Italo disco is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, pop, and electronic music, both domestic and foreign and developed into a diverse genre. The genre employs electronic drums, drum machines, synthesizers, and occasionally vocoders. It is usually sung in English, and to a lesser extent in Italian and Spanish.
Monica Stucchi, known by her stage name Valerie Dore, is an Italian singer.
Kano was an Italo disco music project formed in Milan, Italy in 1979 by producers/musicians Luciano Ninzatti, Stefano Pulga and Matteo Bonsanto.
A megamix is a remix containing multiple songs in rapid succession. It often features various artists. There may be only one verse or even just a brief chorus of each song used, sometimes in addition to samples of the same or other songs. It is common to use different samples to maintain and sometimes even ridicule the original. To unify the songs together smoothly, a single backing beat may be added as background throughout the megamix, although this is not a must. This backing beat is kept basic so as to simplify mixing and to not compete with the music. These mixes are usually several minutes long at minimum, going up to a half-hour or an hour, or even more sometimes.
Peter Slaghuis was a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer, whose work was mostly released under the name Hithouse.
ZYX Music GmbH & Co. KG is a German record label that was founded in 1971 by Bernhard Mikulski. It is one of the most successful German record labels of the 1980s and 1990s. Until 1992, the label's name was Pop-Import Bernhard Mikulski. The label specialized in disco, early house music and 1990s techno. Founder Bernhard Mikulski is credited with coining the term "Italo disco" in the 1980s. After the death of Bernhard, his wife Christa Mikulski took over in 1997.
"The Grease Megamix" is a megamix released in 1990 to commemorate the video release of Grease. The single was credited to John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John and released via Polydor Records. It was created by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow for PWL by the request of Polydor Records, who supplied copies of the original multi-track recordings. The megamix topped the charts of Australia and Spain and became a top-five hit in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom.
Righeira were an Italian Italo disco duo, formed in Turin in 1983, that comprised Johnson Righeira and Michael Righeira. Originally rooted in the early stages of Italo disco music, Righeira's musical style evolved throughout their career, incorporating elements of synth-pop and new wave in their songs in innovative ways, later exploring music styles such as electronic music and regular pop.
"No Credit Card" is a song by French singer Amanda Lear released in 1985 by Merak Music.
Memory Records was an Italian record label in Italy.
"Number One" is a song by Italian singer Alexia, released as the third single from her debut album, Fan Club (1997). Co-written by Alexia, it was her third successive top 5 hit on the Italian singles chart. In both Finland and Spain, it peaked within the top 5. A set of Spanish versions were released, although these were not specifically for the Spanish market.
Chinese Revenge is a song performed by Italian synth-pop group Koto. Released in 1982, it was their debut single. Composed by Anfrando Maiola, and produced by Stefano Cundari and Alessandro Zanni, it proved a big hit in Italy, selling over 10,000 copies. Unlike Koto's next batch of singles, "Chinese Revenge" is more of a downtempo track, rather than a high-energy italo-disco song. In 1985, the song was remixed by Marc Hartman, and again in 1989 by Michiel van der Kuy, with a more house flavour.
"Visitors" is a 1985 song recorded by Italian group Koto. Composed by Maiola and produced by Cundari, it is considered one of the best songs in the Italo disco canon. It contains a sample from Michael Jackson's 1984 hit, "Thriller". It is also considered one of the first "spacesynth" songs, a style of music which became popular during the mid-late 80s.
"Jabdah" is a song recorded by Italian synthpop group Koto. Released in 1986, it was their first single that charted. It was written by Anfrando Maiola and Stefano Cundari and produced by Stefano Cundari and Alessandro Zanni. The song reached No. 11 in Switzerland, No. 23 in Germany and No. 28 in the Netherlands. Like Koto's previous single "Visitors", it is considered part of the "spacesynth" canon. It is their most remixed song, with twelve official remixes.
"Dragon's Legend" is a song recorded by Italian group Koto. Released in 1988, it was their second and final single that charted, reaching No. 20 in the Netherlands. It contains samples from the 1983 video game Dragon's Lair. Later in the year, a remixed version called "Dragon's Megamix" was released.
Baby's Gang were an Italian teen pop band formed in Italy in 1983. The group comprised thirteen teenagers fronted by future italo disco star Ivana Spagna. They are mostly known for their hit single "Happy Song".
Laserdance is a Dutch Italo disco studio project consisting of producer Erik van Vliet and composer Michiel van der Kuy. The studio project has been categorized as part of subgenre known as spacesynth and has been generally considered as a major influence for the subgenre and has remained popular around Europe in the mid-1980s. Many of Laserdance's tracks are known to feature basic analog synthesizers, drum machines and vocoders. The name of the studio project comes from the first single with the same name published in 1984. Numerous hit singles from Laserdance include "Goody's Return", "Humanoid Invasion", "Power Run", "Fear" and "Shotgun ".
Future Generation is the first studio album by Dutch project Laserdance. Originally released as LP record by Hotsound Records in 1987, the album was composed by Michiel Van Der Kuy and produced by Erik van Vliet. It was released as CD album by Galaxis in 1987 and later ZYX Music in 2001. Future Generation contains rearrangements of Laserdance's previously released singles Power Run, Humanoid Invasion and Goody's Return, while the album also features new tracks.
"I Found Lovin'" is a song first released by the Fatback Band in 1983 by Master Mix Records. Co-written by long-time Fatback Band bassist Johnny Flippin and then-new singer/keyboardist Michael Walker, "I Found Lovin'" was included on the group's album With Love.
"Standing in the Rain" is a disco song recorded by Australian pop singer John Paul Young. It was released in Europe in February 1977 and in Australia in December 1977 as the third and final single from Young's third studio album, J.P.Y. (1976). The song was written by George Young and Harry Vanda.
