Old Music Time

On today’s electro-obsessed dancefloors, original Italo disco is now a big deal, a regular fixture with DJs and dancers seduced by the the epic, spacey energy, the brash synths and heavy percussion breaks leaping from the grooves. Acts as diverse as Metro Area, Hot Chip, Pet Shop Boys and Ricardo Villalobos owe much to late ‘70s and early ‘80s Italian music. John Travolta as Tony Manero, it is not.

Italo-disco has boasted a major role in dance music heritage since it first surfaced. New York and Chicago clubland held a close affinity as Italo productions sat perfectly alongside early boogie and Latino freestyle at feted spots like Paradise Garage, The Funhouse and The Music Box. Labels like Emergency regularly licensed tracks and cemented a presence Stateside. The music’s roots can be traced back to early Moroder and Cerrone and, later, Mauro Malavasi’s productions for Change and BB&Q Band, a spacious, tight production style that still sparkles with its electro touches and warm, jazzy arrangements.