Nini Raviolette - Suis-Je Normale

Nini Raviolette's "Suis-Je Normale" is mischievous, dark and mysterious. The simple drone of a synthesizer pad and percussive, pizzicato blips are all that accompany Nini's bedroom harmonies in this otherwise drumless serenade. The track seems to reside inside an ice box its so chilly.

O'Gar - Playback Fantasy

There is something truly magical about this track. The arpeggio and drums work together effortlessly to make dancing irresistible. O'Gar's casual vocals are cool and relaxed and the subtle chord changes give the song a feeling of the great expanse. Simple surprises in here with drum pattern changes and the radio deejay interlude bring you back to the era. Check out the video and also how I featured it in podcast 10. Listen past the break to hear how he re-sings the chorus, a reminder of the days before protools choruses.

Space Decay

Industrial decay of spage-age proportionsrots in a desolate Russian landscape. Images like this of an abandoned Russian shuttle program would be a Pompeii to archaeologists of future centuries.

Italobot Podcast 11 - Wading in Winter Blue - Removed due to copyright complaints

Italobot Podcast 11 - Wading in Winter Blue - Removed Due to Copyright complaints


Download has been removed due to copyright complaints

I've been putting in a lot of work just about everywhere but Italobot so I thought I'd get some tracks together this weekend. Looking forward to 2011 I hope to get more of these mixes out there This one is a fun trip through a few different sounds, grooves, and moods. The weather finally started taking a turn around in my part of the world but I still managed to wring out some soggy chilled tracks for this mix. Put on a sweater and don't catch a cold.

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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!

Jules - I Want To

Here is a seductive and haunting number from 1985. Produced and arranged by Antonio d'Addezio for XYZ Records, Jules' "I Want You" relies heavily on the standard melodic tools of other Italo ballads but still manages to deliver a unique romantic flair.

Happy Belated Birthday Italobot

Our 2nd birthday came and went last month and while I was aware of it I didn't have the birthday presents I would have hoped to give everybody. So I will have to make due with what I have scrounged around the net.

Here is a mix from one of the premier ambassadors of Italo Disco, Flemming Dalum, who has been in the game since the early 80s and has the largest collection of Italo Disco known to the internet. Lately he has embraced the remixing technology of Ableton Live to put out comprehensive megamixes of obscure and rare disco gems.

Flemming Dalum - Cybernetic Disco

Radar - China Darling

Canada had some great electronic disco in the early 80s and a lot of it emits that type of coolness that seems to come with a closer proximity to tundra. This track has a lot of cool elements with an ever present arpeggio rhythm driving a calm groove, wurlitzer chord stabs, and a snide rock vocal. The 'Chinese Rhythm' that often accompanies any song about a woman from China is a bit cliche but otherwise this track is pretty smooth.

Wanexa - The Man from Colours

One of the best productions from the camp of Gianluigi Farina , Francesco Rago, and Monneret De Villard Xenia Olga Anastasia, the crew that produced 'Lectric Workers' 'Robot Is Systematic' and many others. The Psychadelic female vocals and simple synth refrain are driven by droning flanged drums and a dreamy sensibility. The break in this track is a perfect example of how Italo Disco influenced the early pioneers of Techno.

She's Gone Away (instrumental)

This song is brutal. Driven by repetitive bass synth arpeggios and chunky layers of guitar and bass. The female female vocals on the hook are infectious and their hints throughout the verse are seductive. Jimy's metallic vocoder voice is a delightful interjection of Italo goodness.

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.

Sparber - Cosmic Mix

Here is another mix that came my way. This one comes from Sparber of New York City.

Sparber - Cosmic Mix
1. A Love Again (special remix) - Savage
2. Crash - Doctor's Cat
3. Sermon (Serotonin edit) - Mark Seven
4. Magic Carillon - Rose
5. Feeling Without Touching - Glass Candy
6. Just Be Good to Me - The Revenge (feat. Danielle Moore)
7. In The Summer (Picture House's 'Summer In The Balearics' Mix) - Crystal Fighters
8. Flower (Sparber mix) - Liz Phair
9. I Gotta Little Love - Angela
10. Guinea (Andy Blake's Edit) - Discodromo
11. Little Fluffy Clouds - The Orb
12. What Is Love (Holographic Goatee Mix) - Deee-Lite

Muselmix Vol 1 - Speelycaptor

I get an occasional email from readers submitting their tracks and mixes. I have been meaning to feature a lot of them here but my lazy ass hasn't made it happen. Let me reconcile this today with a megamix from Speelycaptor of Denmark.

Speelycaptor - Muselmix1: Italo Disco Megamix

Intro: Sun Ra (movie quote from Space is the place)
1.) X-Ray Connection - Get ready (museledit)
(Boytronic- Luna square /synthhook)
2.) Mike Cannon - Going crazy
3.) Kano - Another Life
4.) Q - the Voice of Q vs
5.) Bamboo -Spaceship crashing
6.) FrédéricMercier - Spirit
7.) Imortals - Ultimate Warlord (museledit) vs
8.) Sex Band - I've got the answer
9.) B.W.H - "Stop" (museledit)
10.) Telex - "Diskow Moskow"
(Yello - i love u)
11.) Valerie Dore - "Get Closer"
12.) Tantra - "Hills of Katmandu" (Museledit) vs
13.) Cat Gang - "Locomotive breath"
14.) Ivan - "Fotonovela"
15.) Danny Keith - "Keep on music"
16.) Lama - Nineteen Ninety three
17.) Soif de la vie - "Goddess of love" (instrumental)
18.) Ken Laszlo - "Hey hey guy" (museledit)
19.) X-Ray Connection - "Replay" (museledit)
20.) Telex - "L'amour toujors" (museledit)
(Ofra Haza - "Im 'nin alu)
21.) Koto - "Chinese Revenge" vs
22.) Fake - "Donna Rouge" (Loops) vs Jamiroquai - "Cosmic Girl" (accapella)
23.) Creatures - "Believe in yourself"
24.) Hot Cold - "I can hear your voice"
25.) Laserdance - Humanoid Invasion
26.) Doctor's Cat - "Feel the drive"
Estelle & Kanye West - "American Boy" (accapella)
27.) Cyber People - "Void Vision"
28.) Digital Emotion - "Get up"
Jackson Five: "I want you back" (accapella)
29.) Fun Fun - "Living in Japan" vs
Lipps Inc - "Funkytown"
30.) Azul y Negro - "The Night"
31.) Trans X - "Living on video"

Spaced Out

Driven by a gravelly bass line and soft girl vocals you can hear a throw back to Parliament's pitched up Sir Nose between verses. This song is airy and full of funk. Its hard not to start nodding your head or shrugging your shoulders when this one is bumping. Pure Energy put this out in 1983 for Prism Records. Check out their funky catalog.

Marzio Dance and the Xenon empire

Marzio Dance had his hands in a lot of amazing projects in the early eighties Italian scene. 'You Can Do It' and 'Rap-O-Hush' have had a lot of play in the resurgence of electro and Italo Disco  (I recently featured the electro instrumental 'Adventure' in podcast 10). You can see and hear why he has had so much internet air time when you check out this amazing performance of 'You Can Do It' at Xenon Disco, the legendary discotheque of Firenze.



His work with Xenon (named after the legendary club) produced a few tracks including 'Symphony.' This ambitious arrangement conjures a sonic landscape of imposing laser towers, circuit board cities, and space ship battles. This song is a bold undertaking.

"A new adventure and a new sensation for your mind. 

come to the world of color, music, and lights and ...

Xenon empire and you can hear the ... sound storm"

Xenon attempts to push the genre beyond the dance floor and into a theatrical imagery that is larger than life. 'Symphony' does manage to tackle its own lofty title through a combination of arranged synthesizer strings and chorale vocals. But this song more importantly serves as a time machine to an analog era.