Eurodisco
Script error: No such module "AfC submission catcheck". During the early to mid-70s, disco music was on the rise, initially dominating the dance floors of the United States. European artists and producers began to incorporate elements of the disco sound into their productions, adding local influences and electronic experimentation that would result in the creation of a distinct sound later on. In 1975, the song "Love to Love You Baby" was released, by American singer Donna Summer and produced by Italian producer Giorgio Moroder. The success of the song was immediate, reaching the top of the charts in several countries and paving the way for the dominance of disco music in night clubs around the world. This song along with other early Eurodisco examples such as Silver Convection with "Fly, Robin, Fly" and Boney M. with "Baby Do You Wanna Bump" and "Daddy Cool", and the following year ABBA with "Dancing Queen"[1] and Cerrone with "Love in C Minor"[2] maintained a connection with the soul and funk orientation of North American disco music, but during the mid to late 1970s Eurodisco acquired a more mechanical and electronic sound. Pointing to the Western classical tradition, Moroder and other prominent Eurodisco producers such as Cerrone, Alec Costandinos, Jacques Morali, and Henri Belolo introduced elaborate orchestral instrumentation and grandiose conceptual themes into many of their recordings.
The term "Eurodisco" was first used by journalist Vince Aletti, in his Record World column, at the end of 1977. Aletti proclaimed that year as "the hottest year in imported music", highlighting the significant impact of European productions on the music scene. musical, and comparing the flow of imports to a barbaric invasion.[3] On the other hand, the term was also used, albeit in a negative way, by Village Voice scribe Robert Christgau, who cited that he found the bad lyrics in Take The Heat Off Me (Boney M.'s debut album) unintentionally funny, and his "tinkly-shit" choices of American covers (such as Neil Young's "Heart of Gold") sounded to his ears "calculated, as if produced by some fantastic cuckoo clock".[3] In another analysis, he cites that Silver Convection's song lyrics were "so simplistic that they could not have been invented by someone who knew English as a native language".[3]
The term was commonly used to describe the influx of dance records, often synthesizer-driven, that arrived in America in the late seventies. Nelson George, the R&B historian, disparaged the "metronome-like beat" that powered these records, writing that they were "perfect for people with no sense of rhythm".[4] The subtext was that African-American musicians were being replaced by white foreign producers. But the invasion of Eurodisco, which helped move disco away from its R&B roots, also helped the genre establish an independent musical identity.[4]
In 1977, Summer and Moroder, alongside Pete Bellotte, brought a new level of sophistication to musical production with "I Feel Love", a song that played a crucial role in popularizing the Eurodisco sound. The track stands out for its innovative use of synthesizers and sequencers, with a continuous four-on-the-floor bass drum and an off-beat hi-hat,[5] creating a futuristic and mechanized sound. Instead of using traditional instruments, the song was constructed largely using Moog synthesizers. At the end of the 70s, Eurodisco had developments and variations. The most notable spinoff is Space disco, a cross between Eurodisco and Space music. Another popular variation, without a specific name, characterized by the "Latin" sound added to the genre, which can be heard in the songs of singer Raffaella Carrà, La Bionda (DD Sound), Easy Going and the French band Gibson Brothers.
In the mid-80s, a second wave of Eurodisco gained strength and was marked by even more polished and commercial productions, with a strong focus on pop melodies and heavily influenced sonically and aesthetically by new wave music. Countries such as Germany and France were the main centers of production of this genre during this period. Among the iconic bands of the second wave of Eurodisco, Modern Talking stands out, formed by Germans Dieter Bohlen and Thomas Anders, with the frequent collaboration of producer Luis Rodríguez. In Poland, disco polo, a local musical genre heavily dependent on Eurodisco, was developed in the early 1980s and 1990s.
References[edit]
- ↑ Napier-Bell, Simon. The Business - A History of Popular Music from Sheet Music to Streaming. Unbound. ISBN 9781800182547. Search this book on
- ↑ Sturman, Janet Lynn, ed. (2019). The SAGE international encyclopedia of music and culture. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1-4833-1775-5. OCLC 1063747665. Search this book on
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Jeffery, Alex (6 May 2021). Donna Summer's Once Upon a Time. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781501355486. Search this book on
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sanneh, Kelefa (2021). Major labels: a history of popular music in seven genres. New York: Penguin Press. ISBN 978-0-525-55959-7. Search this book on
- ↑ Ahlers, Michael; Jacke, Christoph, eds. (2017). Perspectives on German popular music. Ashgate popular and folk music series. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-4724-7962-4. Search this book on
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