Concorde - Prophet of Life

Prophet of Life is another amazing release from Il Discotto Productions and the team of Vincenzo Giufrè and Massimo Monti. Their work includes Jo Jo's Mind Games, From Halley and more. Prophet of Life  marches, meanders, and plods in a jungle of playful synthesizer squeeks and strings. Its great!

Jo Jo - Mind Games

Here is a classic cut from 1982. Underground, rare and lo-fi "Mind Games" is another gem from Italy's Il Discotto Productions. Not too much info about this one but the vocals and instrumental are top notch.

I'm a Vocoder

What would electronic music be without the robotic timbre of vocoded vocals? Now that auto-tune and a renewal of interest in vocoder use are prevailing in popular music it is always important to take a look back at how the vocoder was used in the 1970s and early 80s. To hear it in these earlier tracks is to see how an innovative technology was used to define genres that at their foundation enforced a science fiction element within the music. Today our daily life is the stuff of science fiction and thus the sound of the vocoder no longer represents the same elements of space and the future that it once did. Not only has the unique nature of the vocoder changed over the years but its harder to get the body and volume out of today's digital vocoders and software emulators that you had with the old analog devices.

Check out Gay Cat Park's homage to this wonderful instrument, circa 1982.

Italo Dance Dance Dance

ItaloBot, home to the cosmic disco Euro. I have been all about Italo Disco for the past few years. Every now and then I put it down only to pick it up again with a new artist or new song that keeps the neon in my blood stream.


Our maiden voyage takes us to one of my personal favorites, Gary Low. The Spanish born Luis Romero Perez Belmonte (aka Gary Low) is best known for his hits You Are a Danger (1982), I Want You (1983), Forever Together and All My Life (1984), How Much (1985), La Colegiala (1987). His English wasn't great and some of the lyrics to his songs are lost in translation, but that is the charm and appeal of Gary Low and almost all Italo Dance. He has an air of mystery to me considering it is so difficult to find info on him. Check out Arawa for a free download of the You Are a Danger instrumental and complete song.



The most info I've found on him turns up when I search google in Spanish, and even then its tough to find details. Hopefully his website is up and running soon (am I thinking comeback tour?). Anyone with more biography information please send it to me.