Italo Disco Treasure Hunt!!

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para_rigby
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Italo Disco Treasure Hunt!!

Post by para_rigby » 01 Aug 2010, 05:28

I've just recently started listening to some good Italo Disco...I was wondering where to start with artist wise since it's a big genre like eurobeat?

I have only a few songs:
Ever and Ever/ Venice
Dance With Me/ Claudia T
Rich and Famous/ Dave Rodgers
You Can Set Me Free/ Coo Coo

I'm assuming the "That's Eurobeat" series is the best place to start, huh?

Megan188
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Post by Megan188 » 01 Aug 2010, 06:27

Most italo disco albums are pretty hard to come by these days. Saifam has some of their earlier works available on their website, so that'd be a good a starting point if you have trouble finding very early releases in the SEB series or That's Eurobeat compilations.

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Post by ryosuke63 » 01 Aug 2010, 07:00

Mmm, now this is my kind of thread.
Let me put it this way - there's all kinds of Italo-Disco. Here's a good breakdown of the styles:

1980-1983:
This was the time Italo was in it's earliest full form. There was Italian disco that could have been considered Italo-Disco before this (take the group Easy Going, for instance, in 1979) but this was pretty much the beginning.
Notable artists I would recommend from this period are:
Delanua (Very great artist on DiscoMagic, had a quirky voice.)
Gary Low (One of my favorite artists of all time, was very melodically powered.)

1984-1987:
More labels were forming, like the legendary "Time Records" in late 1983 (first release was in 1984.) Many people consider 1986 to be the end of Italo-Disco, but I really disagree.
Notable artists I would recommend from this period are:
Aleph (Definitely in my top 3 favorite artists/groups of all time. Absolutely amazing songs. My favorites are Fly To Me, Fire On The Moon, I'm In Danger, and Black Out)
Ken Laszlo (This was "DJ NRG" before his eurobeat days. Massively successful hits include Hey Hey Guy, Tonight, and Don't Cry)
Michael Fortunati (Famous artist from France. Notable songs include "Give Me Up" and "Into The Night")

1988:
1988 was an important year for Italo. It was it's last year in it's "true form" because Japan took a big interest in the scene just a couple years prior. The whole sound of the music started to shift (mainly led by Mauro Farina) and conformed to the new Japanese market.
Notable artists:
Too many to count. There were so many great songs from so many artists under different names it's crazy. That said, Aleph, Fred Ventura, and Mauro Farina wrote and sang some of the more amazing songs of the year.

1989-1990:
It was all somewhere in limbo between Italo-Disco and Eurobeat. I call it "Italobeat" honestly.
Asia Records, founded by Mauro Farina was very strong in 1989, since most labels weren't producing much Italo at the time (except for Time Records, though it was also producing Italobeat)
Even in 1990 most other labels (mainly Time) were still producing Italobeat, but one label came along and made Eurobeat into what we know it as today: A-Beat C
One could even say Dave Rodgers created "modern Eurobeat" in first person. Way too many notable songs and artists from this time to list (even more so than in 1988!)


Judging by your list, Para_Rigby, I would say you'd like any Italo/Italobeat made from 1987-1990. In that case, "That's Eurobeat" is a VERY good place to start, and I would recommend listening to it.
Although, if you are interested, give the earlier years of Italo a shot. If you want, I can post some youtube links to some of the better songs of the first half of the 80's. :wink:

Also, Megan, Italo-Disco is actually very easy to come by. Much easier than even Eurobeat! Just give eBay a quick search for some of the artists I've mentioned and you'll see a ton of results. Oftentimes affordable too, which is the best part. Heck I just bought Call Me by The System Blow and Help Me by Mela on 12" and both were about $7.50 :eek:
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Post by jeurobeat » 01 Aug 2010, 09:40

You could check out ZYX Italo Disco Collection 1 and 2 on iTunes. It features gems from the early 80s (like Styloo) to mid 80s (Brian Ice, Hot Cold) and late 80s (Max Coveri, Joe Yellow, Alan Barry). Hot Cold is especially interesting, because it was arranged by R. Arduini and produced by L. Stanga.

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Post by para_rigby » 01 Aug 2010, 13:47

Thanks so much for the information everyone. I was very intrigued by the genre and its history so I did some surfing on youtube. To be honest, I didn't know how extensive Italo Disco was even outside of the "That's Eurobeat" series!

I especially liked the songs:
How Old Are You/ Miko Mission
Baltimora/ Tarzan Boy

I'll have to do some more digging.

I do have a question though...in your own opinion, when did italo-disco/italobeat transition into what we call eurobeat. A longtime friend felt that the "Tora Tora Tora" was produced was when we got modern eurobeat....any ideas?

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Post by the_ditz » 01 Aug 2010, 16:18

para_rigby wrote:I especially liked the songs:
How Old Are You/ Miko Mission
Baltimora/ Tarzan Boy
They must be quite commercial choices as I don't follow the italo disco scene and even I know about them (but mainly because of the Master Blaster remake of How Old Are You and the fact that my sister bought the 7" single of Tarzan Boy back in the 80's :P )

I remember coming across some That's Eurobeat albums when I was first getting into the Eurobeat scene, but it didn't really grab me in the same way that more modern Eurobeat does. A bit too retro for me...

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Post by Megan188 » 01 Aug 2010, 18:19

ryosuke63 wrote:Also, Megan, Italo-Disco is actually very easy to come by. Much easier than even Eurobeat! Just give eBay a quick search for some of the artists I've mentioned and you'll see a ton of results. Oftentimes affordable too, which is the best part. Heck I just bought Call Me by The System Blow and Help Me by Mela on 12" and both were about $7.50 :eek:
Hehe, if anything, that is pretty expensive in comparison to the mere sub-$2.00 per song on Saifam's website. :P

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Post by the_ditz » 01 Aug 2010, 18:24

Megan188 wrote:
ryosuke63 wrote:Also, Megan, Italo-Disco is actually very easy to come by. Much easier than even Eurobeat! Just give eBay a quick search for some of the artists I've mentioned and you'll see a ton of results. Oftentimes affordable too, which is the best part. Heck I just bought Call Me by The System Blow and Help Me by Mela on 12" and both were about $7.50 :eek:
Hehe, if anything, that is pretty expensive in comparison to the mere sub-$2.00 per song on Saifam's website. :P
Aaah yes, but I believe you may be dealing with old school fans here to prefer something physical to hold in their hands other than an iPod/mp3 player :P

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Post by drnrg » 02 Aug 2010, 07:46

Guess I showed up late to thos party. Anway Ryosuke did a great job of breaking it down.

The only thing I can add is to look out for some of the most famouse Eurobeat vocals as you listen to classic Italo. Not only on those labels like Asia and TIME, but also many other unsung Eurobeat lables


High Energy
FLEA(one of my allTIME favs that showcased many of todays Eurobeat vocalists including Mr. Moog and Dave Rodgers
Radiorama
Disco Energy
Downtown
Power records
Stil Novo(you can hear early Nando Bonini on that label. singer and composer)
TIME most definately you'll hear how all the diffeent labels get thier start there and progressed thier sound.
HRG Attack. listen to the wonderful Robert Gabrieli on thier very first songs.

You have a lot of catching up to do, but believ me it's worth it 8)

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Post by jeurobeat » 03 Aug 2010, 17:13

drnrg wrote: FLEA(one of my allTIME favs that showcased many of todays Eurobeat vocalists including Mr. Moog and Dave Rodgers
Speaking of which, the 2 last Flea songs ever made I think (Panic In New York and Walking On Music) are now available on Juno, along with some other Flea songs. I wonder if they will ever publish the full catalog online, and if they are allowed to sell the Farina-produced songs. Those were some real gems.

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Post by ryosuke63 » 03 Aug 2010, 23:02

jeurobeat wrote:
drnrg wrote: FLEA(one of my allTIME favs that showcased many of todays Eurobeat vocalists including Mr. Moog and Dave Rodgers
Speaking of which, the 2 last Flea songs ever made I think (Panic In New York and Walking On Music) are now available on Juno, along with some other Flea songs. I wonder if they will ever publish the full catalog online, and if they are allowed to sell the Farina-produced songs. Those were some real gems.
Oh awesome, I love Panic In New York.
And to answer your question, Para, Eurobeat broke off from the Italo-Disco sound completely in 1990. Now, it may not have sounded like eurobeat does today, but it definitely established it's sound as it's own.
It's impossible to say when eurobeat got the sound it has today, because it changes so much.
The current sound probably took shape around 2006. Here's a breakdown of the different "sound periods" of eurobeat, in which the songs "sounded" (i.e. used the same instruments, etc.) the same up until now.

1990-1992: Can't really describe it well. More emphasis on a pronounced beat, and lots of work gone into melodies.
1993-1995: A lot of eurobeat (particularly A-Beat C stuff) sounded like house right now (good examples are Broken Heart by Norma Sheffield and Extasy/Kamikaze by DJ NRG.)
1996-1997: Can't describe it well, but it had a particular sound. May have had something to do with Delta coming on the scene.
1998-2000: A-Beat C was pretty strong here, and most eurobeat had a new sound.
2001-2003: Eurobeat sounded more modern here than it did before.
2004-2006: Sounded more modern, still.
2007-2008: Even more modern, some songs even had trance qualities (take Pamsy's songs for instance.)
2009-201X: The sound we have today.

I know not all of that makes sense (I can't really explain the different sounds eurobeat had in those periods) but those are pretty much all the phases eurobeat has gone through 'till today.
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Post by Megan188 » 04 Aug 2010, 03:25

I think eurobeat was very much still in its italo phrase during 1990-1991, just with a slightly newer melodic feel than the late 80's. Most labels started to truly fade from the genre's original form around 1992, beginning to sound instead more like early 90's house.

The true "eurobeat" style in the genre was first introduced in 1993 when A-Beat C produced He-Hey Dancin' by King & Queen, which deviated greatly from italo and house and had a more progressive and electronic feel to it than anything that came before it. However, this song and others that followed were still very light and not quite as fleshed-up as more modern songs are. Meanwhile, Time was still producing songs in the 90's house style and didn't become "eurobeat" until around mid-late 1994.

During 1994-1995, A-Beat C (including Leonardi) polished up their sound further, putting a stonger emphasis on the main beat and solidifying the use of their synths (in other words, the echoey, "watery" style that dominated 1993-1994 began to fade). At this point, A-Beat C, Time, and now Hi-NRG Attack all had a pretty distinct eurobeat sound, but their productions were still a bit slower and toned down in comparison to modern eurobeat.

The beginning of what I'd call a completely evolved form of eurobeat would probably be the debut of Delta, which produced songs, such as Money Go! and Lay Your Hands On Me, which had blazingly fast bpm's, very firm and progressive production, and instrumentation that sounded truly electronic. Though the other labels were still a bit behind Delta technologically at first, they eventually caught up, and, by late 1996, had become fully-evolved eurobeat themselves. Examples of some of the first "modern" eurobeat songs by the other labels, from my perspective, would include Satisfaction by Stop Limit Line (Time), I Love You Babe by King & Queen (A-Beat C), Runaway by Nick Mansell (SCP), and Money Cannot Buy My Love by Lilly (Hi-NRG Attack). After that, eurobeat would gradually continue to modernize into a newer sound, but for me, the basic structure and definition of the genre as we know today came to be at that particular era in time.

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Post by drnrg » 04 Aug 2010, 04:52

the period between 1992-93 was a very experimental phase for Eurobeat labels . Especially TIME and ABeatC. There were many different sounds and composers jumping on board.

For TIME the sounds were very obscure. There were a lot of songs that had Techno effects in the intros and breaks. Oddly enough these effects were introduced when Rimonti/Accantino/Gabrieli joined as composers. There was also those songs that had a very LIVE sound. Those of you who have vinyl can clearly hear the difference between Mike Hammer's- Catch Me and Chester's Crazy Babe. There was also a lot of Pianos mixed with synths which kinda give some songs a housy sound and lastly the speeds were very random. There were many songs with high bpms like Hot Girl and Sugar Baby, but also they would release those songs with very low bpms like It's Allright and Diamond Eyes.

Megan188
Time was still producing songs in the 90's house style and didn't become "eurobeat" until around mid-late 1994.
I'm not too sure about that 90's house style you speak of? If you mean the use of pianos, then maybe, but they geared more towards techno in the intros and breaks, but the rest was a Hi- NRG/italo mix sound. I actually think the first real Eurobeat style song for TIME was Para Para Para Night- Frank Torpedo, but even then TIME stuck more to the Hi NRG Italo sound with Techno bits here and there. There were songs like Roppongi Nights with very Eurobeat feel, but also Dr. Of Dreams with clear Italo influenced riffs. That was probobly why TIME was so successful, because of their variable sounds.

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Post by Megan188 » 04 Aug 2010, 05:08

drnrg wrote:I'm not too sure about that 90's house style you speak of? If you mean the use of pianos, then maybe, but they geared more towards techno in the intros and breaks, but the rest was a Hi- NRG/italo mix sound. I actually think the first real Eurobeat style song for TIME was Para Para Para Night- Frank Torpedo, but even then TIME stuck more to the Hi NRG Italo sound with Techno bits here and there. There were songs like Roppongi Nights with very Eurobeat feel, but also Dr. Of Dreams with clear Italo influenced riffs. That was probobly why TIME was so successful, because of their variable sounds.
The "house" style of Time that I refer to mainly pertains to their releases from around the SEB 30's and 40's decades. Songs like Love Is Danger and Nobody Knows have a far more modern stylistic feel than the 80's-ish Saw style from earlier years, but they were still very accoustic and to me sounded a lot less like techno or eurobeat than they did house or eurodance. It's not the exact same style, but it's definitely not what I'd compare to modern eurobeat at all. I do concur, however, that Frank Torpedo's Para Para Para Night is probably Time's first "real eurobeat style song." That song is a lot more electronic and pertains more to the present eurobeat sound than older tracks from the label's catalogue.

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Post by drnrg » 04 Aug 2010, 05:42

Megan188
The "house" style of Time that I refer to mainly pertains to their releases from around the SEB 30's and 40's decades. Songs like Love Is Danger and Nobody Knows have a far more modern stylistic feel than the 80's-ish Saw style from earlier years, but they were still very accoustic and to me sounded a lot less like techno or eurobeat than they did house or eurodance. It's not the exact same style, but it's definitely not what I'd compare to modern eurobeat at all. I do concur, however, that Frank Torpedo's Para Para Para Night is probably Time's first "real eurobeat style song." That song is a lot more electronic and pertains more to the present eurobeat sound than older tracks from the label's catalogue.
While there were TIME produced songs that definately had a housy sound to them like Desperado and Higher, I wouldn't catoagorize Love Is Danger and Nobody Knows- Gino Caria in that same brackett. They were ,however from the Boom Boom Dollars Rehashed melody TIME span. that's when almost all the songs carried the same melody, but still sounded different. Songs like Sugar Babe, Change, Mister Right, Hot Girl, Dirty Actions and the two above songs you mentioned. Bottom line is that the early 90's Italo/Eurobeat was really amazing and hard to describe. I mean where would you fit Tommy K's- You Need A Lover or Jilly Fall In Love. It wasn't house nor Eurobeat. It wasn't Italo, Nor Techno and not even 100% Hi Energy. it was simply TIME style 8)

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