Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars.
Duran Duran are an English new wave band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year, the band went through numerous personnel changes before May 1980, when they settled on their most famous line-up by adding guitarist Andy Taylor and lead vocalist Simon Le Bon.
LaDonna Adrian Gaines, known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music gained a global following.
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance music. His work with synthesizers had a large influence on several music genres such as Hi-NRG, Italo disco, new wave, house and techno music.
Breakcore is a style and microgenre of electronic dance music that emerged from jungle, hardcore, and drum and bass in the mid-to-late 1990s. It is characterized by very complex and intricate breakbeats and a wide palette of sampling sources played at high tempos.
Bernard Edwards was an American bass player and record producer, known primarily for his work in disco music with guitarist Nile Rodgers, with whom he co-founded Chic. In 2017, Edwards was selected as the 53rd greatest bassist of all time by Bass Player magazine.
Mouse on Mars is a German electronic music duo formed in 1993 by Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma. Their music is a blend of electronic genres including IDM, dub, krautrock, breakbeat and ambient, featuring heavy use of organic analog synth and cross-frequency modulation. Their music also features live instrumentation including strings, horns, drums, bass, and guitar.
Junior Vasquez is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He has been referred to as one of the only DJs of his time to gain international attention.
Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently focuses on dance and electronic music under the direction of Brett Alperowitz.
Marc Cerrone is a French disco drummer, composer, record producer and creator of concert shows. Cerrone is a producer of 1970s and 1980s disco songs. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, including over four million copies in France, and eight million copies of Supernature. The single "Love in C Minor" (1976) reached No. 3 and was in the charts for two months, selling three million copies. With "Supernature" (1977), Cerrone merged symphonic orchestration with synthesizers. At the 1978 Billboard Disco Forum, Cerrone received six awards including Disco Artist of the Year.
Quarashi is an Icelandic rap rock band from Reykjavík, Iceland. The group consists of rappers Hössi Ólafsson, Ómar Örn Hauksson, Steinar Orri Fjeldsted, and Sölvi Blöndal. For live shows, Quarashi was joined by guitarist Smári "Tarfur" Jósepsson, bassist Gaukur Úlfarsson, and DJ Dice. The group came back together in 2016 and is planning on releasing a new album.
Thomas John Giuliano II, known professionally as Tom Scharpling, is an American comedian, television writer, producer, music video director, voice actor, and radio host. He is best known for hosting the weekly Internet radio call-in comedy program The Best Show with Tom Scharpling, the voice of Greg Universe in the animated series Steven Universe and its sequel series Steven Universe Future, and for acting as a writer/executive producer for the TV show Monk.
The Unrelenting Songs of the 1979 Post Disco Crash is a 2004 studio album by American breakcore musician Jason Forrest.
Chic, currently called Nile Rodgers & Chic, is an American band that was formed in 1972 by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards. It recorded many commercially successful disco songs, including "Dance, Dance, Dance " (1977), "Everybody Dance" (1977), "Le Freak" (1978), "I Want Your Love" (1978), "Good Times" (1979), and "My Forbidden Lover" (1979). The group regarded themselves as a rock band for the disco movement "that made good on hippie peace, love and freedom". In 2017, Chic was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the eleventh time.
Luxxury, formerly known as Baron von Luxxury, is an American producer, songwriter, DJ and artist. His best known songs include "Be Good 2 Me", "Feels So Good", "Breathe (Again)" and "Feel The Night"; earlier songs include "Drunk", which was used in commercials for Pontiac; "Sweet and Vicious", which was used on The Hills; and "I Know There's Something Going On", a cover of a song by Anni-Frid Lyngstad from ABBA. In addition to being the sole songwriter and producer for that band, he is a touring DJ as well as being an in-demand producer, remixer and songwriter formerly under contract with Razor and Tie Music Publishing for whom he has cowritten songs for artists including Vanessa Daou and Little Boots, as well as the song "If That's Love", which was featured on the CSI: Miami episode, "Show Stopper". He was also a co-founder of the now defunct MP3 blog Disco Workout. Luxxury's 2012 full-length album "The Last Seduction" was released on Manimal Vinyl and featured songs about his friends Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake. The album received strong reviews and made it to several "best of 2012" lists, including that of Duran Duran's John Taylor.
Michael Castaneda, better known by his alias Terminal 11, is an American electronic musician from Tempe, Arizona, US. His music producing style is generally considered as breakcore.
Barry Richards is an American radio/television personality, concert promoter and music producer from Washington, D.C. He made an impact during the late 1960s / early 1970s by introducing progressive rock to radio on the East coast.
Adaadat is a British Independent record label based in London releasing an eclectic mixture of Experimental Music, Chiptune, Noise Music, Art Rock, IDM and Breakcore. It was founded in 2002 by Angus Keith and Bjorn Hatleskog. The record label was initially set-up to release music by hard to find Japanese artists in the UK. Adaadat went on to develop a reputation for "anarchic spliced noise and frenetic live shows". In 2005 the Adaadat label was showcased on BBC One World programme broadcast on BBC Radio 1. From 2005 to 2006 Adaadat ran a monthly club night at the ICA called Trash Trash Noise Next Door.
Otto von Schirach is an American IDM and breakcore musician. Of Cuban and German heritage, he grew up in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami and heavily incorporates elements of Miami bass into his music. He started out DJing at house parties in the 1990s and began composing his own music. In 2001 he released his first album, 8000 B.C., on his own Triangle Earth label.
