Monday 28 July 2008

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

Sunday 27 July 2008

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!

Thursday 24 July 2008

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

Monday 21 July 2008

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

Sunday 20 July 2008

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

Friday 18 July 2008

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

Wednesday 16 July 2008