreciation of harmony and melody, and Andromeda is an exquisite example of that with Zanini's trademark soulful scifi lyrics

BENVENUTI!

Ciao! Welcome to italoBLACK!

DJ Benetti x