Kasso - Dig It

Kasso had a string of classic dance cuts in the late 70s and early 80s including "Brazilian Dancer" and "Dig It." According to liner notes Claudio Simonetti and Giancarlo Meo had a strong hand in the production and writing with these songs (along with Linda Wesley who lent her vocal talents to the productions). Both tracks are very soulful dance tracks with full bodied vocals and percussive, funk-forward production. Brazilian born Simonetti has had a long career in music starting with his role in Italian Rock group Goblin, Capricorn, various disco productions and movie soundtracks. Check out this interview with him from DJhistory.com and his current website here. Giancarlo Meo has also had a long illustrious career in music production with a string of great tracks under his belt from his work with Simonetti in 'Easy Going' to dance numbers in the 90s.

A Stroll through the Technopolis etc.

Here are a few to last you the weekend.

Maritime Tatami by Victrola is wonderfully dark and minimal with incredibly haunting vocals. Simple drums and a chunky, blocky bass sound. The B-Side "A Game of Despair" follows in a similar vein but with chorused guitars. A little more lyrical it doesn't conjure the same sense of future dystopia as "Maritime Tatami."

Victrola - Maritime Tatami
Victrola - A Game of Despair

Lastly a fun-spirited song for Friday to bring you out of the post-apocalyptic sound of Victrola. The Clocks' "Wake Up" has an almost cliche "80s" sound but its hard not to give in to its cheerful chanting. It was released in 1981 on Balls to Play Records. The B-Side is pretty fantastic, I will try to get a copy of it for download but you can preview it here (not sure how long this link will work).

The Clocks - Wake Up

G.A.N.G. and Logic

Here are a couple good ones to make up for some lost time this week. I have been meaning to put up this track from G.A.N.G. for a while. I featured producer Giorgio Dolce here previously. On this one he teamed with Giorgio Giordano to create a soothing and atmospheric groove with a lot of space and simplicity.

G.A.N.G. - KKK

And here is a horse of a different color. There is not very much info online about this song from Swedish group Logic. But I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Logic - Ta Kontakt

Happy Birthday Italobot - Automaticamore

Today marks the 1st birthday of Italobot. We have made some new friends and had a lot of fun sharing some great music. If there is anything you want to see here please don't hesitate to let us know and if you want to take part in Italobot in anyway give a shout.

I am away from home for the holidays so to make it easy I'm putting up this highlight from Flemming Dalum's 'Italo Magic' mix.

This hauntingly beautiful track from PatriziaPellegrino, "Automaticamore" is one of those tracks that lies deep in the subconscious. I feel like I have known this track forever but was recently reminded of it when I heard it on Flemming Dalum's 'Italo Magic' mix. Pellegrino has had a long career as an entertainer, singer, and actress and this song reminds me a lot of another actress/model who put out an eerie single in 1981.

Patrizia Pellegrino - Automaticamore

Range

"Give Me" by Range is a long and funky groove with luscious tremolo strings and punchy bass. The first break is a wonderful disco composition and every time I hear it I am teased into awaiting the chorus. It takes a minute for the vocals to kick in but it is well worth the wait. The team that put this together included Paul Mazzolini, Paul Micioni, and Pierluigi Giombini. Mazzolini, better known as Gazebo, has been featured here before and has an impressive roster of releases throughout the 1980s and beyond. Paul Micioni did some work on Gazebo's "Masterpiece" as well as on Gary Low's "Forever, Tonight And All My Life" and "La Colegiala." Giombini, in turn, also worked with Gazebo on the timeless "I Like Chopin." I featured "Give Me" on podcast 02, check it out there too.

Range - Give Me