A Dsico Fanzine

Best before -

DSICO
Heres what to expect on the following pages, translated into three different languages: Dsico. A freeing of either body and soul. Or is it only one music? Clear and hollow like plastic bottles on the mountain trashs? No sprite, no spirit. Seems like everynow like it anyhow and it`s assshaking danceable for all fags or faginas. Yes, yes. I heard some people say Disco is best. But thats we talk about. Talk about a music changing generations. Talk about lightfigures. We got deep in it. Really deep just touched the real. We asked the internet and our parents. And its annoying but more interesting. So just get inspired of this cool (the new meaning) fanzine. You will find out why you still dance to this music and whats the scence behind great tunes. Plus some great Top 69 list to checking out for, the dsico classics. Best before baby. If you like the zine just drop me some lines. Mito from Tokyo is a DJ. Disco. So heisst man seit das mitende neunzehnjahrehundert der tunz-tanz vier-zu-den-boden samstags pimmelparty. Was ist mit den Disco passiert? Ist es wirklich passierte oder was? Die antwort ist nicht etwas anderes: tanzst du oder sonst? Dazu - seit ihr deutsch, fremd-deutsch oder was - ihr seit bescheid wissen. Wenn sie ein leckerer Buerger maultaschen paeckchen kaufen wollen, lesen sie den mindestenshaltbar oder nicht? Ich machs nicht und es schmeckt gut normalerweise. Keine sorgen, die maultaschen sind immer das gute von menschen. Wieso ist Disco? Siebzigste, Achtzigste oder Neunzigste. Das war die zeit wo maenner ohne schamroete tanzen koennen. Aber heute, was steht mehr? Eine uebel faelschung von was war langjaehrig? Oder sonst etwas radioaktives heiss? Ihr seid hier um das zu erfinden. Pierlo from Rome likes Germany and of course: Disco. Disco. Non e solo un coso rotondo che si butta ma anche la musichetta. E vecchia ma funziona ancora abbastanze bene, dappertutto era morto. E diventata fiume principale (mainstream), poi sembrava merda! Meglio prima vuole dire che cera un tempo quando la musica disco era fenomenale. Ma meglio prima anche sta scritto normalmente sobra il latte, ma per disco non esiste la data precisa. Non si sa quando il gusto sara burro; gli anni settanta gia sono passati, giovanotto. Negli anni ottanta Italia era il posto di nascita per un tipo di disco plastico ginnastico. Oggi, che bello, madonna mia, disco piace la gente si balla uno due. Questo fumetto tifoso (fan zine) scrive la storia di sabato notte febre, di nuovo. Anche la nonna quando balla in cucina dice che siamo bravi e ci da un extra poco di carna. Harald from Germany is a friend of Pierlo and us.

Sorry Hipsters, This fanzine doesnt contain triangles

Bert knows how to Disco.

Disco describes a musical style which became popular in the mid 1970s. Influenced by Funk and Soul, Disco music also includes Latin percussion and symphonic elements such as strings or horns. Most significant is the steady rhythm that makes it easily danceable: a four-tothe-floor beat, often with an open hi-hat on the off-beat. Thanks to catchy melodies and repetitive vocals the sound became popular extremely fast, and by the

end of the 1970s most of the Western world was infected with Disco fever. The Discotheque plays a key role in the movement; its where the music became a life-style. Everything revolves around DJs and club culture - doing the hustle, doing the bus stop, doing the bump. Following planned steps doesnt appear as cool nowadays, but it set the whole world dancing, and today Disco is still the best club music. Word!

Stereotypical Disco Beat: Eighth Notes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Claps HiHATS (open) HiHATS (closed) Snare BASSDRUM X X X

X X X X X X X

X X X X X
Legendary Minimoog

The use of the synthesizer created the sensual feel that is characteristic for Disco and paved the way for Donna Summers landmark hit I Feel Love in 1977.

Steve at work.

Its time for the next prohibition: Disco. Guitars jitter in the background instead of wailing self-confidently, masculinity is a joke. But they get all the air-time on the radio! I cant listen to those soft synthefeizer sounds any more! Rock is bad-ass, Disco is just bad! And look at those sellouts: Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Queen, KISS - they all made a Disco song!

Disco stamp, 1999

Hedonistic life style

Excerpt from Discotheque Rock 72: Paaaarty! by Vince Aletti, Rolling Stone Mag, 13.09.1973

Paar-ty! Paar-ty! [...] You hear the chant at concerts, rising like a tribal rallying cry on a shrill wave of whistles and hard-beaten tambourines. Its at once a call to get down and party, a statement that theres a party going on and an indication that discotheques, where the chant originated, are back in force... ... in the last year theyve returned not only as a rapidly spreading social phenomenon (via juice bars, after-hours clubs, private lofts open on weekends to members only, floating groups of party-givers who take over the ballrooms of old hotels from midnight to dawn) but as a strong influence on the music people listen to and buy. The best discotheque DJs are underground stars, discovering previously ignored albums, foreign imports, album cuts and obscure singles with the power to make the crowd scream and playing them overlapped, non-stop so you dance until you drop. One of the most spectacular discotheque records in recent months is a perfect example of the genre: Manu Dibangos Soul Makossa. [...] its hypnotic beat and mysterious African vocals drove people crazy. (Vince Aletti)
What a difference a gay makes.

The massive quantities of drugs ingested in discotheques produced the next cultural phenomenon of the disco era: rampant promiscuity and public sex. While the dance floor was the central arena of seduction, actual sex usually took place in the nether regions of the disco: bathroom stalls, exit stairwells, and so on.

Anita Bryant

Hi, my name is Anita Bryant. I would like to tell you the truth about Disco: it is a complete sin to live that hedonistic life-style as many call it, and god will never forgive you for listening to that sex music! Its wrong to think Disco is fun. And by the way, as a mother I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children; therefore, they must recruit our children! Thats why I say: Ban Disco! Save our children.

C
Bill

haracterized by a strong bass, a simple melody, and tense repetitive lyrics. Disco, as this music is called...is becoming increasingly popular on AM and FM

radio stations. WPIXFM recently switched several hours of its nightly programming over to Disco and leaned Disco the rest of the day. (1975)

Its not that I wouldnt get in or anything, I just dont wanna go. Discotheques are for hypocrits, all that happy fuss is so superficial. Who cares if you cant dance or how you look, Im leading the Space Invaders highscore in all Ohio. I heard theyre doing drugs like all the time; I once tried Champagne on New Years and it was aweful. Iuhhh.

The Diskjockey
In 1969, American club DJ Francis Grasso popularized beatmatching at New Yorks Sanctuary nightclub. Beatmatching is the technique of creating seamless transitions between records with matching tempos. This allowed people to keep dancing without a break inbetween songs.

The first NY clubs in the early 70s must have been the shit! Electryfying temples of dancemusic: The Loft, The Gallery, Paradise Garage or Studio 78. Larry Levan is one of my favorite DJs and Remixers; just bought his Ladybug Remix on Discogs for only $210. All my friends envy me for having it! My favorite artists of today are LCD Soundsystem, Hercules & LA and stuff by label Gomma. Nu Disco!

DJ Francis Grasso (Sanctuary)

DJ Nicky Siano (The Gallery) & DJ Larry Levan (Paradise Garage)

Xavier of Justice made a collage out of his 8 favorite new Dsico labels - do you know them all? (p.49)

iscodie in d live and s rd o use c o re th otic ho , like ex theques tti,1973 Vince Ale flowers.

Hey Xavier. You forgot me: Jellybean. Famous Funhouse DJ and Madonna`s first lover.
John Jellybean Benitez

Excerpt from The Disco Handbook / Chapter 2 - Disco Lingo by Bruce Pollack: Any new craze worth the hysteria that disco has created must have its own specialized languagea slang vocabulary known only to insiders, making them feel more in. The disco craze is no exception, coming equipped with an assortment of colorful words and expressions to match the colorful, high-gloss fabrics worn at the discothque.

BROTHER: 1) A kindred spirit in the night 2) Anyone who can demonstrate a handshake of more than four separate movements. CONVERSATION: An outmoded preoccupation at the disco, which many lead to things like exchanging phone numbers or agreeing to meet outside for a breath of fresh air. DISCOTHEQUE: What the French, who invented it, call the disco. Literally, a record library. ROLLER DISCO: Disco on roller skates.

FOX: This years version of the Old Lady, who was last years edition of the Chick, who replaced Bird, who is a Chick or an Old Lady in England. TURKEY: Anyone who refers to women as Foxes, Chicks, Old Ladies, Birds, or Broads. FUNKY: 1) The kind of rhythm and blues designed to cause one to break out in cold sweats. 2) The collected aroma of the disco - with sweat, tears, makeup, hairspray, and perfume mingling with the moisture of bodies all gasping for breath in the darkness.

David Mancuso (The Loft)

KINETIC ENERGY: A substance produced by the nervous system when it interacts with the myriad effects of the disco. MOBILE DISCO: A commercial enterprise which com es to your house, school, or neighbor hood arena equipped with records, lights, speakers, turntables, mixers, deejay, and good vibes, to set up a one-night disco extravaganza. NERD: 1) Anyone who wears socks with cowboys and Indians on them. 2) Someone whose mother takes them to the disco and then waits outside in the car with the motor running.

THE BOX STEP: 1) An old-fashioned notion of danc ing which will only get you in trouble at the disco. 2) That four-cornered signal you mak e over your shoulder to friends, to warn them that youre with the kind of square who is still hopelessly in the dark ages, at least as far as dancing is concerned. HOT: Cool COOL: Hot BAD: Good

KK pres.

t i n a r gI r a

A story featuring Charles Manson, Jimmy Carter, Timothy Leary, Michael Jackson, Zsa Zsa Gabor and many more

Disco is commonly associated with two different things: the location, discotheque, and Disco music. The term discotheque is a hybrid (neologism) between disc and bibliotheque, it was coined in occupied Paris during the early 1940s by the pioneering nightclub La Discotheque , whereas Disco music - as we know it today - first emerged in the early 1970s. Forced by the official ban of so-called jungle music and other restrictions during the Nazi-occupation, little Jazz clubs in France would no longer dare to set up a whole live band, so they were simply playing recorded music via gramophones, instead. However, the crucial point is not just that the band was replaced by a gramophone but, as music journalist Peter Shapiro argues, that a disc jockey played music of his own choosing and not necessarily what was in the hit parade, tailored to a specific crowd of dancers in a nondomestic setting . The first disc-jockeys appeared in conjunction with the new mass medium radio in the early 20th century, they quickly played an important and powerful role as style-innovators and promoters. While most clubs still had live music, piano rolls, or jukeboxes where the playlists were determined by the distributors, the concept of the disc jockey transferred into the club scenery enabled a more distinctive sound and interactive approach (at least in theory). Despite the end of the occupation and the associated repression after 1945, the discotheques remained very popular in France. Though, the formerly shady venues became glamorous celebrity hangouts for the likes of Zsa-Zsa Gabor, Omar Sharif or Louise Malle. Due to that prehistory, most clubs in NY (and elsewhere in the United States) that labeled themselves as discothques in the 1960s

were strongly committed to their European origin, a conservative class-consciousness, and a rather strict dress code. It seems that such places could not provide what a thriving underground scene of gays, slackers, bohemians, ex-hippies, young immigrants and notorious partyheads was looking for - unique celebration and excessive dancing. Many contemporary witnesses and music journalists stress that these desires implied much more than just the longing for a good party, namely, the shared desire to escape into an egalitarian, liberated space without sexual or racial discrimination. Even though this might sound like a stereotypical phrase from the fading decade of the highly politicized 60s, the tempting promise of Disco was certainly not the liberation of the masses but the liberation of the individual, instead. When teach-ins and demonstrations did not help, one could overcome the persistent social borders at least for a single night through the universal language of dancing. The decisive influence of the late 60s sociopolitical climate on the emergence of Disco is a fix part of its historiography. In his book Turn The Beat Around - The Secret History of Disco Peter Shapiro describes its climate as an ideology hangover that was demonstrated through simple slogans like Im OK, Youre OK and a general return to rather individual concerns. Part of that setting is that many civil rights activists, especially Afro-Americans, were frustrated and disillusioned because the liberal establishment didnt seem to be capable or willing to grant the hard-won concessions, while the hippies had to face the fact that drugs could expand ones mind but not society. Only the gay community was encouraged - by the Stonewall Riots. The Stonewall Inn was a

Im just an outlaw my name is desire. Tasha Thomas Shoot Me

gay bar on Christopher Street in New York that was, like many other gay venues, raided by the police frequently because selling alcohol to homosexuals was supposedly prohibited. In the night of June 17th, 1969, when 8 police officers entered to stop the party, the patrons and staff decided to finally stand up against the police harassment, which lead to a proper streetfight or as the New York Daily Mail put it; Homo Nest Raided, Queen Bees Are Stinging Mad . Although it hardly put an end to the police harassment, this incident is considered to be the kick-start for the gayrights movement, it stands for New Yorks status as the gay metropolis where thousands of homosexuals from the US and the rest of the world came to learn how to live openly, honestly and without shame . Although the precedent remarks might suggest so, Disco was not the inevitable consequence of social determinants or even cultural constraint. Critics stress that despite the chronological connection the linkage between nightlife and politics is rather overrated; I really dont think that many of the activists went to the discotheques, and I dont think many of the people going to discotheques were into the political thing says sound-engineer and DJ Bob Casey, while the Stonewall regular Jorge La Torre frankly admits, I wasnt politically enlightened at the time. All I was interested in was having fun, going out dancing, and getting high . They argue that Disco is the creative work of enthusiastic individuals who shared a passion for dance music and happened to live in the same town, NYC. David Mancuso was one of those enthusiasts. He set up a loose series of semi-private house parties, later known as The Loft . Mancusos events were part of a whole network of

clandestine parties around that time, they were certainly not the only ones but they gained a legendary status due to their groundbreaking style. Mancuso, born 1944, was a runaway who stranded in NY in the mid 1960s. He was engaged with all kinds of scenes; the gay-rights movement, LSD fueled hippie gatherings with Timothy Leary, or Afro-American rent parties in Harlem. Mancuso, looking like Charles Manson after a wellness trip with his big beard, scraggly hair and piercing eyes, is often portrayed as the icon of the real Disco culture that is opposed to the greasy Tony Manero, John Travoltas character in Saturday Night Fever. Many of Discos legendary DJs like Frankie Knuckles, Francis Grasso, or Larry Levan were regular guests at The Loft and they all acknowledged the unique intimate atmosphere which made the parties so different from the average uptown clubnight. Mancuso tried to create a Disco lab with perfect conditions, he was concerned about everything from excellent sound over nutritious catering to an extravagant decoration, but the most important thing remained the music itself. Thanks to years of experience in the scene, he knew exactly what kind of music people would dance to. Mancuso recruited a crowd that was ambitious and willing at the same time. He reminisces; When a plane takes off theres a moment when the pilot decides that the speed is right, he pulls back and - boom! - you leave the ground. The party was like that. There was a point at which it just went up. It didnt happen right away. It took time. But it happened. The first Loft party, set up at Valentines Day 1970, was entitled Love Saves The Day , a title that illustrates Mancusos escapist notion. In 1970 there was no such thing as Disco music , neither spe-

cific files in record shops, nor radio shows. Like in the pioneer period of Hip Hop a couple of years later, DJs were looking for suitable tracks on all kinds of records. The playlists of the early 1970s DJs featured songs that would hardly appear on any Time Life Double CD anthology among Donna Summer or the Bee Gees. Mancuso, for instance, played Babe Ruths The Mexican (later a B-Boy classic) followed by Manu Dibangos driving afro-beat tune Soul Makossa and Eddie Kendricks protoDisco track Girl You Need a Change of Mind , others blended Cymandes percussive Bra into The Doors Roadhouse Blues . As long as there was a steady and dominant groove, everything could be played, it was all up to the DJ. The trailblazing innovation of that time was certainly not finding single tunes with driving beats, but to mix them into one steady flow. Beatmixing! While Mancuso was first of all famous for his selection, his mixing skills were rather poor, all he did was blending during the last fading seconds of a song. As claimed by popular history, Francis Grasso was the one who really enhanced this new technique. He was the resident at the Sanctuary, a former baptist church that turned into a gay hot spot, where the DJ was placed in the pulpit. In this sinful setting, Grasso performed his pioneering beat-mixing experiments: by using his headphones, he cued the unheard track, let it go just in the right moment and then played the two records simultaneously with the beats synchronized for two
David Mancuso Godfather of Disco

minutes or more . What appears as a commonplace to contemporary clubgoers was quite an advanced skill back then. Considering the fact that the record players at that time had no pitch function and the drumbeats on the records were played live, it seems almost impossible to keep two rhythms running with the

Every man wants to be a macho macho man to have the kind of body, always in demand Jogging in the mornings, go man go works out in the health spa, muscles glow You can best believe that, hes a macho man ready to get down with, anyone he can Village People Macho Man

same tempo for such a long time, whereas Grasso simply boasted: to me it was like nature.I did it like I walk my dog . Interestingly enough, his signature mix was not beat-matched. He layered Chicagos Im A Man over the vocal break of Led Zeppelins Whole Lotta Love , because You really couldnt dance to the Zeppelin once it went into the orgasmic tripping stuff, but if you mixed it with Chicago you could. The people went nuts. Supported by strobe light, massive sound, a passionate crowd and of course drugs, Grassos DJ sets created this unique atmosphere, that club culture since then is committed to; a synergetic experience of call and response that could not be reproduced anywhere else. It was especially the Sanctuarys gay audience, often fueled with poppers, that was eager to follow the DJs journey and functioned as party catalyst. Besides clubs like the Sanctuary and semi-private parties like The Loft, there was a third sort

of venue that played a crucial role in the early days of Disco, the baths. Some of New Yorks bathhouses were no longer only dedicated to sexual interaction, they had become pleasure domes. The Continental Baths for instance featured a restaurant, private apartments and a disco, where the guys would wear nothing but a towel around the neck. Attracted by such a grecoroman spirit and a very sophisticated entertainment program (performances by Bette Middler & Barry Manilow, Patti LaBelle), more and more straight people wanted to join the party. And through the support of the two DJ rookies Frankie Knuckles and Larry Levan, the Continental Baths became one of the hottest nightspots. They provided the pulsating rhythm for its x-rated scenery that is probably the worst nightmare of Steve Dahl or any other Disco hater. Both had a strong preference for soulful music, but while Knuckles was more into mixing, Levan, inspired by his Loft adventures, focused on the atmosphere. In 1974 Levan, who already had a name, left the Baths to spin at a black gay club called Read Street and from then on until the closure Knuckles was the resident. The Loft, The Sanctuary and The Continental Baths were only three of dozens of venues that were involved in the emergence of Disco culture in New York during the early 1970s, but they stand in an exemplary fashion for crucial contributions; the intimate atmosphere of a private party, the DJ as powerful master opposed to the insane crowd as willing servant and the club as an orgiastic setting. Although the DJs picked several obscure & novelty records in the early 1970s, the predominant style was Soul & Funk music, anyway. Artists that appeared on almost every playlist were James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Booker T. & The M.G.s or Diana Ross.

Whereas Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose by James Brown and other rough funk tunes slowly disappeared from the playlists, DJs began to increasingly spin records by The OJays, MFSB and The Intruders, the so-called Phillysoul from Philadelphia International Records. It was characterized by its highly-orchestrated sound; sweeping strings, rich instrumental arrangements and sweet horn sets. This corporate sound was the congenial cooperation of the innovative production teams Gamble & Huff and McFadden & Whitehead and the labels house band, which consisted of creative session musicians such as the vibraphonist Vincent Montana Jr. and the Trammps drummer Earl Young. Thanks to his distinctive snare pattern and hi-hat work, Young is supposed to be the inventor of the stereotypical Disco drum, exemplified in the song Disco Inferno by The Trammps. Another signature tune is MFSBs epos Love Is The Message that starts like a sleazy sitcom trailer and ends with Montanas extensive vibraphone jamming. Besides the lush production and the uptempo drumbeat, it were the powerful but universal messages that made Phillysoul the most influential aesthetic of Discos heyday. Everybody could easily appropriate and sing along phrases like Wake Up Everybody by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes or Aint No Stoppin Us Now by McFadden & Whitehead, which became a gay anthem. By the summer of 1973 hundreds of discotheques popped up in the Big Apple. There, the DJs and dancers had developed a specific taste for dance music together and as a result the tunes that were played in clubs resembled each other increasingly. Once it became a corporate sound, record labels slowly started producing Disco music. Shapiro calls it the beginning of the codification of disco as a style rather than the taste of whatever DJ

happened to be playing at that time . In order to match the sound that was demanded, Salsoul Records for instance drafted almost the complete house band of Philadelphia International. Salsoul was actually a Salsa label, but as the money-driven owners realized the financial potential of the it-sound, they were looking for renowned professionals like Montana and Young, who could embed their Latin-influenced style in proper Disco arrangements. The New York label marked its status with the release of Double Exposures Ten Percent , the very first 12-inch single that was commercially available. It was remixed by the Ice Palace resident DJ Walter Gibbons, who deconstructed the three minuteoriginal and extended it into a 10-minute percussive masterpiece. Through that release, the world was introduced to two innovations that are crucial elements of modern DJ culture, the remix and the 12 . In 1975, Van McCoys #1 hit The Hustle with its earworm melody, lame rhythm, and sleazy symphonic arrangement introduced Disco to the masses. Via radio the new sound was transmitted into the living rooms from Charlotte to Seattle, to people who would probably never do the hustle. Anyway, Disco was already more than just a subcultural phenomenon of nightlife, it had become mainstream. Due to nationwide popularity, the term Disco turned into a universal promotional affix, which was attached to almost everything; Discobowling, Roller Disco, Kinder Disco... Even president Jimmy Carters inaugural ball at the White House had a mobile-Disco featuring two dancers in peanut costumes. The hype reached its peak by 1977, when Saturday Night Fever delivered the urban fairy tale of Tony Manero, the Italo-stud who tries to escape his frustrating 9 to 5 by beco-

ming a dancing-star. By completely ignoring the gay subtext of Manhattans club culture and depicting Disco as a modern ballroom scenery, the movie visualized a family-friendly notion of Disco. A year later, however, the queer face returned to the public in a silly disguise, the Village People. Now, family-dads all over the country were dancing polonaise accompanied by the ridiculous lyrics of Macho Man . Revenge? Maybe that was the last straw that led to the backlash of Steve Dahls Disco Demolition Day in 1979, where thousands of drunk troglodytes expressed their concern about the threat to real Rock music, gayness and superficiality by burning Disco records in a base-

BIRTH OF ThE First 12iNCh SiNGLE

Tom Moulton, famous for his early Disco mix-tapes at Sandpiper Bar (Long Island, NY), started making remixes for the music industry in 1974. Club culture was growing and so was the demand for longer records with breaks and builds. Some time in 1975, Moulton took a mix for Al Dowing to New York Media Sound to have it mastered onto a seven-inch metal blank which was the standard format for singles. But they were out. The engineer Jos Rodriguez used a ten-inch blank, instead. In order to avoid having it look like the rest of the record was blank, they spread the grooves apart. Oh my God! Boy, was that hot, Moulton says, it just made the regular forty-five sound like such shit. The levels were incredible... the dynamics, the bass.... Tom Moulton pressed a new, bigger, 12 promo (an edit of Moment of Truths So Much For Love ) to give it to DJ Richie Kaczor and DJ David Rodriguez. It was the very first 12inch single. Some months later in 1976, Walter Gibbons remake for Double Exposures Ten Percent was the first commercially available twelve-inch single on Salsoul Records. The Super Sound Single became a term in industry/advertising. However, isnt it strange that they invented it late in the 70s? Shouldnt the physical rules of more space, more data/range be obvious to every soundengineer?!?

ball stadium. (More about Disco Demolition Day in the following article The Art of DiscoBashing ) With the mass-popularity of Disco since the mid 1970s, New Yorks club culture changed and headed in two different directions. While a lot of underground gay venues and shady clubs just continued business without being bothered by any celebrities or straight suburbians, a few other places became the glossy temples of elitism, which attracted all the

public intention. It was time to polish the fittings so the society folk felt comfortable jumping aboard , and the club that paved the way for this new commitment was Le Jardin . When Diana Ross appearance at the opening caused an enormous promotional stir through the press, many clubowners tried to follow that simple but effective principle. Certainly, chatty socializing has always been a part of clubbing, but it now seemed that everything was about look whos here , big limousines, the guest list - and less the music. Welcome to the Studio54! In contrast, a club that had nothing to do with celebrities riding on horses on the dancefloor was the Paradise Garage , home of DJ Larry Levan. It was dedicated to the underground spirit of The Loft, where the young Larry had been fascinated by Mancusos gift to create that certain intimacy. Nevertheless, the former parking garage was ten times The Loft, it had a huge dancefloor and supposedly the best p.a. in town. The whole straightforward setting was feeding only one purpose - dancing. Levan was not very good at mixing, but he had an obsession to control all of his clubbers senses. Therefore he personally took care of every medium in the Garage; he screened movies ( Altered States , The Wizard of OZ ), he leveled the soundsystem during the day, he had his own control set for the light and eventually he played wonderful dance music. Like in the early days of Disco, the selection was very eclectic and featured all kinds of records; Grandmaster Flash, MFSB or the Talking Heads. Mel Cheren, the co-owner of the Garage, remembers that once he had the whole club dancing to nothing more than a few keyboard doodles, unaware that the record he was accompanying had finished minutes ago . What gave Levan such an outstanding position apart

Welcome To The Studio54!

Grace Jones arriving naked so many times it became tiresome; Margaret Trudeau, wife of the Canadian Prime Minister, caught on camera with her muff getting some air; a famous fashion designer buying sex from a busboy; Bianca Jagger riding in on a white stallion lead by a man wearing nothing more than a coat of paint; Liz Taylor photographed having something placed on her tongue; Liza Minelli chewing the fat (and her inner cheeks) on a banquette. Someone dying in an air vent trying to get inside; Sly Stallone ordering at the bar next to John Travolta while a child-like Michael Jackson sits on a sofa in between Woody Allen and Truman Capote, with Andy Warhol over to the side, Jerry Hall next to him deep-throating a bottle of Moet & Chandon...

from his atmospheric DJ skills, was the sort of cross-marketing process that was going on between him both as a DJ and remixer on one and the record labels on the other side. Thanks to the thousands of people (and especially other DJs) dancing every weekend in the Paradise Garage, the Larry Levan Dance Mix button on a sleeve could give a Disco record the final boost. Think of Gwen Guthries Aint Nothing Goin On But The Rent or Tanaa Gardners Heartbeat , both Garage classics. Since 1992 when Larry Levan died at the age of only 38, he was turned into a mythical figure of pop-history as a godlike DJ. Whether he was really that genius or he simply had an attitude is irrelevant. Fact is that Levan and the Paradise Garage, where he performed from 1977 until its closure in 1987, stand for the continuum of Disco. The 1970s had already known subgenres of Disco, but the new decade marked a sweeping fragmentation that brought out a vast variety of styles and eventually fully emancipated descendants. The Sugarhill Gang rapped over the sample of Chics Good Times and introduced Hip Hop,

The Clash showed Punks how to dance and Madonna made it Pop. While these derivates only referred to the aesthetics of sound and ignored the indispensable setting of the nightclub, House music emerged from the same synergetic energy of dance music and the dancefloor. So its no coincidence that the new sound was named after the club where it had been distilled the Warehouse in Chicago (residency of Frankie Knuckles). Here, Frankie Knuckles and his audience reduced Disco to the max. After the masses had already turned their back on Disco in 1979, the final death notice was announced when the HI virus appeared on the set in 1981. Initially nicknamed the Saints Disease - referring to a gay club that popularized the vocal-dominated subgenre Hi-NRG and whose members were about the first to die - the virus took the life of thousands of dance maniacs and many pioneers like Patrick Cowley (see our Disco Heaven ). The impact on the clubscene was dramatic. In those days Disco might have lost its carelessness, but opposed to a popular narrative it didnt die. It grew up!

Bibliography:

Sesame Disco!
The 70s kids shows Sesame Street and The Muppet Show by Jim Henson had many sketches about Disco, a fact that perfectly reflects how omnipresent mainstream Disco was. Plus, the songs were easy to remember! Disco as a genre wasnt culturally challenging at all, and with its world of bizzare celebrity characters and comical glamor it seemed a suitable subject for kids. Today, many new Disco musicians who probably watched the shows as kids are still inspired by the Muppet style. Andy of Hercules & Love Affair says he loves the Muppets, and that their song True False / Fake Real is highly inspired by them. The Puppetmastaz are to HipHop what the Muppets were to Disco. When Gonzales raps he sounds like Mr. Snuffleupagus, and Escort just had a YouTube hit with their muppet Disco video All Through The Night. Check dsico-fanzine.com for some videos...

- - -

Brewster, Bill and Frank Broughton. Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey. London: Headline, 1999. Lawrence, Tim. Love Saves The Day: A History of American Dance Music, 1970-1979. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2003. Shapiro, Peter. Turn the Beat Around: A Secret History of Disco. NY: Faber and Faber, 2005.

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29 B 14 39% 38 8/10

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Success in Million Dolla rs Cup Size Lovers Gay-Diva Fa ctor Dance Mov es Lyrics

Do it to me again and ag ain, You pu awful spin. t me in such (Love to lov an e you baby )

28 B 5 66% 28 6/10

Friday night and the lights are low, Looking out for the place to go. (Dancing Queen)

Research I: The Disco Producer

We scrolled the the discography (productions, remixes, appearances) of super famous Disco producers on www.discogs.com and counted the time from top to button of each list (one scroll / second / Mac WheelMouse). See for example: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Giorgio+Moroder 1. PA 2. QJ 3. IL 4. GM 5. NR 6. DB 1. Patrick Adams produced: Musique Keep On Jumping or Bumblebee Unlimited Lady Bug 2. Quincey Jones: Michael Jackson Thriller or Brothers Johnson Stomp Plus: We Are The World 3. Ian Levine: Miquel Brown So Many Men So Little Time or Evelyn Thomas High Energy. 4. Giorgio Moroder: Donna Summer Love To Love You Baby or filmmusic for Midnight Express Chase Plus: a lot of Italo Queens. 5. Nile Rogers (Chic): Sister Sledge We are family or David Bowie Let`s Dance. Plus: Madonna Like A Virgin 6. Dieter Bohlen: CC Catch I Can Loose My Heart Tonight or Modern Talking Cherie Lady. By the way: Dr. Dre is scrollable in 89 seconds. Just to inform the Hip Hoppers.

36

54

25

142

61

34

Scrolling Seconds

Research II: Typical Disco Song Title

We counted the most used words in song titles from 1127 Disco releases on Atlantic (346), Casablanca (135), Prelude (200), Salsoul (237) and T.K. Records (209). Range of release dates: 1974-1986

218 210 134 110 78 72 64 44 43 35 31 26 22 19 19 19 17 16 16 6 Up Man Keep Body Feel Hot Come Down Party Together TOP NOUN: Love -> 210 Matches TOP VERB: to can -> 44 Matches Can Is Night My Dance Your Me I

You Love

Uses of Up or Down in Song Titles Up 31 Down 16 God 3

Uses of God or Devil in Song Titles Devil 6

More cool words: Superman, Superstar, Heartbreaker, Skydiver, Drummer, Friday, Saturday, Disco Circus, Discolypso, Dynamite, Stimulation, Sensation, Space, Boogie, Baby, Fun, Magic, Ooh, Burning, Kiss, Touch, Moonlight, Moonboots, Fire, Flight, Bass, Busstop, Hustle, Nasty, Mad, Roller Skating, Waterbed, Lipstick, Celebrate

Research III: The Disco explosion

We counted the Disco releases of each year between 1974-1986. Based on 1127 Disco records (same as on the left side...)

284

173

129 116 121 117

73

48 31 18 2 12 3

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

Examples from 1979: Kiss I Was Made For Lovin` You, Lipps Inc. Funkytown, Michael Jackson Dont Stop Til You Get Enough, Dan Hartman Relight My Fire, Chicago Street Player, Anita Ward Ring My Bell. Danceclassics: Martin Circus Disco Circus, Bumblebee Unlimited Lady Bug, Inner Life I`m caught up. Leftfielded: Telex Moskow Diskow, James White & The Blacks Contort Yourself, Dinosaur Kiss me again, PIL Death Disco

20 19 15 14 16 13

17 18 11

12

10 1 2 3 5 4 6 7 8 9

NeW YoRk CITY

1. Paradise Garage, Club by Michael Brody and Mel Cheren; 84 King St. 2. When hearing Barry Whites Love Theme at an exclusive party on a boat Aaron Spelling got the idea for the famous TV series Love Boat; West Pier 3. Neil Bogart of Casablanca Records met Paul Stanley and then signed KISS whose most succesful hit would later be the Disco song I Was Made For Loving You Baby; 5 Hudson St. 4. The Loft, Club by David Mancuso (first location); 147 Mercer St. 5. Greenwich Village, or just The Village - gay quarter that gave the Village People their name. 6. The Gallery, Club by Nicky Siano (second location);172 Mercer St 7. Lombardis: John Travoltas favorite Pizza place. 32 Spring St. 8. In 1979 Harry KC Wayne Casey of KC & The Sunshine Band was beaten up by some anti-Disco kids in front of Katz Deli; 205 East Houston St. 9. The Saint, Legendary Gay-Club; 2nd Ave & 6th St. 10. Besides Cheesburgers Big-Q also sold Quaaludes Burgers; 52 East 10th St. 11. Danceteria, Club of Disco Punk; 30 East 30th St. (third location) 12. Office of Sal Soul Records; 240 Madison Avenue 13. Grace Jones walked down 5th Avenue completely naked in 1983 14. Office of Prelude Records; 200 West 57 St. 15. Studio 54, Club by Steven Rubell & Ian Schrager; 254 West 54th St. 16. The Sanctuary, Club with Dj Francis Grasso; 407 West 43th St. 17. Funhouse, Club by Joe Monk; 526 West 26th St. 18. Roxy, originally Roller Disco; 515 West 18th St. 19. Village Peoples Victor Willis (the police officer) was found passed out in a monkey cage; NY Central Park Zoo 20. Legendary roof top pool party by The Discoghosts; 702 Park Avenue

90-minute-riot. Is it pure coincidence that disco was slaughtered in a baseball stadium, the traditional American playground for proving ones masculinity? Probably not. This riot, though unintended, somehow resembled the fascist book burnings and marked the most violent expression of a widely spread antipathy towards disco-culture. In 1979 disco had turned into a four-billion-dollar-industry and had dominated the mainstream culture. There were 20,000 discos all over the country and the commercial potential of disco was heavily exploited. It was no surprise that Dahl didnt remain the only persecutor of wimpy disco-culture: there were others like D.R.E.A.D. (Detroit Rockers Engaged in the Abolition of Disco), KGON-DJ Bob Anchetta, who sawed up stacks of disco records with a chainsaw, KROQ-DJ Insane Darrell Wayne, who organized a disco funeral at Ventura Beach or Dennis Erectus, who destroyed disco records in his radio show Erectus wrecks a record . According to Dahls imagery, disco did not just lose the battle, but the whole war. Disco was turned into dance-music and descended into oblivion. In the end, western masculinity had prevailed, thanks to Steve.

White three-piece-suits never seemed to fit Steve Dahl, a slightly overweight 24-year-old Radio-DJ from Chicago. He also didntt like pina coladas because he was allergic to coconut and, to top it all off, he couldnt dance. This justification for his anti-disco-crusade, explained on the Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder in 1979, was actually more reasonable and less sarcastic than one might think in the first place. It actually showed why the average white American guy seemed to prefer Kiss to Chic, because something deep inside of him couldnt deal with this sexually explicit, too glamorous, too gay and maybe too black sort of subculture. Compared with Rock, disco simply didnt have any balls! Dahls crusade, fueled by his offbeat and white trash sense of humor, resulted in the so-called Disco Demolition Night which took place on the 12th of July in 1979 and is usually referred to as the day that disco died . After Dahl got sacked from his job at WDAI earlier in79, because the radio station had switched its program from rock to disco, Dahl, now with WLUP, dedicated himself to wiping out disco. He founded his own army, the Insane Coho Lips (coho salmon had been released into the great lakes to kill the lamprey eel, a parasite), took over disco-clubs and produced the antidisco-hymn Do you think Im disco? . And what was originally intended as promotion for a baseball match between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers at Chicagos Comiskey Park, turned into a riot and a beacon for the downfall of disco. The Disco Demolition Derby was a twi-night doubleheader: two matches were set up on one evening. Since the White Sox had played a rather poor season, the idea was to let everybody in for only 98 cents, who showed up with a disco record to demolish. As a result the stadium was full packed with 50,000 fans and another 15,000 waiting outside. The atmosphere was heated up due to the aggressive promotion and people were chanting disco sucks , starting fireworks and throwing their records like frisbees on the playing field. Beer consumption was three times higher than usual and when Dahl finally showed up in between the matches, fully equipped with army outfit, army jeep and some blonde bombshells, the audience was waiting for some blood to be spilled. After Dahl blew up a big box with 10,000 disco records, hundreds of people started to make a run on the field and devastate the playing field, stealing the bases and setting parts of the lawn on fire. Only massive police force ended the

VS ROCK

DISCO

BASS AND SNARE USED tO bE bESt FRIENDS.

Together they rocked every discothque while Hihat just stood there in awe, with her mouth open...

Bum Tsss Chack Tsss

Until, one day Bass would only hang out in the VIP area...

...and Snare didnt seem to fit in any more.

She got very sad because nobody seemed to want her anymore (there`s no snare drum in most of Techno and House).

Thats when she started taking drugs and got into Jungle, Drum n Bass und Ragga..

Dumdumchack diggidiggibumchack! (Pitched up breakbeats)

...while Bass was sniffing snow at exclusive glam parties.

One day, Snare had a vision:

Snare, I am your great grandfather! Stop embarassing yourself, wheres your pride? When I was your age I was leading marches; the straight rythm was my idea! You gotta pull yourselves together, guys!

Youre right! We invented the BPM! The beat is only complete with both of us! Disco-jogging only works with Bum AND Chack!

By that time, Bass had also realized they cant live without each other...

...and so they got back to working the discothques - together!

Will Smith is performing And The Beat Goes On by The Whispers

Will Smith is performing Forget Me Nots by Patrice Rushen

Will Smith is performing Greatest Dancer by Sister Sledge

Will Smith is performing Rock The Casbah by The Clash

[10:55] W1LLSM1TH: yo [10:57] jamiroquai72: anybody in here? [10:57] dftpunk: bonsoir [10:57] justice: sup guise [10:57] jamiroquai72: bonsoir! [10:58] W1LLSM1TH: wheres kylie? [10:58] justice: woah daft punk you are the greatest! [10:58] kylie=~=: im here will [10:58] dftpunk: merci and we love justice too [10:58] W1LLSM1TH: how ru kylie? say hi to olivier [10:59] jamiroquai72: hate to say it mates, but all daft punk does is sample disco tracks [10:59] kylie=~=: olivier says hi big willie [10:59] justice: jamiroquai is gealous theyre successful and hes not [10:59] jamiroquai72: he certainly neednt to be jealous.... [10:59] dftpunk: we also like jamiroquai ;) [10:59] kylie=~=: i thought jamiroquai is a band [10:59] jamiroquai72: WE ARE A BAND! [10:59] W1LLSM1TH: no beef in here lol [10:59] kylie=~=: yeah i know its like bon jovi is a band too.. but no need to yell at me [10:59] jamiroquai72: all i said is that daft punk just take samples from old disco classics and make millions... not very creative [11:00] Madonna: hey [11:00] W1LLSM1TH: i didnt know dft punk was sampling i thought its all theirs [11:00] justice: even if they do, its not like theyre the only ones sampling disco RIGHT WILL!?! [11:00] jamiroquai72: harder better faster stronger see: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=sklZ-f6Wstw [11:00] dftpunk: hi Madonna! how r u [11:00] W1LLSM1TH: its the sound i grew up with thats why i like sampling it... what, you dont like disco j? [11:00] Madonna: omg jamiroquai yur so hot# [11:00] jamiroquai72: of course we like disco [11:00] justice: duh will :D btw Madonna jamiroqueer is a band [11:00] jamiroquai72: cheers Madonna! btw were a band... [11:01] Madonna: really? are the other members as cute as him? [11:01] W1LLSM1TH: whats yer point jam? btw Madonna youre a milf [11:01] kylie=~=: LOL is there a disco song you havent sampled yet will [11:01] jamiroquai72: we prefer to write our own songs instead of using other artists music, thats my point [11:01] kylie=~=: whats a milf? [11:01] W1LLSM1TH: i love combining the old with the new, i think its artistic [11:01] justice: jamiroguy we also write new disco songs so what [11:01] jamiroquai72: ok lets see... those were wills hits: Summertime < Kool & The Gangs Summer Madness Gettin Jiggy Wit It < Greatest Dancer by Sister Sledge

Miami < And The Beat Goes On by The Whispers Men In Black < Patrice Rushens Forget Me Nots Will 2K < Rock The Casbah by The Clash [11:02] dftpunk: jamiroquai doesnt use samples, but theyre sampling a certain style. we are quoting great musique (no secret), they are pretending to invent an own style, but its just as retro... which is worse, quoting or immitating? [11:03] W1LLSM1TH: omg my willenium song is sampling the clash??? didnt even know... kci hooked me up with that one [11:03] Madonna: i used to be a disco queen myself in the 80s... but i also remixed ABBA [11:03] justice: thats not a remix thats sampling [11:03] kylie=~=: i just googled milf [11:03] W1LLSM1TH: rofl [11:03] kylie=~=: hey wheres that tracky guy? werent we all supposed to meet here and talk to him [11:04] jamiroquai72: so dftpunk does that mean anybody playing a bass is immitating? who is tracky [11:04] W1LLSM1TH: jamiro you consider kool & the gangs summer madness DISCO? btw we won a grammy with dat one! at least all my songs are better than that staying alive cover by the fugees [11:04] Madonna: sampling, immitating - whatevs, i think disco remains a popular genre because its danceable. its accesible to anyone, it doesnt exclude anybody culturally. its the perfect mainstream [11:05] justice: i like wyclefs version of staying alive! we play it all the time... hey why is it ok to you to sample, but not to pirate music Madonna? [11:05] kylie=~=: tracky, the upitup guy who told us to come here at 11 [11:05] dftpunk: Madonna, i partly agree with you; disco is raw material from a cultural point of view, its not owned by anyone like techno or hiphop [11:05] Madonna: justice: because i pay for the samples i use [11:05] TheDiscoghosts: EEHH!!! [11:05] dftpunk: hi discoghosts! we love you [11:06] TheDiscoghosts: sorry daftpunkers but we love ladies only, no dudes! [11:06] dftpunk: for your info: disco was made by mostly gay people [11:06] W1LLSM1TH: what?!? [11:06] TheDiscoghosts: but disco is dead and so are all the gay producers (aids). its very heterosexual nowadays [11:06] jamiroquai72: i cant believe im even reading this chat. you guys are all unfuckingbelievable, sorry but im outta here [11:06] W1LLSM1TH: does this make any of MY SONGS GAY THEN?!?!? [11:06] justice: isnt tracky one of TheDiscoghosts? [11:06] Madonna: relax will youre still very masculine [11:06] TheDiscoghosts: whats a tracky? madonna youre also very masculine [11:06] kylie=~=: LOL [11:07] W1LLSM1TH: yo, honey i shrunk the kids is on tv, just started! <you have been disconnected from the internet>

hey guys sorry im late but i ha |

De lu xe Pa r t

y Ba ll

- St y ro f o am - C ra ppy C Ba ll Ds - H o t- g lue - S c is s o rs
1 2

Planning a private party? Its so easy making your own mirror ball, just follow these steps...

Cut little squared pieces out of some old CDs. Hardrock or Metal CDs reflect the best.

Good work. Now start your hot-glue pistol. Smells yummie doesnt it?

Now put small drops of glue on the backside of each mirror piece. Careful, its hot!

Arrange the pieces in rows around the styrofoam ball. Almost ready...

Wow!

IT s
Fever

An analogy which often appeared in mainstream Disco culture and its conquest was the Disco fever. The rapid success of the genre seemed like an epidemic; Bruce Pollack wrote in The Disco Handbook from 1979: By now youve heard the word and felt the fever. In newspapers and magazines, on radio and TV, in movies and advertisements, on city buses and airplanes buzzing the beach, the word is always the same - disco - and the fever is spreading. The 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever by Robert Stigwood and John Badham had ultimately popularized the music and its corresponding club scene all over the world. In the movie, the fever had an additional meaning: the urge to get out of every day life and become king at the local discotheque on the weekends. The urge eventually became an addiction until ones life completely revolved around the weekly ritual of going out to dance. The Bee Gees Night Fever from the movie soundtrack also describes the fever as the excitement for nightlife. As a mass phenomenon mainstream Disco also exerted a certain peer pressure; having to know the right lingo, wear a fancy outfit, know the latest dance moves. The 1970s kids TV show Sesame Street made fun of this fact in several sketches (you can watch them on www.dsico-fanzine.com). One sketch is spoofing a scene from Saturday
? Typical Earworm. Often transmits DSI-79 virus

a PE sT!
Night Fever ; at first Grover is dancing like Tony Manero (John Travolta) but soon gets out of breath while everybody keeps yelling at him dance! . He keeps dancing until he finally faints. The BBC actually reports in an article titled Dancing Death about an epidemic that broke out in mid-July 1518 in Strasbourg, France, where a woman stepped into the street and started to dance. She was still dancing several days later. Within a week about 100 people had been consumed by the same irresistible urge to dance. The authorities were convinced that the afflicted would only recover if they danced day and night. So guildhalls were set aside for them to dance in, musicians were hired to play pipes and drums to keep them moving, and professional dancers were paid to keep them on their feet. Within days those with weak hearts started to die. By the end of August 1518 about 400 people had experienced the madness. Its still not clear today what made the patients dance day and night; some think they had ingested argot, a psychotropic mould that grows on stalks of rye, others say they were obsessed by a demon. According to the BBC article the dancers might have had entered a trance state due to extreme psychological distress caused by their poor living conditions.

Dance Disease

Lets see if Hasi International is Disco infected?

The DSI-79 virus: Widespread, contagious virus in the western hemisphere. Transfused by air -> music. Causes several diseases - in some cases fatal!

This throws another light on the story line of Saturday Night Fever and the motifs of Tony Maneros unhappy life (deadend job, unsupportive parents, tensions in the local community, wrong friends) as the medical explaination for his dancing. Germans have a special term for catchy tunes that get stuck in your head: earworms (Ohrwrmer). Once entered, the earworm repeats the main melody of a song within your mind, over and over again. Disco songs often have such catchy melodies, thats probably also a reason why they became popular so quickly. Who hasnt found themselves singing these sounds fall into my maiaiaind or vamos a la playa oh ohohoh oh all day? The biggest producers of earworms were -without any doubt - ABBA. The Swedish group had one hit after another thanks to the signature harmony singing of female lead singers Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Faeltskog. This style of creating neat harmonics with two voices already helped The Beatles implant earworms with their music. And once its stuck in peoples heads its a guaranteed chart hit. Sometimes an Ohrwurm can be killed by listening to or singing another song, so the worm gets irritated and mixed up; during the Disco era, however, every other song was just another earworm... More and more people (especially Rock fans) got tired of the omnipresent Disco hype during the late

Ear Worm

70s/early 80s with its obtrusive earworms. Hate arose agains annoying melodies and lowbrow lyrics, and the Disco Sucks movement was started (as described earlier in this issue). Steve Dahls Disco Demolition Night, where thousands of Disco records were burned, is considered the day Disco died . But since its all about Staying Alive , Disco coudnt be killed. So god created a disease that killed a lot of Disco producers and DJs (many of them homosexual). At first the disease was called gay cancer until it later became known as AIDS... And because of all of those symtoms people needed good medicine. Some used methaqualone, a muscle relaxant also known as Quaaludes, others inhaled Poppers (amyl nitrite) to enhance sexual pleasure. The most popular medicine was cocaine, a stimulant of the central nervous system. However, most of the medicine used is addictive - a fact that caused more symtons to appear due to their regular use. CONCLUSION: As a conclusion I can say Disco is a highly contagious, addictive, and deadly disease. In order not to catch any of the above symptoms make sure you NEVER:
listen to the song Lady Bug by Bumblebee Unlimited, especially not the Larry Levan edit

Addiction

Gay Cancer

42 41

Dr. DRE

40

38

39
watch Trackys YouTube playlist Sesame Disco read the book Turn The Beat Around by Peter Shapiro watch the film Paris Is Burning by Jennie Livingston. visit www. ebonycuts.com watch the film Maestro by Josell Ramos. watch the music video to Boys by Sabrina Salerno

TOP 69
During our research weve come across some great tunes, and weve decided to compile a list for you featuring our 69 favorite Disco tracks +1 bonus track; the list also contains important milestones of music history. We sorted them chronologically, determined their most significant elements, analized their tempo (BPM), and guessed the tonal key - all to find musical similarities / differences. Its interesting how the list shows in what ways the genre developed. It also questions the musical cliches Disco is noted for, while drawing connections to todays dance music. Some sounds are still up to date while others seem antiquated... As a conclusion, we made a track with all the average values of the below songs (bpm, key, elements etc.) to create the ultimate Uberdisco track! Mwahaha! Some musical elements are typical for Disco, be sure to know these: electric (often slap) bassline that alternates / slides between two octaves, funky guitar playing syncopated chords (often with

the wah-wah effect), open hihat between bass and snare drum, latin percussion enhancing the rhythm, claps, cowbells, tom toms, and other rhythmical gadgets, a steady four-to-the-floor (FTTF) 4/4 bassdrum, uplifting strings creating a lush atmosphere, repetitive vocals and raps, falsetto (head voice) choir, quacky snythesizer basslines and melodies, and much more (vocoders, synthetic drums)... You can listen to all songs (incl. Uberdisco) at www.dsico-fanzine.com

Analysis of our TOP 69

Average BPM: 116,64 Top 59% 40% 40% 31% 21% 21% 19% 19% Top 51% 13% 9% 5% 5% 17% featured elements: Synthesizer Claps Funky guitar Strings Choir Trumpet/sax/hornsection Bass with octave shifts Latin percussion Disco Nations: USA (35 songs of 69) UK Italy Germany France Others Average Year of Release: 1984 The Disco City Average Key: 16% C minor 10% E minor 9% C#minor 9% D minor 56% Others Lead Vocal: 53% Male 45% Female 2% Chipmunk 27% 10% 9% 6% 4% 3% 41% New York London Los Angeles Philly Paris Frisco Others

New York

Frisco

Paris Philly

London Los Angeles

Signage of our TOP 69

Favorite Disco Song of Daniel, M-Boy, Konrad, Roglok and Tracky

Tube Tip

You Tube Hit / Flop Worst lyrics Chartbreaker

$
'

Hipsters, watch out! Rock? No meaning

Landmark Song Outta space Romantic / can opener

D z

DJs favorite Catchy tune! Champagne tested.

Duuuhh

B M

Title
BPM

Artist Funky theme soul with average Disco tempo and a sleezy blaxploitation porn atmosphere. Hayes sound was too soft for the 60s, his success came in the 70s. Many consider it the first Disco song. Deep male rap voice and driving Afro-Funk horns & breaks.The complex rhythm requires excellent dancing skills. A great bit of Moog-y madness! Initially a jingle for TV, Pepper Box inspired many Disco musicians... Ba-ba-badap Ba-ba badda-dah Mamma-So-Mamma-SaMamma-Makko-Sa Sax/horn section, funky guitar, 1/16 hihat, cowbell Synth, bg choir, clavichord, claps Sax, organ, some strings, groovey drums Bass w/ octave shifts, horn section, clean guitar, shaker, piano, synth organ, male vocals, female choir Spherical layers of analog synth, monotonic male vocals, vocoder, snare & hihat <- white noise Horn lead, fat shuffle drums with partly open hihats, congas, raps Crispy breakbeat drums, clean guitar, saxophone, choir I wouldnt change a thing, If I had to live my life all over Uhhhhhhh ahhhhhh ya 1/16 hihats, 4TTF bassdrum, percussion gallop, strings, female moaning 117 Whos the black private dick thats a sex machine to all the chicks? Wahwah-guitar, falsetto choir, Love Boat strings, tambourine 117 Gm

Label

Year

Loca.

Genre

Description

Lyrics

Significant Elements

KEY

Theme From Shaft

Isaac Hayes

Stax

1971

USA MEM

Theme Disco

Soul Makossa

Manu Dibango

Atlantic

1972

Fra. Paris

Afro Disco

Gm

Pepper Box

The Peppers

Spark

1973

UK

Shaggadelic

105 115 116

F# Cm D/ Em

Love Is The Message Passionate love lyrics supported by orchestral set up, kitschy sound. Ideal for a roller skate polonaise at Soul Train! Important because it marks the beginning of synthesizer music which strongly influenced Disco. Artificial but warm sound, metronomic tempo, repetitive lyrics.. Horns play a catchy tune; structure rather minimal - appears quite contemporary. Hedonistic Je Ne Regrette Rien lyrics that encourage the people to waste their time on the dancefloor, warm atmosphere. Uhhh Ahhh. This drippy underground Disco tune was probably used in tons of porns. Galloping beat - vulcano style. Harry fucks Sally... Highly orchestrated Phillysoul sound with gaypride lyrics. Disco as a cultural liberation! Im OK, youre OK... Let the drums speak Die Fahrbahn ist ein graues Band, weisse Streifen, gruener Rand In the backseat of my car

MFSB

Philadelphi

1973

USA NY

DiscoStep

One of the early Club-hits. This simple groove makes you wanna dance. Nice one. (Tom Moulton Mix)

Love, Let Love And Be Loved!

Tony Fox

Blaster

1974

Backseat

DiscoSoul

Autobahn

Kraftwerk

Philips

1974

Tube Tip

Ger. DS

Kraftwerk

85

Let The Drums Speak

Fatback Band

Polydor

1975

USA NY

Horny Hymn

107 117

G G#m

M M

I Wouldnt Change A Thing

Coke Escovedo

Mercury

1976

USA SF

B Boy Disco

Pazuzu (The Original from 1976)

Tony Sylvester

Skylax 2007

1976

USA NY

Explicit Disco

M
Im walking through life in natures disguise - Im happy, Im carefree and Im gay Im a sensation you try me once youll beg for more Ooh I feel love, I feel love

113

Cm

I Was Born This Way

Carl Bean

Motown

1977

USA LA

Gay Disco

Galloping hihat, bass w/ octave shifts, harp, piano, strings, some wah-guitar, male vocals, female backup Cheesy strings, clavichord, xylophone highlights, open hihat Arpeggio synth, drum machine, long drawn-out female vocals Its - good - for - the - soul -- I - love - you! Latin percussion, galloping hihats, flutes, chanting, claps

118

C/ G#

Yes Sir, I Can Boogie

Baccara

RCA

1977

Spain

Housewife D.

This song is the perfect exampe for all Housewife Disco songs in the 70s. Flat iron sytle. Think of ABBA,... Introducing Quaaludes, the disco drug: futuristic, ecstastic, glamorous, electronic Disco... A milestone by synth-pioneer Giorgio Moroder. Sounds like the crazy ritual of some aboriginal Disco tribe. The flutes could be the herold of frenzy. They could also be balsam - for your soul.

121 130

D C/m

F F

I Feel Love

Donna Summer

Casablanca

1977

Ger. MU

Electron Disco

Its Good For The Soul (W.Gibbons Mix)

Salsoul Orchestra

Salsoul

1978

USA NY

Tribal Disco

124

Dm

Title Novelty slow Euro Disco! Incredibly funky and visionary. Produced solely on a Yamaha GX-1 synthesizer. Ive been holding out so long, Ive been sleeping all alone, Lord I miss you ...lay back and relax while I put away the dishes. Then you and me can rock a bell Love you and kiss you and kiss you and hug you Must put an end to this stress and strife, I think I want to live the sporting life Dont you let nothing, nothing. Nothing stand in your way The champion of dance his moves will put you in a trance Thats life - one dive. Straight drums, infamous Disco Toms, claps, slap bass with octave shifts, funky guitar, choir Straight beat, latin percussion, piano, funky bass with octave shifts, pitched-up sound Funky bass, epic Disco-guitar, piano, strings, staccato choir Reggae drums (rimshot-snare), filtered synth pads, warm bassline, wah-guitar w/ reverb Funky guitar, 1/16 hihat, detuned organ, strings w/ vibrato Synth bass, FX & pads, vocoder, non-melodical Wave style singing, cowbell Just love me til you dont know how - ooh Exotic percussion, claps, shaker, glamourus strings, falsetto doubled, horns, organ, clean guitar 126 Straight drums, partly open hihat, Disco bass w/ octave shifts, contained guitar, organ, harmonica, catchy chorus 110 Am/ Dm Nice example how Disco influenced Rock, even though the two genres were always conflictive. Initially this song was faster, but then recorded with slower tempo (probably in order not to sound too Disco..) Catchy sing-along hook that makes this song an all-time Robinson Club anthem. Turn on the lighting console! Synth only: bassline w/ octave shifts, syncopated melodies 104 ? M

Artist

Label

Year

Loca.

Genre

Description

Lyrics

Significant Elements

BPM

KEY

Game

Rick Van der Linden

Spiegelei

1978

Neth. HAR

Euro Synth

Miss You

'

Rolling Stones

EMI

1978

UK LO

DiscoRock

Ring My Bell

Anita Ward

T.K. Disco

1979

USA ME

DiscoSoul

Cm

Lady Bug

z
Probably the most famous bassline ever; Sugarhill Gang just appropriated the instrumental - Good Times helped to boot up Hip Hop. This Loft classic is a great after-hour tune due to its Reggae/Dub elements. The original by McFadden & Whitehead is supposed to be a gay pride anthem. Mainstream hit with glamourus King of the Discothque as motif. Similar feeling as Saturday Night Fever songs because it glorifies Disco stardom. Slow Disco groove, also considered gay anthem. Futuristic synth sound makes it wavy. Glitter & glamour feeling! Michael Jackson appears multiplied in both music video and song (main and bg vocals). This repetitive groove builds up trance, out of space feeling thanks to delay effects. Very catchy indeed. Typical hand-in-hand Roller Disco groove; delivers a warm and soulful atmosphere (soft voice). Classic Disco elements translated into the artificial aesthetics of synth and drum machine music (Electro). Reduce to the max! Legendary laid back but ultra danceable Disco classic with nice organ and catchy bassline.

Bumblebee Unlimited

RCA

1979

USA NY

Chipmunk Disco

Cute chipmunk voices over a funky groove, a Larry Levan Classic with great piano chords. Novel production aesthetics; sober and tightly arranged.

119

Bbm

Good Times

Chic

Atlantic

1979

USA NY

Disco Disco

113

Em/ A 113 G#m

Aint No Stoppin Us Now

Risco Connection

Black Rose Music

1979

USA, NY

After Hour Disco

Greatest Dancer

Sister Sledge

Atlantic

1979

USA NY

D-ISC-O

116

Cm

NO G.D.M.

Gina X

EMI

1979

Ger. COL

DiscoWave

110

Cm

Dont Stop Til You Get Enough

Michael Jackson

Epic

1979

Tube Tip

USA LA

Glitter Disco

119

Am/ Bm Dancer Dancer Dancer - got to take it higher. Do you want me? Synth & slap bass w/ octave shifts, funk guitar, piano, Wavy choir, claps Funky drum accents, claps, warm bass w/ octave shifts, clavichord, female vocals & choir Standing at the machine every day for all my life Im in love - dancing! Real drums / percussion, minimal synth bass & strings, monotonous rap Bright organ, bass w/ octave shifts, clean guitar, catchy female vocals, congas 122 Em

Dancer

Gino Soccio

WEA

1979

Can. MON

Euro-ish Disco

Give Me Your Love

Sylvia Striplin

Uno Melodic

1980

Usa NY

Roller Disco

110

G#m

Bostich

Yello

Do It Records

1980

Switz

Dark Disco

121

Dm

Is It All Over My Face

Loose Joints

West End

1980

USA NY

West End Disco

121

Bm

M F

Fantastic Voyage

Lakeside

RCA

1980

USA LA Simple Azzurro meldoy and full pumping beats. Warning: very catchy! Sangria style. Synth bass & lead, Mexican style trumpets, artificial claps Italian mainstream Disco, a beautiful clich. Pino DAngio used to perform it with a lit cigarette in his hand. Disco from Manchester. Shack Up manages to be one of Punks funkiest ever dancefloor material. One of the sweetest adventures of Discomusic. Plastic 80s sound - yet warm. Light and sterile - less organic. An underground Frisco Disco track, almost Hi-NRG, with overriding female lead vocal - only for club use. She cant love you like I could I wanna show you what I got for you! Shack Up! Balla!

DiscoFunk

Proto P-Funk with cranky bassline and Disco-raps. Venice Beach hit! Catchy hook and cheesy 80s R&B background vocals. Coolio made a cover version.

Hurry up pack your bags and jam yall, come on and ride on the funk now

Synth & slap bass, Disco guitar, claps, lead vocals & falsetto male choir 116 115 Gm G#m

116

Em

Margherita

Margueritas

BMG

1980

Italy

Mariachi Disco

Disco guitar, funky bass, piano, claps, Disco tom, raps & falsetto mail choir Disco guitar, funky bassline, Wavey vocals, trumpets Synth bass, open hihat, synth vibes & pizzicato strings Disco beat, synth bass w/ octave shifts, female choir, cowbell, shaker Slow beat, Disco guitar, signature synth lead, Dub effects, childish female raps & singing Synth / real bass, claps, funky guitar, male choir, lead synth Synth bass, drum machine & claps, female vocals, bells Latin percussion, claps, simple bass, warm organ, vibes This could turn out another unwinning war Was it the simple things that made me so crazy about you? By order of the prophet we ban that boogie sound. Synth (arpeggio / strings), female voice, chorus guitar, synth solo Slap bass, bright strings, doubleclaps, sax, e-piano, female choir Honkeytonk piano, distorted guitar, bongos, double-claps, rock voice

Ma Quale Idea

Pino DAngio

Bellaphone

1980

Italy

Macho Disco

Shack Up

A Certain Ratio

Factory

1981

UK MA

No Wave

She Cant Love M You

Chemise

Emergency

1981

USA LA

Cutie Disco

123 114 120

Em Bm Em

M F F

Get A Little

Patrick Cowley

Unidisc

1981

USA SF

Hi-NRG

$
Whatcha gonna do when you get outta jail? Im gonna have some fun. I never let you go! Thats how I feel, I want it to be real -

Genius Of Love

z
Dancefloor puller: This one is strictly for the ladys romantic lyrics, sing-a-long hook. 2 years too late? Preset-Party! Music for BMX kids. One of the greatest hits at Funhouse (NY). The warm groove & jazzy instruments make this one an excellent home-listening Disco track. Catchy vibraphone replaces lead vocals. Warmness meets coolness - an out of space experience. Industrial & Wave assosiation 70s meet 80s! Disco out of the construction kit. Great saxophone peak... Did Punk only survive by Disco? To illustrate this assumption this track is just perfect. Slow, drugged and dubbed out minimalistic Disco with talking and echoed voices. Ultra deep & synthetic Disco House - way ahead of its time...

Tom Tom Club

Island Records

1981

Caribbean

Island Disco

Naive summer sound, reminds you of that girl you had icecream with in 5th grade.

103

First True Love Affair

Jimmy Ross

BCM Records

1981

USA, NY

Peaktime Disco

118 119 114

F/ Am Dm Cm/ G# 115 Am

M M -

I.O.U

Freeez

Tube wise Flop

Street-

1982

UK/ USA

BMX Disco

Heavy Vibes

Montana Sextett

Unidisc

1982

USA PH

Disco Fox

Unlimited Capacity For Love

Grace Jones

UMG

1982

USA, NY

Refrigerator

Forget Me Nots

Patrice Rushen

Elektra

1982

USA, LA

Will Smisco

115

F#m

Rock the Casbah

'

The Clash

Epic

1982

UK LO

Leftfield Disco

128

Dm

A Debris of a Murder

Throbbing Gristle

Power Focus

1982

UK LO

Darkroom Dub

M
D

Synth bass & chords, open hihat, bongos, Disco tom, talking Synth only, double-claps, arpeggiator, sound layers, 4TTF bd

102 128

? C#m

M -

The Dark Side Of The Spoon

Alexander Robotnick

Crme Org.

1982

Itlay

Prototype House

Title Slow modern Electro-Soul track, good for 30 Parties. Vocals remind of Bobby Womack. My rent is due, my kids all need brand new shoes... Feel the gravity - move to another reality Youre always closing your door, well, that only makes me want you more. Double-claps, synth bass, drum machine, e-guitar riffs, female vocals Slow simple drums, funky bassline, synth pads & layers, claps, echo FX Synth layers & bass, 1/16 hihat, artificial cowbell, female talking 139 Slap bass, double-clap, spooky pads, synth-flute, vocoder voice 116 Cm/ G# Bbm Cheesy synth bassline, sax, piano, double-claps, male vocals 109 Bm Who is Q? A crooked computer oracle? This is not happy nor melancholic, a state of isolation and wrong ideas of human/machine interaction. Turbofast workout pop to flex a muscle! Without a doubt Madonnas best Disco track... Imagine a high society party in the 80s with sparkling surroundings... Slow Paradise Garage hit with lament rap about misbehaving men. Perfect for your car radio. Chicago Chicago - Uuh M M

Artist

Label

Year

Loca.

Genre

Description

Lyrics

Significant Elements

BPM

KEY

Moneys Too Tight To Mention

Valentine Brothers

Bridge Records

1982

USA, LA

E-DiscoSoul

Voice Of Q

Philly World

1982

USA, PH

Cold War Disco

Burning Up (12 Version)

Madonna

Sire

1983

USA NY

Steroid Disco

Save Our Love (instr.)

Escape From New York

Profile

1983

USA, NY

Vernissage Disco

106

Fm

Another Man

Barbara Mason

West End

1983

USA PH

Slow Disco

M
Another man is beating my time Ron Ayerss Chicago is a minimal, deep Jazzfunk groove with simple & repititious lyrics. Early Deep House?! Secretaries listen to this while getting dressed in the mornings. Style: No calories. Cola Light (Diet Coke) Is it really a doll? Seems like it. Worst vocals ever - Italo Disco at its best. The remixed instrumental version might please you better. This one became a prototype Vocal House track with female vocals and stomping beats. Woody visited the earthlings and brought his Casio keyboard. Cheesy & charming. A modern Soul track in Disco disguise with Gospel lyrics. This dude raps Italian dialect over an organic Jazzfunk groove. Italian but not Italo. Baleraric style. World-weariness translated into Disco. Strange mix of Wave and Dub elements. Lead vocals sound like Sting. Dreamy Disco House by veteran Larry Heard, influenced by Chicago House. 1987s cheapo summer hit. Crappy lyrics, 80s Euro Pop sound. To be honest we just selected this song because of its music video... L. U. C. K. Y. - let me tell you why Am I crazy or just lazy. What is for me true reality? Its not over dont want to be free Listen everybody to the woodpecker Boogie - come on lets have some fun. I wanna thank you heavenly father Primavera! ...the land of plenty...

/ $

113 115

Em Fm/ Em

F M

Chicago

Roy Ayers

Uno Melodic

1983

USA NY

Deep Disco

Slap bass, steady strings, bright organ, funk guitar, double-claps, singing/talking Simple beat, cowbell, light synth pads & melodies, female voice Open hihats, female vocals, claps, synth bassline & melodies Female vocals / choir, strings, congas & bongos, claps & snaps Synth bass & lead, sample triggering, male voice / female choir Piano, 4TTF bassdrum, female vocals, warm bass Organ, rap, minimal bass, trumpet, vibes, distorted guitar Echo claps, drum machine, male vocals & choir, cowbell gallop

Lucky

Ellie Hope

RFC

1983

UK, LO

Secretary Disco

116 120

Bbm Bm

F F

Plastic Doll

Dharma

ZYX

1983

Italy

Italo Disco I

Let No Man Put Asunder

First Choice

Salsoul

1983

USA, PH

Vocal House

119 113

C#m Am

F M

Woodpeckers From Space

Video Kids

Polydor

1984

Neth.

I Want To Thank You

Woodpecker Disco

Alicia Myers

MCA

1984

USA DE

Religious / Other

107 108 111

Am Bbm C#m

F M M

Primavera - Stop Bajon

Tullio de Piscopo

Tube ZYX Tip

1984

Italy NA

Balearic

Land Of Hunger

The Earons

Island Records

1984

Earon

Dubby Dub Disco

Stars

Mr. Fingers

Gherkin

1987

USA CH

Disco House

Take a chance with love romance have some fun tonight!

Arpeggiator, drum machine, lead synth, bass w/ octave shifts Synths: bass, fanfare, guitar; female vocals, male voice (triggers)

118 119

C#m Fm

Boys (Summertime Love)

Sabrina Salerno

Teldec

1987

Italy

Tube Tip

Italo Disco II

NYC Smile On Me Minimalisitic ecstatic Acid Disco with vibes, strings and moaning... Kenny Dope Gonzalez sampled Chicagos Streetplayer to make one of the biggest 90s-House hits. A Disco pearl with strong British influence (Wave). Down down Underground... Street Boys, got to struggle so hard. From Disco to Disco. WaAaAaAah! Cowbell, claps, open hihat, lead synth & staccato chords, male hook Catchy synth bassline, cheesy synth lead, 1/16 drum machine 909, latin percussion, open hihat, arpeggiator, claps, strings Cheesy synth & warm e-piano chords, Disco bass, strings, zaps Sample, ride cymbal, vocoder, claps, synth Drum machine, open hihat, cheesy vocals, arpeggio bass, vocoder The better From Disco to Disco!? Very digital and funky. Strong relation to French House. Dirty dutch cocaine sound - an example for the new breed of Dark Electro influenced Disco from Holland (Bunker/Creme/Clone). Killer Trance House anthem transporting Discos ecstasy and glamour into a Detroit Techno context. Made for the hood. Fast! Significant starting point of the NY New Disco fad. Mood: For Clubs with carpets on the dancefloor. 128 These Sounds fall into my maiaiaind Funky bass, latin percussion, 4TTF bass drum, trumpets, double-claps, male vocals 125 Dm 808, strings, vibes, 303, moaning 130 D -

Aqua Regia

Irdial

1989

UK, LO

Acid Disco

These Sounds Fall Into My Mind

z
125

Bucketheads

UMM

1995

USA NY

House

Street Boys

DMX Krew

Rephlex

1999

UK LO

Euro Wave Freestyle

C#m

From Disco To Disco

The Republic

Les Rythmes Digitales

Wall Of Sound

1999

Fra. PA

Digital Disco

C#m

Legowelt

Bunker

2000

Neth. DH

Den Haag Disco

128

Bbm

Jaguar (Dance Of The Cat)

DJ Rolando aka Aztec Mystic

430 West

2000

USA DE

TranceHouse

137

Dm

24K (Super EP)

Morgan Geist

Environ

2001

USA NY

New Disco

D
Work it harder make it better, Do it faster makes us stronger youre so gang-gang-ganggang-gang-gang-ganggang-gangster -

124 123

Cm F#m

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Daft Punk

Virgin

2001

Tube Tip
Bring back the 80s. Simple and repetitive track with great lyrics. If Tom Tom Club would have made a Disco song in 2002 it would sound like this. Curious housy middle part. Excellent crispy beats and ecstatic xylophoneatmosphere. Mirror ball reflections in an empty club. Geeky Disco with Lofi / Funk elements. Hercules & Love Affair seem to give Disco yet another new spin: top-notch producing skills vs. fragility.

Fra. PA

SynthPop

Retro-fetish by French House pioneers Daft Punk. The funky midtempo dance track mostly consists of a sample from Cola Bottle Baby. Kanye West then sampled Daft Punk.

Youre So Gangsta

Chromeo

FAB / V2

2002

USA NY

Retro Hipster Disco

Cheesy synth, female hook (triggering), bongos, sax solo Staccato synth lead, funky slide bass, claps, funky guitar, D-tom Slap bass, vibes, claps, synth layers & melodies, funky guitar My heart should be a save harbour - all comfort to you Vowel-synth lead, portamento bass, FM melodies & chords Trumpet, female vocals, bass w/ octave shifts, piano, latin percussion

110

Fm/ D# 114 120 Cm ?

Tunnel Music

Zongamin

XL

2002

UK LO

New New Disco

Superflight (Maurice Fulton Remix)

Chateau Flight

Versatile

2005

UK SHF

New New New Disco

Porridge Forage

Jasper

Audio Auberg.

2007

Can. VA

Nerdstep

114 117

Em Cm

Shadows

Hercules & Love Affair

DFA

2008

Usa NY

S NU BO

New New New New Disco

jB

Happy Joy

The Discoghosts

UpitUp Records

2008

Yakamoz

Sluggish

Slow Disco spoof with catchy lyrics - ladies love it.

/M $

Its a happy happy joy time would you please be my Frulein

Disco guitar, slow beat, Disco tom, latin perc., warm keyboard chords, kiddy & low-pitch rap

103

Cm

Fortunately, I make Acid music

So u ma r ke Fu s nk y
I would have rather participated in a fanzine about Acid than Disco. To me, Disco music becomes interesting by the late 70s when producers started to tear down Dsicos wall of sound and got rid of all those sickening orchestral sections, mostly made up of string and horn compositions. Not only the reduction to the bare musical essentials, but also the concept of automatization was necessary to help Disco become fresher. Back in 1975, during the production of Donna Summers Love To Love You Baby , Giorgio Moroder advised his drummer Keith Forseth to play the drums in perfect sync with a Wurlitzer Sideman - the first commercially available electronic drummachine, which was made in 1959. While the rather crappy Sideman sounds (created from vacuum tubes!) were not used in the song, Moroders approach was clear: to seek for Funk in a dry, steady machine-like beat. The bassdrum was recorded very loud and with a distinct punch and although the track runs on only 96 bpm (a term that came up in the Disco era btw.) it might mark the beginning of a new technique that soon became essential for dance music production. While House music adopted Discos 4-to-the-floor rhythm structure and thus created an apparent connection, the sound aesthetics slowly became more abstract and futuristic. A Ron Hardy Warehouse mix from the mid 80s is loaded with edits of cheesy, ornamental Disco tracks, suddenly cut through by minimal pumping House rhythms that sound like they slipped in from

by Roglok

a wormhole. One wonders why wunderkind DJ Ron Hardy hadnt just dismissed Disco completely after House music was born. From the view of a DJ or dance music producer, the focus on pure rhythm rather than on opulent orchestration should be a logical consequence. However, the advent of programmable drummachines like the gritty sample-based Linn LM-1 and the Roland TR-808 and 909 with their archetypical pounding bassdrum circuitry provided the necessary equipment to make the crowd jack . Soon rhythmical paradigms were broken up and snares and handclaps were put all over the place while never loosing their quantized tightness. I feel that Acid House finally liberated dance music from individual-related live music and erased the reference to Disco music as far as possible. With Acid, atonality found its way into House and the snatchy rhythms coupled with the staccatos and portamentos of the 303 are a perfect match. I wouldnt argue that Acid House is more intelligent than Disco - it might even be more stupid - but its surely closer to catharsis and much more funky!

Suggested listening: Chip E. Time to Jack Gotta Dance Records, 1985 Hercules 7 Ways Dance Mania, 1986 Mr. Lee House This House Trax Records, 1987 Tyree Acid Crash Rockin House Music, 1988 Gherkin Jerks Acid Ingestion Gherkin Records, 1988 Armando 151 Warehouse Records, 1988 Mike Dunn Magic Feet Westbrook Records, 1988 Two Of A Kind Acid Bitch West Madison Records, 1988 Fast Eddie Acid Thunder DJ International, 1988 Spanky Acid Bass Trax Records, 1989

My name is Farivar and Im from Tehran/Iran and at the moment I live in Copenhagen/Denmark. I love all kind of music and as long as I remember, Ive been interested in music, thats why (in 1988) togheder with one of my best friends (DJ/VJ A.A.) decided to open our own Club Acid House club in a nice little town called Holbk. Very soon we became one of the best clubs in the town... www.djfarivar.dk

Some people ask of me: What are you gonna be? Why dont you go get a job? All that I can say: I wont give up my music not me not now no way no how.
Lost In Music (I quit my nine to five) by Sister Sledge

IMP.
Best before is a fanzine about Disco by Manuel Buerger, Dennis Knopf, Konrad Kuhn and Leo Merz Chief Editor: Dennis Knopf Art Direction: Manuel Buerger Director of Technology: Leo Merz Staff Writer: Konrad Kuhn Guest contributions: Disco Game illustration by Bureau Baraque / www.fanzineno1.de Total Eclipse (Donna Summer) artwork by Christian Schiller / gold-wirtschaftswunder.de Disco Worshippin Dice artwork by Daniel v. Bernstorff The Discoghosts illustration by Florian Bayer / www.florianbayer.com Bee Gees artwork by c.coy / www.seecoy.com The Art of Disco-Bashing guest article by Martin Gossner Earworm illustration by Sebastian Haslauer / www.hasimachtsachen.com please visit our website including enhanced TOP69 and DJ Mixes! www.dsico-fanzine.com A Shake Your Tree & Up It Up Production, 2008 Special thanks to Xavier de Rosnay of Justice for his contribution (p.6): The labels you should have found are: DFA (flash), Permanent Vacation (blimp), Eskimo (hair clip), Tigersushi (head), Ed Banger (body), Gomma (bag), Environ (e) and Tirk (leaves). Missed something?

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