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Home , Bassline, Chromeo, Continental Baths, David Mancuso, Death Disco, DJ Rolando

Best before - A Dsico Fanzine

DSICO Here´s what to expect on the following pages, translated into three different languages:

Disco. So heisst man seit Dsico. A freeing of eit- . Non e solo un coso das mitende neunzehnjahr- her body and soul. Or is rotondo che si butta ma ehundert der tunz-tanz it only one ? Clear anche la musichetta. E vier-zu-den-boden samstags and hollow like plastic vecchia ma funziona ancora pimmelparty. Was ist mit bottles on the mountain abbastanze bene, dapper- den Disco passiert? Ist trashs? No sprite, no spi- tutto era morto. E di- es wirklich passierte oder rit. Seems like everynow ventata fiume principale was? Die antwort ist nicht like it anyhow and it`s (mainstream), poi sembrava etwas anderes: tanzst du assshaking danceable for merda! Meglio prima vuole oder sonst? Dazu - seit all fags or faginas. Yes, dire che ´era un tempo ihr deutsch, fremd-deutsch yes. I heard some people quando la musica disco oder was - ihr seit be- say Disco is best. But era fenomenale. Ma meglio scheid wissen. Wenn sie thats we talk about. prima anche sta scrit- ein leckerer Buerger maul- Talk about a music chan- to normalmente sobra il taschen paeckchen kaufen ging generations. Talk latte, ma per disco non wollen, lesen sie den min- about lightfigures. We got esiste la data precisa. destenshaltbar oder nicht? deep in it. Really deep - Non si sa quando il gusto Ich mach´s nicht und es just touched the real. We sara burro; gli anni set- schmeckt gut normaler- asked the internet and our tanta gia sono passati, weise. Keine sorgen, die parents. And it´s annoying giovanotto. Negli anni ot- maultaschen sind immer das but more interesting. So tanta Italia era il posto gute von menschen. Wie- just get inspired of this di nascita per un tipo di so ist Disco? Siebzigste, cool (the new meaning) disco plastico ginnastico. Achtzigste oder Neun- fanzine. You will find out Oggi, che bello, zigste. Das war die zeit why you still dance to mia, disco piace la gente wo maenner ohne schamroe- this music and whats the si balla uno due. Questo te tanzen koennen. Aber scence behind great tunes. fumetto tifoso (fan zine) heute, was steht mehr? Plus some great Top 69 scrive la storia di sabato Eine uebel faelschung von list to checking out for, notte febre, di nuovo. An- was war langjaehrig? Oder the dsico classics. Best che la nonna quando balla sonst etwas radioaktives before baby. If you like in cucina dice che siamo heiss? Ihr seid hier um the zine just drop me some bravi e ci da un extra das zu erfinden. lines. poco di carna.

Pierlo from Rome Mito from Tokyo is a DJ. Harald from Germany is a likes Germany and of friend of Pierlo and us. course: Disco.

Sorry Hipsters, This fanzine doesn´t contain triangles Disco describes a musical end of the 1970s most of style which became popular the Western world was in- in the mid 1970s. Influ- fected with Disco fever. enced by and Soul, The Discotheque plays a Disco music also includes key role in the movement; Latin percussion and sym- it´s where the music beca- phonic elements such as me a life-style. Every- strings or horns. Most thing revolves around DJs significant is the steady and club culture - doing rhythm that makes it easi- the , doing the ly danceable: a ´four-to- bus stop, doing the bump. Bert knows how to Disco. the-floor´ beat, often Following planned steps with an open hi-hat on doesn´t appear as cool the off-beat. Thanks to nowadays, but it set the catchy and re- whole world dancing, and petitive vocals the sound today Disco is still the became popular extremely best club music. Word! fast, and by the

Stereotypical Disco Beat:

Eighth Notes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Claps X X X HiHATS (open) X X X X HiHATS (closed) X X X X Snare X X Legendary BASSDRUM X X The use of the created the sensual feel that is characteristic for Disco and paved the way for ´s land- mark hit ´´ in 1977.

It´s 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 Steve at work. radio! I can´t listen to those soft synthe- feizer sounds any more! Rock is bad-ass, Disco is just bad! And look at those sell- outs: Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Queen, KISS - they all made a Disco song! Disco stamp, 1999

Hedonistic life style

The massive quantities of drugs ingested in discotheques produced the next cultural phe- Excerpt from ´Discotheque Rock 72: Paaaarty!´ nomenon of the disco era: rampant promiscuity by Vince Aletti, Mag, 13.09.1973 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: „Paar-ty! Paar-ty! [...] You hear the chant bathroom stalls, stairwells, and so on. at concerts, rising like a tribal rallying cry on a shrill wave of whistles and hard-bea- ten tambourines. It‘s at once a call to get down and party, a statement that there‘s a party going on and an indication that dis- cotheques, where the chant originated, are back in force...... in the last year they‘ve 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 mid- night to dawn) but as a strong influence on the music people listen to and buy. Anita Bryant The best discotheque DJs are underground stars, discovering previously ignored al- bums, foreign imports, cuts and Hi, my name is Anita Bry- obscure singles with the power to make the ant. I would like to tell crowd scream and playing them overlap- you the truth about Dis- ped, non-stop so you dance until you drop. co: it is a complete sin One of the most spectacular discotheque to live that hedonistic records in recent months is a perfect exa- ´life-style´ as many call mple of the genre: Manu Dibango‘s „Soul it, and god will never Makossa. [...] its hypnotic beat and mys- forgive you for listening terious African vocals drove people crazy. to that sex music! It´s (Vince Aletti) wrong to think Disco is What a dif- fun. And by the way, as a ference a mother I know that homose- gay makes. xuals cannot biologically reproduce children; there- fore, they must recruit O our children! That´s why I say: Ban Disco! Save our children. 8

haracterized by a radio stations. WPIX- Cstrong , a simple FM recently switched , and tense repe- several hours of its night- titive lyrics. “Disco“, as ly programming over to this music is called...is „Disco“ and leaned Disco becoming increasingly the rest of the day. (1975) popular on AM and FM Bill

It´s not that I wouldn´t get in or anything, I just don´t wanna go. Disco- theques are for hypocrits, all that happy fuss is so superficial. Who cares if The Diskjockey you can´t dance or how you look, I´m leading the Space Invaders highs- In 1969, American club DJ core in all Ohio. I heard Francis Grasso popularized they´re doing drugs like beatmatching at ´s all the time; I once tried Sanctuary . Beat- Champagne on New Year´s matching is the technique and it was aweful. Iuhhh. of creating seamless tran- sitions 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 DJ Francis Grasso Loft, The Gallery, Para- (Sanctuary) dise Garage or Studio 78. is one of my favorite DJs and Remixers; just bought his ´Ladybug´ on Discogs for only $210. All my friends envy me for having it! My favo- rite artists of today are LCD Soundsystem, Hercules & LA and stuff by label DJ (The Gallery) & Gomma. Nu Disco! DJ Larry Levan ()

Xavier of Justice made a collage out of his 8 favorite new Dsico labels - do you know Hey Xavier. You them all? (p.49) forgot me: Jellybean. Famous Fun- house DJ and

Madonna`s first „records live and die in disco-9 lover. theques, like exotic hothouse Vince Aletti,1973 flowers.“ John ´Jellybean´ Benitez A

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 language–a 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 expres- sions to match the colorful, high-gloss fabrics worn at the discothèque.“

BROTHER: FOX: 1) A kindred spirit in the night This year‘s version of the Old Lady, 2) Anyone who can demonstrate a who was last year‘s edition of the handshake of more than four separate Chick, who replaced Bird, who is a movements. Chick or an Old Lady in England.

CONVERSATION: TURKEY: An outmoded preoccupation at the dis- Anyone who refers to women as Foxes, co, which many lead to things like ex- Chicks, Old Ladies, Birds, or Broads. changing phone numbers or agreeing to meet outside for a breath of fresh air. FUNKY: 1) The kind of rhythm and DISCOTHEQUE: designed to cause one to break out in What the French, who invented it, call cold sweats. the disco. Literally, a record library. 2) The collected aroma of the disco - with sweat, tears, makeup, hair- : spray, and perfume mingling with Disco on roller skates. the moisture of bodies all gasping for breath in the darkness.

KINETIC ENERGY: THE BOX STEP: A substance produced by the nervous 1) An old-fashioned notion of dancing system when it interacts with the which will only get you in trouble at myriad effects of the disco. () the disco. 2) That four-cornered signal you make MOBILE DISCO: over your shoulder to friends, to warn A commercial enterprise which comes them that you‘re with the kind of to your house, school, or neighbor- square who is still hopelessly in the hood arena equipped with records, dark ages, at least as far as dancing is lights, speakers, turntables, mixers, concerned. deejay, and good vibes, to set up a one-night disco extravaganza. HOT: Cool NERD: COOL: Hot 1) Anyone who wears socks with cowboys and Indians on them. BAD: Good 2) Someone whose mother takes them to the disco and then waits outside in the car with the motor running.

KK pres.

t arra ing N It

A story featuring Charles Manson, , , , Zsa Zsa Gabor and many more Disco is commonly associated were strongly committed to their with two different things: the European origin, a conservative location, discotheque, and Disco class-consciousness, and a rat- music. The term discotheque is a her strict dress code. hybrid (neologism) between disc It seems that such places could and bibliotheque, it was coi- not provide what a thriving un- ned in occupied during the derground scene of gays, sla- early 1940s by the pioneering ckers, bohemians, ex-, nightclub ´´La Discotheque´´, young immigrants and notori- whereas Disco music - as we know ous partyheads was looking for it today - first emerged in the - unique celebration and exces- early 1970s. sive dancing. Many contemporary witnesses and music journalists Forced by the official ban of stress that these desires im- so-called ´´´´ and plied much more than just the other restrictions during the longing for a good party, name- Nazi-occupation, little ly, the shared desire to escape clubs in would no longer into an egalitarian, liberated dare to set up a whole live space without sexual or racial , so they were simply pla- discrimination. Even though this ying recorded music via gramo- might sound like a stereotypical phones, instead. However, the phrase from the fading decade of crucial point is not just that the highly politicized 60s, the the band was replaced by a gra- tempting promise of Disco was mophone but, as music journalist certainly not the liberation of Peter Shapiro argues, ´´that a the masses but the liberation of played music of his the individual, instead. When own choosing and not necessari- teach-ins and demonstrations did ly what was in the hit parade, not help, one could overcome the tailored to a specific crowd of persistent social borders at dancers in a nondomestic set- least for a single night through ting´´. the universal language of dan- The first disc-jockeys appeared cing. in conjunction with the new mass The decisive influence of the medium radio in the early 20th late 60s sociopolitical climate century, they quickly played an on the emergence of Disco is a important and powerful role as fix part of its historiogra- style-innovators and promoters. phy. In his book ´´Turn The Beat While most clubs still had live Around - The Secret History of music, rolls, or juke- Disco´´ Peter Shapiro describes boxes where the playlists were its climate as an ideology determined by the distributors, hangover that was demonstrated the concept of the disc jockey through simple slogans like ´´I´m transferred into the club scene- OK, You´re OK´´ and a general ry enabled a more distinctive return to rather individual sound and interactive approach concerns. Part of that setting (at least in theory). Despite is that many civil rights acti- the end of the occupation and vists, especially Afro-Ameri- the associated repression after cans, were frustrated and dis- 1945, the discotheques remained illusioned because the liberal very popular in France. Though, establishment didn´t seem to be the formerly shady venues became capable or willing to grant the glamorous celebrity hangouts for hard-won concessions, while the the likes of Zsa-Zsa Gabor, Omar hippies had to face the fact or Louise Malle. Due to that drugs could expand ones that prehistory, most clubs in mind but not society. NY (and elsewhere in the United Only the gay community was en- States) that labeled themselves couraged - by the Stonewall as discothèques in the 1960s Riots. The was a gay bar on clandestine parties around that in New York that was, like many time, they were certainly not other gay venues, raided by the the only ones but they gained a I´m just an police frequently because sel- legendary status due to their outlaw ling alcohol to homosexuals was groundbreaking style. Mancuso, my name is supposedly prohibited. In the born 1944, was a runaway who desire. night of June 17th, 1969, when stranded in NY in the mid 1960s. 8 police officers entered to He was engaged with all kinds Tasha Thomas stop the party, the patrons and of scenes; the gay-rights mo- “Shoot Me“ staff decided to finally stand vement, LSD fueled ga- up against the police harass- therings with Timothy Leary, or ment, which lead to a proper Afro-American rent parties in streetfight or as the New York . Mancuso, looking like Daily Mail put it; ´´Homo Nest Charles Manson after a wellness Raided, Queen Bees Are Stinging trip with his big beard, scrag- Mad´´. Although it hardly put an gly hair and piercing eyes, is end to the police harassment, often portrayed as the icon of this incident is considered to the real Disco culture that is be the kick-start for the gay- opposed to the greasy Tony Ma- rights movement, it stands for nero, John Travolta´s character New York´s status as the gay in Saturday Night Fever. Many metropolis where thousands of of Disco´s legendary DJs like homosexuals from the US and the , Francis Gras- rest of the world came ´´to learn so, or Larry Levan were regular how to live openly, honestly and guests at The Loft and they all without shame´´. acknowledged the unique inti- Although the precedent remarks mate atmosphere which made the might suggest so, Disco was not parties so different from the the inevitable consequence of average uptown clubnight. Mancu- social determinants or even cul- so tried to create a Disco lab tural constraint. Critics stress with perfect conditions, he was that despite the chronological concerned about everything from connection the linkage between excellent sound over nutritious nightlife and politics is rather catering to an extravagant deco- overrated; ´´I really don´t think ration, but the most important that many of the activists went thing remained the music itself. to the discotheques, and I don´t Thanks to years of experience in think many of the people going the scene, he knew exactly what to discotheques were into the kind of music people would dance political thing´´ says sound-en- to. Mancuso recruited a crowd gineer and DJ Bob Casey, while that was ambitious and willing the Stonewall regular Jorge La at the same time. He reminis- Torre frankly admits,´´I wasn´t ces; ´´When a plane takes off politically enlightened at the there´s a moment when the pilot time. All I was interested in decides that the speed is right, was having fun, going out dan- he pulls back and - boom! - you cing, and getting high´´. They leave the ground. The party was argue that Disco is the creative like that. There was a point at work of enthusiastic individuals which it just went up. It didn´t who shared a passion for dance happen right away. It took time. music and happened to live in But it happened.´´ The first Loft the same town, NYC. party, set up at Valentine´s Day 1970, was entitled ´´Love Saves David Mancuso was one of those The Day´´, a title that illus- enthusiasts. He set up a loose trates Mancuso´s escapist noti- series of semi-private house on. parties, later known as ´´The Loft´´. Mancuso´s events were In 1970 there was no such thing part of a whole network of as ´´Disco music´´, neither spe- cific files in record shops, nor minutes or more´´. What appears radio shows. Like in the pioneer as a commonplace to contemporary period of a couple of clubgoers was quite an advan- years later, DJs were looking ced skill back then. Considering for suitable tracks on all kinds the fact that the record pla- of records. The playlists of the yers at that time had no pitch early 1970s DJs featured songs function and the drumbeats on that would hardly appear on any the records were played live, it Time Life Double CD anthology seems almost impossible to keep among Donna Summer or the Bee two rhythms running with the Gees. Mancuso, for instance, played Babe Ruth´s ´´The Mexi- can´´ (later a B-Boy classic) followed by Manu Dibango´s dri- „Every man wants to be a macho macho man ving afro-beat tune ´´Soul Makos- to have the kind of body, always in demand sa´´ and Eddie Kendricks proto- Jogging in the mornings, go man go Disco track ´´Girl You Need a works out in the health spa, muscles glow Change of Mind´´, others blended You can best believe that, he‘s a macho man Cymande´s percussive ´´Bra´´ into ready to get down with, anyone he can“ The Door´s ´´Roadhouse Blues´´. As long as there was a steady Village People and dominant groove, everything “Macho Man“ could be played, it was all up to the DJ. The trailblazing innovation of that time was certainly not fin- ding single tunes with driving same tempo for such a long time, beats, but to mix them into one whereas Grasso simply boasted: steady flow. Beatmixing! While ´´to me it was like nature.I did Mancuso was first of all famous it like I walk my dog´´. In- for his selection, his mixing terestingly enough, his signa- skills were rather poor, all he ture mix was not beat-matched. did was blending during the last He layered ´s ´´I´m A fading seconds of a song. Man´´ over the vocal break of Led As claimed by popular history, Zeppelin´s ´´Whole Lotta Love´´, Francis Grasso was the one who because ´´You really couldn´t really enhanced this new tech- dance to the Zeppelin once it nique. He was the resident at went into the orgasmic tripping the Sanctuary, a former bap- stuff, but if you mixed it with tist church that turned into a Chicago you could.´´ The people gay hot spot, where the DJ was went nuts. Supported by strobe placed in the pulpit. In this light, massive sound, a passio- sinful setting, Grasso perfor- nate crowd and of course drugs, med his pioneering beat-mixing Grasso´s DJ sets created this experiments: by using his head- unique atmosphere, that club phones, he cued the unheard culture since then is commit- track, let it go just in the ted to; a synergetic experience right moment and then played the of ´´call and response´´ that two records simultaneously with could not be reproduced anywhere the beats synchronized ´´for two else. It was especially the Sanctuary´s gay audience, often fueled with poppers, that was David Mancuso eager to follow the DJs journey „Godfather of Disco“ and functioned as party cata- lyst.

Besides clubs like the Sanctua- ry and semi-private parties like The Loft, there was a third sort of venue that played a crucial Whereas ´´Give It Up Or Turnit role in the early days of Disco, A Loose´´ by and the baths. Some of New York´s other rough funk tunes slowly bathhouses were no longer only disappeared from the playlists, dedicated to sexual interaction, DJs began to increasingly spin they had become pleasure domes. records by The O´Jays, MFSB and The for in- The Intruders, the so-called stance featured a restaurant, Phillysoul from In- private apartments and a dis- ternational Records. It was cha- co, where the guys would wear racterized by its highly-orche- nothing but a towel around the strated sound; sweeping strings, neck. Attracted by such a greco- rich instrumental roman spirit and a very sophi- and sweet horn sets. This cor- sticated entertainment program porate sound was the congenial (performances by Bette Middler & cooperation of the innovative , Patti LaBelle), production teams Gamble & Huff more and more straight people and McFadden & Whitehead and wanted to join the party. And the label´s , which through the support of the two consisted of creative session DJ rookies Frankie Knuckles and musicians such as the vibrapho- Larry Levan, the Continental nist Vincent Montana Jr. and the Baths became one of the hottest Trammps´ drummer . nightspots. They provided the Thanks to his distinctive snare pulsating rhythm for its x-ra- pattern and hi-hat work, Young ted scenery that is probably the is supposed to be the inventor worst nightmare of Steve Dahl or of the stereotypical Disco drum, any other Disco hater. Both had exemplified in the song ´´Disco a strong preference for soulful Inferno´´ by . Ano- music, but while Knuckles was ther signature tune is MFSB´s more into mixing, Levan, in- epos ´´Love Is The Message´´ that spired by his Loft adventures, starts like a sleazy sitcom focused on the atmosphere. In trailer and ends with Montana´s 1974 Levan, who already had a extensive vibraphone jamming. name, left the Baths to spin at Besides the lush production and a black gay club called Read the uptempo drumbeat, it were Street and from then on until the powerful but universal mes- the closure Knuckles was the sages that made Phillysoul the resident. most influential aesthetic of The Loft, The Sanctuary and The Disco´s heyday. Everybody could Continental Baths were only easily appropriate and sing three of dozens of venues that along phrases like ´´Wake Up Eve- were involved in the emergence rybody´´ by Harold Melvin & The of Disco culture in New York Blue Notes or ´´Ain´t No Stoppin during the early 1970s, but they Us Now´´ by McFadden & Whitehead, stand in an exemplary fashion which became a gay anthem. for crucial contributions; the By the summer of 1973 hundreds intimate atmosphere of a private of discotheques popped up in the party, the DJ as powerful master Big Apple. There, the DJs and opposed to the insane crowd as dancers had developed a specific willing servant and the club as taste for an orgiastic setting. and as a result the tunes that Although the DJs picked sever- were played in clubs resembled al obscure & novelty records in each other increasingly. Once it the early 1970s, the predominant became a corporate sound, record style was Soul & Funk music, labels slowly started producing anyway. Artists that appeared on Disco music. Shapiro calls it almost every playlist were James ´´the beginning of the codifica- Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Booker tion of disco as a style rather T. & The M.G.´s or . than the taste of whatever DJ happened to be playing at that ming a dancing-star. By comple- time´´. In order to match the tely ignoring the gay subtext of sound that was demanded, Salsoul ´s club culture and de- Records for instance drafted al- picting Disco as a modern ball- most the complete house band of room scenery, the movie visua- Philadelphia International. Sal- lized a family-friendly notion soul was actually a Salsa label, of Disco. A year later, however, but as the money-driven owners the queer face returned to the realized the financial poten- public in a silly disguise, the tial of the it-sound, they were Village People. Now, family-dads looking for renowned professi- all over the country were dan- onals like Montana and Young, cing polonaise accompanied by who could embed their Latin-in- the ridiculous lyrics of ´´Macho fluenced style in proper Disco Man´´. Revenge? Maybe that was arrangements. the last straw that led to the The New York label marked its backlash of Steve Dahl´s Disco status with the release of Dou- Demolition Day in 1979, where ble Exposure´s ´´´´, thousands of drunk troglodytes the very first 12-inch single expressed their concern about that was commercially available. the threat to real , It was remixed by the Ice Palace gayness and superficiality by resident DJ , who burning Disco records in a base- deconstructed the three minute- original and extended it into a 10-minute percussive master- piece. Through that release, the world was introduced to two BIRTH Of The First innovations that are crucial elements of modern DJ culture, 12inch Single the remix and the 12´´. , famous for his early Disco mix-tapes at Sandpiper Bar (Long Island, NY), In 1975, Van McCoy´s #1 hit ´´The started making for the Hustle´´ with its earworm melody, in 1974. Club culture was growing and so was lame rhythm, and sleazy sympho- the demand for longer records with breaks and nic introduced Disco builds. to the masses. Via radio the Some time in 1975, Moulton took a mix for new sound was transmitted into Al Dowing to New York Media Sound to have the living rooms from Charlotte it mastered onto a seven-inch metal blank - to Seattle, to people who would which was the standard format for singles. But probably never do the hustle. they were out. The engineer José Rodriguez Anyway, Disco was already more used a ten-inch blank, instead. In order to avoid than just a subcultural phenome- having it look like the rest of the record was non of nightlife, it had become blank, they spread the grooves apart. „Oh my mainstream. Due to nationwi- God! Boy, was that hot“, Moulton says, „it just de popularity, the term Disco made the regular forty-five sound like such shit. turned into a universal promo- The levels were incredible... the dynamics, the tional affix, which was attached bass...“. to almost everything; Disco- Tom Moulton pressed a new, bigger, 12‘‘ bowling, Roller Disco, Kinder promo (an edit of Moment of Truth‘s „So Much Disco... Even president Jimmy For Love“ ) to give it to DJ Richie Kaczor and Carter´s inaugural ball at the DJ David Rodriguez. It was the very first 12inch White House had a mobile-Disco single. Some months later in 1976, Walter featuring two dancers in pea- Gibbon‘s remake for Double Exposure‘s „Ten nut costumes. The hype reached Percent“ was the first commercially available its peak by 1977, when Saturday twelve-inch single on . Night Fever delivered the urban „The Super Sound Single“ became a term in in- fairy tale of Tony Manero, the dustry/advertising. However, isn‘t it strange that Italo-stud who tries to escape they „invented“ it late in the 70s? Shouldn‘t the his frustrating 9 to 5 by beco- physical rules of „more space, more data/ran- ge“ be obvious to every soundengineer?!? ball stadium. (More about Disco public intention. ´´It was time to Demolition Day in the follow- polish the fittings so the socie- ing article ´´The Art of Disco- ty folk felt comfortable jumping Bashing´´) aboard´´, and the club that paved the way for this new commitment With the mass-popularity of was ´´Le Jardin´´. When Diana Disco since the mid 1970s, New Ross´ appearance at the opening York´s club culture changed and caused an enormous promotio- headed in two different direc- nal stir through the press, many tions. While a lot of under- clubowners tried to follow that ground gay venues and shady simple but effective principle. clubs just continued business Certainly, chatty socializing has without being bothered by any always been a part of , celebrities or straight subur- but it now seemed that everything bians, a few other places beca- was about ´´look who´s here´´, big me the glossy temples of eli- limousines, the guest list - and tism, which attracted all the less the music. Welcome to the Studio54!

In contrast, a club that had nothing to do with celebrities riding on horses on the dance- Welcome To floor was the ´´Paradise Gara- ge´´, home of DJ Larry Levan. It The Studio54! was dedicated to the underground spirit of The Loft, where the arriving naked so many times it young Larry had been fascina- became tiresome; Margaret Trudeau, wife of ted by Mancuso´s gift to create the Canadian Prime Minister, caught on camera that certain intimacy. Neverthe- with her muff getting some air; a famous less, the former parking garage fashion designer buying sex from a busboy; was ten times The Loft, it had a Bianca Jagger riding in on a white stallion huge dancefloor and supposedly lead by a man wearing nothing more than a the best p.a. in town. The whole coat of paint; Liz Taylor photographed having straightforward setting was fee- something placed on her tongue; Liza Minelli ding only one purpose - dancing. chewing the fat (and her inner cheeks) on a Levan was not very good at mi- banquette. Someone dying in an air vent trying xing, but he had an obsession to to get inside; Sly Stallone ordering at the bar control all of his clubbers´ sen- next to John Travolta while a child-like Michael ses. Therefore he personally took Jackson sits on a sofa in between Woody Allen care of every medium in the Gara- and Truman Capote, with Andy Warhol over to ge; he screened movies (´´Altered the side, Jerry Hall next to him deep-throating a States´´, ´´The Wizard of OZ´´), bottle of Moet & Chandon... he leveled the soundsystem during the day, he had his own control set for the light and eventually he played wonderful dance mu- sic. 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 Gara- ge, 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 mi- nutes ago´´. What gave Levan such an outstanding position apart from his atmospheric DJ skills, showed Punks how to was the sort of cross-marketing dance and Madonna made it Pop. process that was going on bet- While these derivates only refe- ween him both as a DJ and remi- rred to the aesthetics of sound xer on one and the record labels and ignored the indispensable on the other side. Thanks to the setting of the nightclub, House thousands of people (and espe- music emerged from the same sy- cially other DJs) dancing every nergetic energy of dance music weekend in the Paradise Garage, and the dancefloor. So it´s no the ´´Larry Levan Dance Mix´´ coincidence that the new sound button on a sleeve could give a was named after the club where Disco record the final boost. it had been distilled ´´the Ware- Think of Gwen Guthries ´´Ain´t house´´ in Chicago (residency of Nothing Goin On But The Rent´´ Frankie Knuckles). Here, Frankie or Tanaa Gardner´s ´´Heartbeat´´, Knuckles and his audience redu- both Garage classics. Since 1992 ced Disco to the max. when Larry Levan died at the age of only 38, he was turned into a After the masses had already mythical figure of pop-history turned their back on Disco in as a godlike DJ. Whether he was 1979, the final death notice really that genius or he sim- was announced when the HI vi- ply ´´had an attitude´´ is irre- rus appeared on the set in 1981. levant. Fact is that Levan and Initially nicknamed the ´´Saint´s the Paradise Garage, where he Disease´´ - referring to a gay performed from 1977 until its club that popularized the vo- closure in 1987, stand for the cal-dominated subgenre Hi-NRG continuum of Disco. and whose members were about the first to die - the virus took The 1970s had already known the life of thousands of dance subgenres of Disco, but the new maniacs and many pioneers like decade marked a sweeping frag- Patrick Cowley (see our ´´Dis- mentation that brought out a co ´´). The impact on the vast variety of styles and even- clubscene was dramatic. In those tually fully emancipated descen- days Disco might have lost its dants. The Sugarhill Gang rapped carelessness, but opposed to a over the sample of Chic´s ´´Good popular narrative it didn´t die. Times´´ and introduced Hip Hop, It grew up!

Bibliography:

- Brewster, Bill and Frank Broughton. ´´Last Night a Sesame Disco! DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey´´. : Headline, 1999. The 70s kids‘ shows Sesame Street and The - Lawrence, Tim. ´´Love Saves The Day: A History Muppet Show by Jim Henson had many sket- of American Dance Music, 1970-1979´´. Durham ches about Disco, a fact that perfectly reflects and London: Duke University Press, 2003. how omnipresent mainstream Disco was. Plus, - Shapiro, Peter. ´´Turn the Beat Around: A Secret the songs were easy to remember! Disco as a History of Disco´´. NY: Faber and Faber, 2005. genre wasn‘t culturally challenging at all, and with its world of bizzare celebrity characters and comical glamor it seemed a suitable sub- ject 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. Snuf- fleupagus, and Escort just had a YouTube hit with their muppet Disco video „All Through The Night“. Check dsico-fanzine.com for some videos...

5a USA

Grace Jones 1a USA

Success in Million Dollars Cup Size 29 Lovers B Gay-Diva Factor 14 41 Dance Moves 39% ) Success in Million Dollars 93% Cup Size 175 Lovers 7/10 Gay-Diva Factor Tina Weymouth Dance Moves 5c USA Lyrics Pull up, to it, don‘t drive, through it. Back it, up twice, now that, fit‘s nice. (Pull up to the bumper)

2a Madonna USA

Success in Million Dollars Cup Size 14 Lovers B Cutie Factor 4 Dance Moves 99% Lyrics 2 We broke the rules but we won the game, Nothing6/10 to 1b USA lose, everything to gain. (Pleasure of Love) Success in Million Dollars Cup Size 100000000 Lovers C Gay-Diva Factor 2431 Dance Moves 92% Lyrics 193 Holiday, Celebrate, Holiday Celebrate! Holiday, Cele- bration, Come together in every nation. (Holiday)3/10

6 Success in Million Dollars C Cup Size 12 Lovers 34% Gay-Diva Factor 11 Dance Moves 7/10 Lyrics No romance without finance. (Ain‘t nothin‘ goin‘ on but the rent) 3b Sabrina Salerno NEW!

Gloria Gaynor 3a USA

Success in Million Dollars Cup Size Lovers Gay-Diva Factor +-0 Dance Moves D Lyrics 725 Take27 a chance, With love romance, Have some fun 9% DISCO DIVAS tonight. ( Boys Boys) Playing Cards C 1 9 2/10 Success in Million Dollars 81% WE WILL SURVIVE Cup Size 4 Tina Weymouth Lovers 4/10 USA Gay-Diva Factor Dancing Moves Lyrics I don’t want pity, I bang my own drum, Some think it’s noise I think it’s pretty. (I am what I am)

4c Donna Summer USA/Germany

14 Agnetha Fältskog B 4b Sweden 4 99% 2 We broke the rules but we won the game, Nothing6/10 to lose, everything to gain. (Pleasure of Love)

Success in Million Dollars Cup Size 28 Lovers B Gay-Diva Factor 5 Dance Moves 66% Success in Million Dollars 859 Lyrics B 28 Cup Size Do it to me again and again, You put me in such6/10 an Lovers 4 awful spin. (Love to love you baby) Gay-Diva Factor 39% Dance Moves 15 Lyrics 10/10 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. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. PA QJ IL GM NR DB 1. 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. : ´So Many Men So Little Time´ or ´High Energy´.

4. : Donna Summer ´Love To Love You Baby´ or filmmusic for Midnight Express ´Chase´ Plus: a lot of Italo Queens.

5. Nile Rogers (Chic): ´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 ´Cherie Lady´.

By the way: Dr. Dre is scrol- lable 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 re- leases on Atlantic (346), Casablanca (135), Prelude (200), Salsoul (237) and T.K. Records (209). Range of release dates: 1974-1986

218 You 210 Love 134 I 110 Me 78 My 72 Dance 64 Your 44 Can 43 Is 35 Night 31 Up 26 Man 22 Keep 19 Body 19 Feel 19 Hot 17 Come 16 Down 16 Party 6 Together

TOP NOUN: TOP VERB: Love -> 210 Matches to can -> 44 Matches

Uses of ´Up´ or ´Down´ Uses of ´God´ or ´Devil´ in Song Titles in Song Titles

Up Devil 31 6

Down God 16 3

More cool words: Superman, Superstar, Heartbreaker, Skydiver, Drum- mer, Friday, Saturday, Disco Circus, Discolypso, Dynamite, Stimu- lation, Sensation, Space, , Baby, Fun, Magic, Ooh, Burning, Kiss, Touch, Moonlight, Moonboots, Fire, Flight, Bass, Busstop, Hustle, Nasty, Mad, , 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

129 121 116 117

73

48

31

18 12 2 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 ´Don´t Stop ´Til You Get Enough´, ´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 ´Con- tort Yourself´, Dinosaur ´Kiss me again´, PIL ´Death Disco´

20 19 15 14

16 13

17 12

18 11

10

5 1 9 6 4 2 7 8

3

New York CITY

1. Paradise Garage, Club by Michael Brody and Mel Houston St. 9. , Legendary Gay-Club; 2nd Cheren; 84 King St. 2. When hearing Barry White‘s Ave & 6th St. 10. Besides Cheesburgers „Big-Q“ also „Love Theme“ at an exclusive party on a boat Aaron sold Quaaludes Burgers; 52 East 10th St. 11. Dancete- Spelling got the idea for the famous TV series „Love ria, Club of Disco Punk; 30 East 30th St. (third location) Boat“; West Pier 3. Neil Bogart of 12. Office of Sal Soul Records; 240 Madison Avenue met Paul Stanley and then signed KISS whose most 13. Grace Jones walked down 5th Avenue complete- succesful hit would later be the Disco song „I Was ly naked in 1983 14. Office of Prelude Records; 200 Made For Loving You Baby“; 5 Hudson St. 4. The Loft, West 57 St. 15. , Club by Steven Rubell & Club by David Mancuso (first location); 147 Mercer St. Ian Schrager; 254 West 54th St. 16. The Sanctuary, 5. , or just „The Village“ - gay quar- Club with Dj Francis Grasso; 407 West 43th St. 17. ter that gave the „Village People“ their name. 6. The Funhouse, Club by Joe Monk; 526 West 26th St. 18. Gallery, Club by Nicky Siano (second location);172 Roxy, originally Roller Disco; 515 West 18th St. 19. Mercer St 7. „Lombardi‘s“: John Travolta‘s favorite Village People‘s Victor Willis (the police officer) was Pizza place. 32 Spring St. 8. In 1979 Harry „KC“ Way- found passed out in a monkey cage; NY Central Park ne Casey of KC & The Sunshine Band was beaten up Zoo 20. Legendary roof top pool party by „The Discog- by some anti-Disco kids in front of Katz Deli; 205 East hosts“; 702 Park Avenue 90-minute-riot. Is it pure coincidence that disco was slaughtered in a baseball stadium, the traditional Ame- rican playground for proving one´s masculinity? Pro- bably not. This riot, though unintended, somehow resembled the fascist book burnings and marked the most violent expression of a widely spread antipathy towards dis- co-culture. In 1979 disco had turned into a four-bil- lion-dollar-industry and had dominated the mainstream culture. There were 20,000 all over the country and the commercial potential of disco was heavily ex- ploited. It was no surprise that Dahl didn´t remain the only persecutor of ´´wimpy´´ disco-culture: there were others like D.R.E.A.D. ( Rockers Engaged in the Abolition of Disco), KGON-DJ Bob Anchetta, who sawed up stacks of disco records with a chainsaw, KROQ-DJ ´´In- sane´´ 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 Dahl´s 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 Chica- DISCO go. He also didn´t´t like pina coladas because he was allergic to coconut and, to top it all off, he couldn´t 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 sho- wed why the average white American guy seemed to pre- fer Kiss to Chic, because something deep inside of him couldn´t deal with this sexually explicit, too glamo- rous, too gay and maybe too black sort of subculture. VS Compared with Rock, disco simply didn´t have any balls! Dahl´s crusade, fueled by his offbeat and white trash sense of humor, resulted in the so-called Disco Demo- lition 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 in´79, because the radio station had switched it´s pro- ROCK gram 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 para- site), took over disco-clubs and produced the anti- disco-hymn ´´Do you think I´m disco?´´. And what was originally intended as promotion for a baseball match between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers at Chicago´s Comiskey Park, turned into a riot and a bea- con for the downfall of disco. The Disco Demolition Derby was a twi-night doublehea- der: 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 chan- ting ´´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 audi- ence was waiting for some blood to be spilled. After Dahl blew up a big box with 10,000 disco re- cords, hundreds of people star- ted to make a run on the field and devastate the playing field, stea- ling the bases and setting parts of the lawn on fire. Only massive police force ended the Together they rocked every discothèque while Hihat Bass and Snare used to just stood there in awe, with her mouth open... be best friends.

Bum Tsss Chack Tsss

Until, one day Bass would only hang ...and Snare didn‘t seem to fit in any more. out in the VIP area...

She got very sad because nobody seemed to That‘s when she started taking drugs and got want her anymore (there`s no snare drum in into Jungle, Drum ‚n‘ Bass und .. most of and House).

Dumdumchack diggidiggibumchack! (Pitched up ) ...while Bass was sniffing snow at exclusive glam parties. One day, Snare had a vision:

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

You‘re right! We invented the BPM! The beat is only com- By that time, Bass had also realized they can‘t live plete with both of us! Disco-jogging only works with Bum without each other... AND Chack!

...and so they got back to working the discothèques - together! Will Smith is performing Will Smith is performing ´And The Beat Goes On´ ´Forget Me Nots´ by Patrice Rushen by The Whispers

Will Smith is performing Will Smith is performing ´Greatest Dancer´ by Sister Sledge ´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 you are the greatest! [10:58] kylie=ˆ~ˆ=: i‘m 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=ˆ~ˆ=: olivier says hi big willie [10:59] †justice†: 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=ˆ~ˆ=: i thought jamiroquai is a band [10:59] jamiroquai72: WE ARE A BAND! [10:59] W1LLSM1TH: no beef in here lol [10:59] kylie=ˆ~ˆ=: 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 we‘re 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=ˆ~ˆ=: 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=ˆ~ˆ=: 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 will‘s hits: “Summertime“ <– Kool & The Gang‘s “Summer Madness“ “Gettin‘ Jiggy Wit‘ It“ <– “Greatest Dancer“ by Sister Sledge “Miami“ <– “And The Beat Goes On“ by The Whispers “Men In Black“ <– Patrice Rushen‘s “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... k- ci 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=ˆ~ˆ=: i just googled “milf“ [11:03] W1LLSM1TH: rofl [11:03] kylie=ˆ~ˆ=: hey where‘s 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 it‘s danceable. it‘s 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=ˆ~ˆ=: 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: EEÖÖÖÖÖÖÖHH!!! [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=ˆ~ˆ=: LOL [11:07] W1LLSM1TH: yo, honey i shrunk the kids is on tv, just started!

hey guys sorry i‘m late but i ha | Deluxe Party Ball

- Styrofoam Ball - Crappy CDs - Hot-glue - Scissors

1 2

Planning a private party? It´s so Cut little squared pieces out of some easy making your own mirror ball, old CDs. Hardrock or Metal CDs re- just follow these steps... flect the best.

3 4

Good work. Now start your hot-glue pi- Now put small drops of glue on the stol. Smells yummie doesn´t it? backside of each mirror piece. Care- ful, it´s hot!

5

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

Wow! It‘s a pe

Fever st! An analogy which often appeared in mainstream Disco culture and its conquest was the Dis- Night co fever. The rapid success of Fever´´; at the genre seemed like an epide- first Grover is dan- mic; Bruce Pollack wrote in ´´The cing like Tony Manero (John Disco Handbook´´ from 1979: ´´By Travolta) but soon gets out of now you´ve heard the word and breath while everybody keeps felt the fever. In newspapers yelling at him ´´dance!´´. He and magazines, on radio and TV, keeps dancing until he finally in movies and advertisements, on faints. city buses and airplanes buzzing The BBC actually reports in an the beach, the word is always article titled ´´Dancing Death´´ the same - disco - and the fever about an epidemic that broke out is spreading.´´ in mid-July 1518 in Strasbourg, The 1977 movie ´´Saturday Night France, where a woman stepped Fever´´ by Robert Stigwood and into the street and started to John Badham had ultimately popu- dance. ´´She was still dancing larized the music and its corre- several days later. Within a sponding club scene all over the week about 100 people had been world. consumed by the same irresisti- In the movie, the fever had an ble urge to dance. The autho- additional meaning: the urge to rities were convinced that the get out of every day life and afflicted would only recover if become king at the local disco- they danced day and night. So theque on the weekends. The urge guildhalls were set aside for eventually became an addiction them to dance in, musicians were until one´s life completely re- hired to play pipes and drums volved around the weekly ritual to keep them moving, and pro- of going out to dance. The Bee fessional dancers were paid to Gee´s ´´Night Fever´´from the keep them on their feet. Within movie soundtrack also describes days those with weak hearts the fever as the excitement for started to die. By the end of nightlife. August 1518 about 400 people had experienced the madness.´´ Dance Disease It´s still not clear today what As a mass phenomenon mainstream made the patients dance day Disco also exerted a certain and night; some think they had peer pressure; having to know ingested argot, a psychotro- the right lingo, wear a fancy pic mould that grows on stalks outfit, know the latest dance of rye, others say they were moves. The 1970s kids TV show obsessed by a demon. According ´´Sesame Street´´ made fun of to the BBC article the dancers this fact in several sketches might have had entered a tran- (you can watch them on www.dsi- ce state due to ´´extreme psy- co-fanzine.com). One sketch is chological distress´´ caused by spoofing a scene from ´´Saturday their poor living conditions.

? Typical Earworm. Often transmits DSI-79 virus

Let‘s see if “Hasi Interna- ? tional“ 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 70s/early 80s with its obtrusi- story line of ´´Saturday Night ve earworms. Hate arose agains Fever´´ and the motifs of Tony annoying melodies and lowbrow Manero´s unhappy life (dead- lyrics, and the ´´Disco Sucks´´ end job, unsupportive parents, movement was started (as de- tensions in the local community, scribed earlier in this issue). wrong friends) as the medical Steve Dahl´s Disco Demolition explaination for his dancing. Night, where thousands of Disco records were burned, is consi- Ear Worm dered ´´the day Disco died´´. But Germans have a special term for since it´s all about ´´Staying catchy tunes that get stuck in Alive´´, Disco coudn´t be killed. your head: earworms (Ohrwürmer). So god created a disease that Once entered, the earworm re- killed a lot of Disco producers peats the main melody of a song and DJs (many of them homosexu- within your mind, over and over al). At first the disease was again. Disco songs often have called gay cancer until it later such catchy melodies, that´s became known as AIDS... probably also a reason why they became popular so quickly. Who Addiction hasn´t found themselves sing- And because of all of those sym- ing ´´these sounds fall into my toms people needed good medici- maiaiaind´´ or ´´vamos a la playa ne. Some used methaqualone, a oh ohohoh oh´´ all day? The big- muscle relaxant also known as gest producers of earworms were Quaaludes, others inhaled Pop- -without any doubt - ABBA. The pers (amyl nitrite) to enhance Swedish group had one hit after sexual pleasure. The most po- another thanks to the signature pular medicine was cocaine, a harmony singing of female lead stimulant of the central nervous singers Anni-Frid Lyngstad and system. However, most of the Agnetha Faeltskog. This style of medicine used is addictive - a creating neat harmonics with two fact that caused more symtons to voices already helped The Bea- appear due to their regular use. tles implant earworms with their music. And once it´s stuck in CONCLUSION: As a conclusion I people´s heads it´s a guaranteed can say Disco is a highly conta- chart hit. Sometimes an Ohrwurm gious, addictive, and deadly di- can be killed by listening to sease. In order not to catch any or singing another song, so the of the above symptoms make sure worm gets irritated and mixed you NEVER: up; during the Disco era, howe- ver, every other song was just listen to the song “Lady Bug“ by Bumblebee Unlimited, another earworm... especially not the Larry Levan edit Gay Cancer More and more people (especial- Dr. ly Rock fans) got tired of the DRE omnipresent Disco hype 42 during the late 40 41 38 39

watch Tracky‘s read the book watch the film visit www. watch the film watch the music YouTube playlist “Turn The Beat “Paris Is Burning“ ebonycuts.com “Maestro“ by video to “Boys“ “Sesame Disco“ Around“ by Peter by Jennie Living- Josell Ramos. by Sabrina Shapiro ston. Salerno TOP 69 During our research we´ve cal cliches Disco is noted the wah-wah effect), open come across some great for, while drawing connec- hihat between bass and tunes, and we´ve decided tions to today´s dance mu- snare drum, latin per- to compile a list for you sic. Some sounds are still cussion enhancing the featuring our 69 favorite up to date while others rhythm, claps, cowbells, Disco tracks +1 bonus seem antiquated... tom toms, and other rhyth- track; the list also con- As a conclusion, we made a mical gadgets, a steady tains important milesto- track with all the average ´four-to-the-floor´ (FTTF) nes of music history. We values of the below songs 4/4 bassdrum, uplifting sorted them chronological- (bpm, key, elements etc.) strings creating a lush ly, determined their most to create the ultimate atmosphere, repetitive significant elements, ana- Uberdisco track! Mwahaha! vocals and raps, falsetto lized their tempo (BPM), (head voice) choir, qua- and guessed the tonal key Some musical elements are cky snythesizer - all to find musical si- typical for Disco, be sure and melodies, and much milarities / differences. to know these: electric more (vocoders, synthetic (often slap) drums)... It´s interesting how the that alternates / slides list shows in what ways between two octaves, funky You can listen to all the genre developed. It guitar playing syncopa- songs (incl. Uberdisco) at also questions the musi- ted chords (often with www.dsico-fanzine.com

Analysis of our TOP 69

Average BPM: 116,64 Average Year of Release: 1984 Average Key: 16% C minor 10% E minor Top featured elements: The Disco City 9% C#minor 59% Synthesizer 9% D minor 40% Claps 56% Others 40% Funky guitar New York 31% Strings 21% Choir Lead Vocal: 21% Trumpet/sax/hornsection 53% Male 19% Bass with octave shifts 45% Female 19% Latin percussion 2% Chipmunk

Top Disco Nations: 27% New York 51% USA (35 songs of 69) 10% London 13% UK 9% Los Angeles Frisco 9% Italy 6% Philly Paris 5% Germany London 4% Paris 5% France Philly 3% Frisco 17% Others Los Angeles 41% Others

Signage of our TOP 69

Favorite Disco Song of Tube You Tube Hit / $ Hipsters, Landmark DJs Daniel, M-Boy, Tip Flop watch out!  Song D favorite Konrad, Roglok and D Tracky Worst lyrics ' Rock? B Outta space z Catchy tune! Duuuhh Chart- No meaning Romantic / Champagne € breaker M can opener / tested. V M M - - M M M M F M F F F KEY Gm Gm F# Cm D/ Em F G G#m Cm C/ G# D C/m Dm BPM 117 117 105 115 116 85 107 117 113 118 121 130 TOP 69 124 Significant Elements falsetto choir, Wahwah-guitar, Love Boat strings, tambourine Sax/horn section, funky guitar, Sax/horn section, funky guitar, 1/16 hihat, cowbell Synth, bg choir, clavichord, claps clavichord, Synth, bg choir, Sax, organ, some strings, Sax, organ, drums groovey Bass w/ octave shifts, horn shaker, section, clean guitar, male vocals, piano, synth organ, female choir Spherical layers of analog synth, monotonic male vocals, vocoder, & hihat <- white noise snare Horn lead, fat shuffle drums with partly open hihats, congas, raps Crispy drums, clean Crispy breakbeat , choir guitar, 1/16 hihats, 4TTF bassdrum, gallop, strings, female percussion moaning Galloping hihat, bass w/ octave shifts, harp, piano, strings, some male vocals, female wah-guitar, backup Cheesy strings, clavichord, Cheesy strings, clavichord, xylophone highlights, open hihat synth, , long drawn-out female vocals Latin percussion, galloping Latin percussion, hihats, flutes, chanting, claps M z Lyrics “Who‘s the black private dick that‘s a sex machine to all ?“ “Mamma-So-Mamma-Sa- Mamma-Makko-Sa“ “Ba-ba-badap Ba-ba badda-dah“ - “In the backseat of my car“ “Die Fahrbahn ist ein graues Band, weisse Streifen, gruener Rand“ “Let the drums speak“ “I wouldn´t change a thing, If I had to live my life all over“ “Uhhhhhhh ahhhhhh ya“ “I‘m walking through life “I‘m walking through disguise“ - “I´m in nature‘s and I´m I´m carefree happy, gay“ “I‘m a sensation you try me once you‘ll beg for more“ “Ooh I feel love, love“ “It‘s - good for the soul -- I - love you!“ - Description Funky theme soul with average Disco tempo and a sleezy blaxploitation pornHayes‘ sound atmosphere. was too soft for the 60s, his success came in 70s. Many consider it the first Disco song. Deep male rap hornscomplex voice and driving Afro-Funk & breaks.The excellent dancing skills. rhythm requires A great bit of Moog-y madness! Initially a jingle for TV, bit of Moog-y madness! Initially a jingle for TV, A great many Disco musicians... “Pepper Box“ inspired One of the early “Club“-hits. This simple groove makes One of the early “Club“-hits. This simple groove Moulton Mix) you wanna dance. Nice one. (Tom Passionate love lyrics supported by orchestral set up, Passionate love lyrics supported by orchestral skate polonaise at Soul kitschy sound. Ideal for a roller Train! Important because it marks the beginning of synthesizer influenced Disco. Artificial but music which strongly lyrics.. tempo, repetitive warm sound, metronomic Horns rather minimal play a catchy tune; structure - appears quite contemporary. Hedonistic “Je Ne Regrette Rien“ lyrics that encourage Hedonistic “Je Ne Regrette warm the people to waste their time on dancefloor, atmosphere. Uhhh Ahhh. This drippy underground Disco tune was Uhhh Ahhh. This drippy underground used in tons of porns. probably Galloping beat - vulcano style. Harry fucks Sally... Highly orchestrated Phillysoul sound with gaypride Highly orchestrated OK... lyrics. Disco as a cultural liberation! I‘m OK, you‘re This song is the perfect exampe for all Housewife Disco sytle. Think of ABBA,... songs in the 70s. Flat iron Introducing Quaaludes, the disco drug: futuristic, Introducing Disco... A milestone by electronic ecstastic, glamorous, Moroder. synth-pioneer Giorgio Sounds like the crazy ritual of some aboriginal Disco They could of frenzy. tribe. The flutes could be the herold also be balsam - for your soul. Genre Theme Disco Afro Afro Disco Shagga- delic Disco- Step Disco- Soul Kraft- werk Horny Hymn B Boy Disco Explicit Disco Gay Disco House- wife D. Electron Disco Tribal Tribal Disco Loc a. USA MEM Fra. Paris UK USA NY Back- seat Ger. DÜS USA NY USA SF USA NY USA LA Spain Ger. MU USA NY Year 1971 1972 1973 1973 1974 1974 1975 1976 1976 1977 1977 1977 1978 Label Stax Atlantic Spark Phila- delphi Blaster Philips Polydor Mercury Skylax 2007 RCA Casa- blanca Salsoul Tip Tube D Artist Isaac Hayes Manu Dibango The Peppers MFSB Tony Fox Tony Coke Escovedo Tony Tony Sylvester Carl Bean Baccara Donna Summer Salsoul $ Title Theme From Shaft Soul Makossa Pepper Box Love Is The Message Love, Let Love And Be Loved! Autobahn Let The Drums Speak I Wouldn´t I Wouldn´t Change A Thing Pazuzu (The Original from 1976) I Was Born This I Was Way Yes Sir, I Can Sir, Yes Boogie I Feel Love It‘s Good For The Soul Mix) (W.Gibbons Title Artist Label Year Loca. Genre Description Lyrics Significant Elements BPM KEY V

Game Rick Van der Spiegel- 1978 Neth. Euro Novelty slow Euro Disco! Incredibly funky and visionary. - Synth only: bassline w/ octave 104 ? - R Linden ei HAR Synth Produced solely on a Yamaha GX-1 synthesizer. shifts, syncopated melodies

Miss You Rolling EMI 1978 UK Disco- Nice example how Disco influenced Rock, even though “I‘ve been holding out so Straight drums, partly open 110 Am/ M ' Stones LO Rock the two genres were always conflictive. Initially this long, I‘ve been sleeping all hihat, Disco bass w/ octave Dm song was faster, but then recorded with slower tempo alone, Lord I miss you“ shifts, contained guitar, organ, (probably in order not to sound too Disco..) harmonica, catchy chorus

Ring My Bell Anita Ward T.K. 1979 USA Disco- Catchy sing-along hook that makes this song an all-time “...lay back and relax while Straight drums, infamous Disco 126 Cm F Disco ME Soul Robinson Club anthem. Turn on the lighting console! I put away the dishes. Then Toms, claps, slap bass with you and me can rock a bell“ octave shifts, funky guitar, choir

Lady Bug Bumblebee RCA 1979 USA Chip- Cute chipmunk voices over a funky groove, a Larry “Love you and kiss you and Straight beat, latin percussion, 119 Bbm C z Unlimited NY munk Levan Classic with great piano chords. Novel production kiss you and hug you“ piano, funky bass with octave Disco aesthetics; sober and tightly arranged. shifts, pitched-up sound

Good Times Chic Atlantic 1979 USA Disco Probably the most famous bassline ever; Sugarhill Gang “Must put an end to this Funky bass, epic Disco-guitar, 113 Em/ F NY Disco just appropriated the instrumental - “Good Times“ stress and strife, I think I piano, strings, staccato choir A helped to boot up Hip Hop. want to live the sporting life“

Ain´t No Stoppin Risco Black 1979 USA, After This Loft classic is a great after-hour tune due to its “Don‘t you let nothing, drums (rimshot-snare), 113 G#m M Us Now Connection Rose NY Hour Reggae/Dub elements. The original by McFadden & nothing. Nothing stand in filtered synth pads, warm Music Disco Whitehead is supposed to be a gay pride anthem. your way“ bassline, wah-guitar w/ reverb

Greatest Dancer Sister Atlantic 1979 USA D-I- Mainstream hit with glamourus “King of the “The champion of dance Funky guitar, 1/16 hihat, detuned 116 Cm F Sledge NY S- Discothèque“ as motif. Similar feeling as Saturday Night his moves will put you in a organ, strings w/ vibrato C-O Fever songs because it glorifies Disco stardom. trance“ NO G.D.M. Gina X EMI 1979 Ger. Disco- Slow Disco groove, also considered gay anthem. “That‘s life - one dive.“ Synth bass, FX & pads, vocoder, 110 Cm F COL Wave Futuristic synth sound makes it “wavy“. non-melodical “Wave“ style singing, cowbell

Don‘t Stop ‚Til Michael Epic 1979 USA Glitter Glitter & glamour feeling! Michael Jackson appears “Just love me ‚til you don‘t Exotic percussion, claps, shaker, 119 Am/ M You Get Enough Jackson LA Disco multiplied in both and song (main and bg know how - ooh“ glamourus strings, falsetto doubl- Bm Tube vocals). ed, horns, organ, clean guitar Tip / Dancer Gino Soccio WEA 1979 Can. Euro-ish This repetitive groove builds up trance, out of space “Dancer Dancer Dancer Synth & slap bass w/ octave 122 Em F $ MON Disco feeling thanks to effects. Very catchy indeed. - got to take it higher.“ shifts, funk guitar, piano, Wavy choir, claps

Give Me Your Sylvia Uno 1980 Usa Roller Typical hand-in-hand Roller Disco groove; delivers a “Do you want me?“ Funky drum accents, claps, warm 110 G#m F Love Striplin Melodic NY Disco warm and soulful atmosphere (soft voice). bass w/ octave shifts, clavichord, female vocals & choir

Bostich Yello Do It 1980 Switz Dark Classic Disco elements translated into the artificial “Standing at the machine Real drums / percussion, 121 Dm M Records Disco aesthetics of synth and drum machine music (Electro). every day for all my life“ minimal synth bass & strings, monotonous rap

Is It All Over My Loose West 1980 USA West End Reduce to the max! Legendary “ but ultra “I‘m in love - dancing!“ Bright organ, bass w/ octave 121 Bm M Face Joints End NY Disco danceable“ Disco classic with nice organ and catchy shifts, clean guitar, catchy female F D bassline. vocals, congas Fantastic Voyage Lakeside RCA 1980 USA Disco- Proto P-Funk with cranky bassline and Disco-raps. “Hurry up pack your bags Synth & slap bass, Disco guitar, 116 Em M LA Funk Venice Beach hit! Catchy hook and cheesy 80s R&B and jam y‘all, come on and claps, lead vocals & falsetto male background vocals. Coolio made a cover version. ride on the funk now“ choir

Margherita Margueritas BMG 1980 Italy Mariachi Simple ‘Azzurro’ meldoy and full pumping beats. - Synth bass & lead, Mexican style 116 Gm - Disco Warning: very catchy! Sangria style. € trumpets, artificial claps Ma Quale Pino Bella- 1980 Italy Macho Italian mainstream Disco, a beautiful cliché. Pino D‘Angio “Balla!“ Disco guitar, funky bass, piano, 115 G#m M Idea D‘Angio phone Disco used to perform it with a lit cigarette in his hand. claps, Disco tom, raps & falsetto T mail choir

Shack Up A Certain Factory 1981 UK No Wave Disco from . “Shack Up“ manages to be one “Shack Up!“ Disco guitar, funky bassline, 123 Em M Ratio MA of Punk‘s funkiest ever dancefloor material.  Wavey vocals, trumpets She Can‘t Love Chemise Emerg- 1981 USA Cutie One of the sweetest adventures of Discomusic. Plastic “She can‘t love you like I Synth bass, open hihat, synth 114 Bm F You M ency LA Disco 80s sound - yet warm. Light and sterile - less organic. could“ vibes & pizzicato strings

Get A Little Patrick Unidisc 1981 USA Hi-NRG An underground Frisco Disco track, almost Hi-NRG, with “I wanna show you what I Disco beat, synth bass w/ octave 120 Em F Cowley SF overriding female lead vocal - only for club use. got for you!“ shifts, female choir, cowbell, $ shaker

Genius Of Love Tom Tom Island 1981 Car- Island Naive summer sound, reminds you of that girl you had “Whatcha gonna do when Slow beat, Disco guitar, signature 103 G F Club Records ibbe- Disco icecream with in 5th grade. you get outta jail? I‘m gonna synth lead, Dub effects, childish z an have some fun.“ female raps & singing

First True Love Jimmy Ross BCM 1981 USA, Peaktime Dancefloor puller: This one is strictly for the ladys - “I never let you go!“ Synth / real bass, claps, funky 118 F/ M Affair z Records NY Disco romantic lyrics, sing-a-long hook. 2 years too late? guitar, male choir, lead synth Am I.O.U Street- 1982 UK/ BMX Preset-Party! Music for BMX kids. One of the greatest “That‘s how I feel, I want it Synth bass, drum machine & 119 Dm M Tubewise USA Disco hits at Funhouse (NY). to be real“ claps, female vocals, bells Flop Heavy Vibes Montana Unidisc 1982 USA Disco The warm groove & jazzy instruments make this one an - Latin percussion, claps, simple 114 Cm/ - Sextett PH Fox excellent home-listening Disco track. Catchy vibraphone bass, warm organ, vibes G# $ replaces lead vocals. Unlimited Grace Jones UMG 1982 USA, Refrige- Warmness meets coolness - an out of space experience. “This could turn out another Synth (arpeggio / strings), female 115 Am F Capacity For NY rator Industrial & Wave assosiation unwinning war“ voice, chorus guitar, synth solo Love B Forget Me Nots Patrice Elektra 1982 USA, Will 70s meet 80s! Disco out of the construction kit. Great “Was it the simple things Slap bass, bright strings, double- 115 F#m F Rushen LA Smisco saxophone peak... that made me so crazy claps, sax, e-piano, female choir about you?“

Rock the The Clash Epic 1982 UK Leftfield Did Punk only survive by Disco? To illustrate this “By order of the prophet - Honkeytonk piano, distorted 128 Dm M Casbah LO Disco assumption this track is just perfect. we ban that boogie sound.“ guitar, bongos, double-claps, ' rock voice A Debris of a Throbbing Power 1982 UK Darkroom Slow, drugged and dubbed out minimalistic Disco with - Synth bass & chords, open hihat, 102 ? M Murder Gristle Focus LO Dub talking and echoed voices. M bongos, Disco tom, talking The Dark Side Of Alexander Crème 1982 Itlay Prototype Ultra deep & synthetic Disco House - way ahead of it‘s - Synth only, double-claps, ar- 128 C#m - The Spoon Robotnick Org. House time... D peggiator, sound layers, 4TTF bd Title Artist Label Year Loca. Genre Description Lyrics Significant Elements BPM KEY V

Moneys Too Valentine Bridge 1982 USA, E-Disco- Slow modern Electro-Soul track, good for ü30 Parties. “My rent is due, my kids all Cheesy synth bassline, sax, 109 Bm M Tight To Mention Brothers Records LA Soul Vocals remind of Bobby Womack. need brand new shoes...“ piano, double-claps, male vocals

Voice Of Q “Q“ Philly 1982 USA, Cold War Who is Q? A crooked computer oracle? This is not “Feel the gravity - move to Slap bass, double-clap, spooky 116 Cm/ M World PH Disco happy nor melancholic, a state of isolation and wrong another reality“ pads, synth-flute, vocoder voice G# B ideas of human/machine interaction. Burning Up (12‘‘ Madonna Sire 1983 USA Steroid Turbofast workout pop to flex a muscle! Without a doubt “You‘re always closing your Double-claps, synth bass, drum 139 Bbm F Version) NY Disco Madonna‘s best Disco track... door, well, that only makes machine, e-guitar riffs, female me want you more.“ vocals

Save Our Love Escape Profile 1983 USA, Vernis- Imagine a high society party in the 80s with sparkling - Slow simple drums, funky 106 Fm - (instr.) From New NY sage surroundings... bassline, synth pads & layers, York Disco $/ claps, echo FX Another Man Barbara West 1983 USA Slow Slow Paradise Garage hit with lament rap about “Another man is beating my Synth layers & bass, 1/16 hihat, 113 Em F Mason End PH Disco M misbehaving men. Perfect for your car radio. time“ artificial cowbell, female talking Chicago Roy Ayers Uno 1983 USA Deep Ron Ayers‘s “Chicago“ is a minimal, deep Jazzfunk “Chicago Chicago - Uuh“ Slap bass, steady strings, bright 115 Fm/ M Melodic NY Disco groove with simple & repititious lyrics. Early Deep organ, funk guitar, double-claps, Em K House?! singing/talking

Lucky Ellie Hope RFC 1983 UK, Secretary Secretaries listen to this while getting dressed in the “L. U. C. K. Y. - let me tell Simple beat, cowbell, light synth 116 Bbm F LO Disco mornings. Style: No calories. Cola Light (Diet Coke) you why“ pads & melodies, female voice

Plastic Doll Dharma ZYX 1983 Italy Italo Is it really a doll? Seems like it. Worst vocals ever - Italo “Am I crazy or just lazy. Open hihats, female vocals, 120 Bm F Disco I Disco at it‘s best. The “remixed instrumental“ version What is for me true reality?“ claps, synth bassline & melodies might please you better.

Let No Man Put Salsoul 1983 USA, Vocal This one became a prototype Vocal House track with “It’s not over don’t want to Female vocals / choir, strings, 119 C#m F Asunder PH House female vocals and stomping beats. be free“ congas & bongos, claps & snaps

Woodpeckers Video Kids Polydor 1984 Neth. Wood- Woody visited the earthlings and brought his “Listen everybody to the Synth bass & lead, sample 113 Am M From Space pecker Casio keyboard. Cheesy & charming. woodpecker Boogie - come triggering, male voice / female B Disco on let‘s have some fun.“ choir I Want To Thank Alicia Myers MCA 1984 USA Religious A modern Soul track in Disco disguise with Gospel “I wanna thank you heavenly Piano, 4TTF bassdrum, female 107 Am F You DE / Other lyrics. father“ vocals, warm bass

Primavera - Stop TubeZYX 1984 Italy This dude raps Italian dialect over an organic Jazzfunk “Primavera!“ Organ, rap, minimal bass, 108 Bbm M Tullio de Tip Balearic Bajon Piscopo NA groove. Italian but not Italo. Baleraric style. trumpet, vibes, distorted guitar

Land Of The Earons Island 1984 “Ear- Dubby World-weariness translated into Disco. Strange mix of “...the land of plenty...“ Echo claps, drum machine, male 111 C#m M Hunger D Records on” Dub Wave and Dub elements. Lead vocals sound like Sting. vocals & choir, cowbell gallop $ Disco Stars Mr. Fingers Gherkin 1987 USA Disco Dreamy Disco House by veteran Larry Heard, influenced - Arpeggiator, drum machine, lead 118 C#m - CH House by . synth, bass w/ octave shifts

Boys Sabrina Teldec 1987 Italy Italo 1987‘s cheapo summer hit. Crappy lyrics, 80s Euro Pop “Take a chance with love Synths: bass, fanfare, guitar; 119 Fm F (Summertime Salerno Disco II sound. To be honest we just selected this song because romance have some fun female vocals, male voice Love) Tube z of its music video... tonight!“ (triggers) Tip NYC Smile On Aqua Regia Irdial 1989 UK, Acid Minimalisitic ecstatic Acid Disco with vibes, strings and - 808, strings, vibes, 303, moaning 130 D - Me LO Disco moaning...

These Sounds Bucket- UMM 1995 USA House Kenny “Dope“ Gonzalez sampled Chicago‘s “These Sounds fall into my Funky bass, latin percussion, 125 Dm M Fall Into My heads NY “Streetplayer“ to make one of the biggest 90s-House maiaiaind“ 4TTF , trumpets, Mind z hits. double-claps, male vocals Street Boys DMX Krew Rephlex 1999 UK Euro A Disco pearl with strong British influence (Wave). Down “Street Boys, got to struggle Drum machine, open hihat, 128 C#m M LO Wave down Underground... so hard.“ cheesy vocals, arpeggio bass, Freestyle vocoder

From Disco To Les Wall Of 1999 Fra. Digital The better “From Disco to Disco“!? Very digital and “From Disco to Disco. Cowbell, claps, open hihat, lead 125 C#m M Disco Rythmes Sound PA Disco funky. Strong relation to . WaAaAaAah!“ synth & staccato chords, male  Digitales hook The Republic Legowelt Bunker 2000 Neth. Den Haag Dirty dutch cocaine sound - an example for the new - Catchy synth bassline, cheesy 128 Bbm - DH Disco breed of Dark Electro influenced Disco from Holland synth lead, 1/16 drum machine (Bunker/Creme/Clone).

Jaguar (Dance DJ Rolando 430 2000 USA Trance- Killer Trance House anthem transporting Disco‘s ecstasy - 909, latin percussion, open hihat, 137 Dm - Of The Cat) aka Aztec West DE House and glamour into a context. Made for the arpeggiator, claps, strings Mystic hood. Fast!

24K (Super EP) Morgan Environ 2001 USA New Significant starting point of the NY “New Disco“ fad. Cheesy synth & warm e-piano 124 Cm - Geist NY Disco Mood: For Clubs with carpets on the dancefloor. D chords, Disco bass, strings, zaps Harder, Better, Daft Punk Virgin 2001 Fra. Synth- Retro-fetish by French House pioneers Daft Punk. “Work it harder make it Sample, ride cymbal, vocoder, 123 F#m M Faster, Stronger PA Pop The funky midtempo dance track mostly consists of better, Do it faster makes us claps, synth Tube a sample from “Cola Bottle Baby“. Kanye West then stronger“ Tip sampled Daft Punk.

You‘re So Chromeo FAB / 2002 USA Retro Bring back the 80s. Simple and repetitive track with “you‘re so gang-gang-gang- Cheesy synth, female hook 110 Fm/ F Gangsta V2 NY Hipster great lyrics. gang-gang-gang-gang- (triggering), bongos, sax solo D# Disco gang-gangster“

Tunnel Music Zongamin XL 2002 UK New New If Tom Tom Club would have made a Disco song in 2002 - Staccato synth lead, funky slide 114 Cm - z LO Disco it would sound like this. Curious housy middle part. bass, claps, funky guitar, D-tom Superflight Chateau Versa- 2005 UK New New Excellent crispy beats and ecstatic xylophone- - Slap bass, vibes, claps, synth 120 ? - (Maurice Fulton Flight tile SHF New atmosphere. Mirror ball reflections in an empty club. layers & melodies, funky guitar Remix) Disco

Porridge Forage Jasper Audio 2007 Can. Nerdstep Geeky Disco with Lofi / Funk elements. - Vowel-synth lead, portamento 114 Em - Auberg. VA bass, FM melodies & chords

Shadows Hercules & DFA 2008 Usa New New Hercules & Love Affair seem to give Disco yet another “My heart should be a save Trumpet, female vocals, bass 117 Cm F Love Affair NY New New new spin: top-notch producing skills vs. fragility. harbour - all comfort to you“ w/ octave shifts, piano, latin Disco percussion jB ONUS The UpitUp 2008 Yaka- Sluggish Slow Disco spoof with catchy lyrics - ladies love it. “It‘s a happy happy joy time Disco guitar, slow beat, Disco 103 Cm M Happy Joy Discoghosts Records moz would you please be my tom, latin perc., warm keyboard B $/M Fräulein“ chords, kiddy & low-pitch rap SourSourmakesmakesFunkyFunkyby Roglok

I would have rather participa- a wormhole. One wonders why wun- ted in a fanzine about Acid than derkind DJ hadn´t just Disco. To me, Disco music beco- dismissed Disco completely after mes interesting by the late 70´s was born. From the when producers started to tear view of a DJ or dance music pro- down Dsico´s ´´wall of sound´´ ducer, the focus on pure rhythm and got rid of all those sicke- rather than on opulent orche- ning orchestral sections, mostly stration should be a logical made up of string and horn com- consequence. However, the advent positions. Not only the reduc- of programmable drummachines tion to the bare musical essen- like the gritty sample-based tials, but also the concept of Linn LM-1 and the Roland TR-808 automatization was necessary to and 909 with their archetypi- help Disco become fresher. Back cal pounding bassdrum circuitry in 1975, during the production provided the necessary equipment of Donna Summer´s ´´Love To Love to make the crowd ´´jack´´. Soon You Baby´´, Giorgio Moroder advi- rhythmical paradigms were broken sed his drummer Keith Forseth to up and snares and handclaps were play the drums in perfect sync put all over the place while with a Wurlitzer Sideman - the never loosing their quantized first commercially available tightness. electronic drummachine, which I feel that final- was made in 1959. While the rat- ly liberated dance music from her crappy Sideman sounds (cre- individual-related live music ated from vacuum tubes!) were and erased the reference to not used in the song, Moroder´s Disco music as far as possible. approach was clear: to seek for With Acid, atonality found its Funk in a dry, steady machi- way into House and the snatchy ne-like beat. The bassdrum was rhythms coupled with the stacca- recorded very loud and with a tos and portamentos of the 303 distinct punch and although the are a perfect match. I wouldn´t track runs on only 96 bpm (a argue that Acid House is more term that came up in the Disco intelligent than Disco - it era btw.) it might mark the be- might even be more stupid - but ginning of a new technique that it´s surely closer to catharsis

Fortunately, soon became essential for dance and much more funky! I make music production. Acid music While House music adopted Suggested listening: Disco´s 4-to-the-floor rhythm structure and thus created an Chip E. “Time to Jack“ Gotta Dance Records, 1985 apparent connection, the sound Hercules “7 Ways“ Dance Mania, 1986 aesthetics slowly became more Mr. Lee “House This House“ , 1987 abstract and futuristic. A Ron Tyree “Acid Crash“ Rockin House Music, 1988 Hardy Warehouse mix from the mid Gherkin Jerks “Acid Ingestion“ Gherkin Records, 1988 80´s is loaded with edits of Armando “151“ Warehouse Records, 1988 cheesy, ornamental Disco tracks, Mike Dunn “Magic Feet“ Westbrook Records, 1988 suddenly cut through by mini- Two Of A Kind “Acid Bitch“ West Madison Records, 1988 mal pumping House rhythms that Fast Eddie “Acid Thunder“ DJ International, 1988 sound like they slipped in from Spanky “Acid Bass“ Trax Records, 1989 “My name is Farivar and I‘m from Tehran/Iran and at the moment I live in Copenhagen/Denmark. I love all kind of music and as long as I remember, I’ve been interested in music, that‘s 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 Holbæk. 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 don‘t you go get a job? All that I can say: I won‘t 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

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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).

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