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Monday, March 17, 2014

DEEP IN VOGUE AND BREAK 4 LOVE 10's ACROSS THE BOARD…..

We here at disco vinyl like to keep it real and in an era pre 90's.  This is one of my first posts that gets up near that point in time.  First with Malcolm McLaren's genius Deep in Vogue featuring the late Willi Ninja who is forever immortalized by his appearances in one of the best documentaries of all time Paris is Burning.


I really can't say enough about this film.  The way it so incredibly captured a scene and an era will be inspirational to any documentary filmmaker.  Feelings that permeated what was so fresh about my first years living in N.Y.C. and the way ballroom culture had an effect on The Sound Factory the only club which could claim the title of carrying the torch after the closing of The Paradise Garage.  So many quotes from the film are still used in street lingo today.  And the ballroom scene never went away.

Deep in Vogue was clearly all about the ball scene when it came out in 1989 well before Madonna's Vogue mind you.
The documentary's release in 1990 inspired Madonna to invite voguers from the film to tour with her and to appear in her video for Vogue, which remains one of the biggest hits of her career.


The scene was also very much championed by Johnny Dynell who is still an incredibly popular and successful DJ in N.Y.C. usually featured at all of Suzanne Bartsch's events.



In 1987 a release out of Grove records in D.C. shook up the scene in a big way.  Break 4 Love became a standard of the ballroom scene.  Vaughan Mason the man responsible had done roller disco classics like Bounce, Skate, Roll.  It even was covered by The Pet Shop Boys a few years later. 
Here I provide you with a few versions of each to enjoy.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

WOMAN AND CAR STEVE DOESN'T DRIVE ITALO DISCO MAGIC!!!

As long as there are italo disco gems like this that remain obscure I will be THEEEEE italo disco freak.  What can I say other then it's simple italo disco perfection.  What would you expect from 1983?  Even a mediocre italo disco release from 1983 astounds.



D.I.D records was another one of those solid labels like Baby and American and DiscoMagic.  When you see something on this label grab first and then listen I can almost guarantee you're gonna enjoy if you're an italo disco freak like me!  I KNOW YOU WANNA HEAR IT
But then again I might just give it to you here in a high quality mp3.
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Sunday, March 2, 2014

MOSKOW DISCOW TELEX

Telex was formed as an all-electronic disco pop band in 1978 by radio DJ/jazz musician Marc Moulin, programmer/sound engineer Dan Lacksman and vocalist Michel Moers.  I became acquainted with them with their 3rd single.  The seminal new wavey, italo, disco bomb Moskow Diskow.

Sire had such a knack for signing artists and they found their home on the seminal label in the U.S.  In Europe they actually had a few hit singles.  On the U.S. dance charts Moskow Diskow made it up to #36 but managed to stay on the charts an impressive 16 weeks while the follow-up Euro Vision/Dance to the Music/Twist to St. Tropez only got up to #45.  They managed to hit the U.S. dance charts one more time with Peanuts which made it to #45 in 1988.



Since I loved Kraftwerk RAZORMAID REMIX OF THE TELEPHONE CALL so much this seemed like a tune that was greatly influenced by them.  Funny that the name of the band Telex seemed so cool and cutting edge in the seventies but now it represents something that is practically obsolete.
ENGLISH VERSION
FRENCH VERSION
RENDEZ-VOUS DANS L'ESPACE


Just above is the cover for their 2006 release.  I had no idea they were still around.  They probably re-grouped because EDM is so popular.

Someone told me that Sylvia Striplin works as a nurse now


You Can't Turn me Away and Give Me Your Love got the most attention on the phenomenal Roy Ayers produced Sylvia Striplin l.p. released on Uno Melodic Records in 1981.



But my favorite was Searchin'. It's simply sultry lush disco. I was still pretty new to Ebay when I posted my white label Promo and I was pleased to see it fly up to near $200.00. I've noticed that it's one of those 12" which continues to attract the high bids. Seems like on Ebay certain records fall out of favor and other ones get hot. But Sylvia Striplin seems to be a consistent hot bid.

I don't usually post edits but this one rocks so hard that I felt it should be exposed.


Whatever happened to her anyway? She did have a follow-up 12" release on Rissa Chrissa entitled, Keep Pushing and Going Home in 1982. These too are also rather rare but I don't have them. I would love to get them eventually though.

here's the wikipedia on her:


Sylvia Striplin (born March,1954) is a New York based jazzsoul and R&B vocalist. Sylvia was the youngest of five children. After a fire destroyed their home on Sugarhill in Harlem, the family moved to the North Bronx in New York—there Sylvia honed her craft. Sylvia loved singing. She made up songs on the family piano and sang them around the house. She took piano lessons during her grade school years and performed in recitals. She began singing professionally with neighborhood friends, Gus Falcon and Malcolm Ballinger as a teenager. After high school, Sylvia attended City College in Harlem where she was praised for her performance in the College's production of Anything Goes. During the 1970s, Sylvia found work as a backup singer. In the late 70s she auditioned for the role of Dorothy inThe Wiz and was selected as the second understudy with the New York Company. She was eventually selected to play Dorothy in the road company production, traveling to Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and other cities, receiving excellent reviews along the way.
During the late 1970s, Sylvia became a member of Aquarian Dream and worked with funkjazzR&Band soulvibraphonist Roy Ayers, in his group Ladies of the Eighties, recording one album with each group. Ayers signed Sylvia to his Uno Melodic record label. where she recorded an album with him, an extended single of her own - Give Me Your Love, then her first solo album of the same name Give Me Your Love
Her song, "You Can't Turn Me Away" the flip side of her single and a track on her solo album was featured on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, playing on quiet storm station VCFL. It was also in the romantic comedy film Prime and the mini-film Ecology of Love with Pharrell Williams. This song also serves as the basis for the Notorious B.I.G/Junior M.A.F.I.A.hit, "Get Money" on BigBeat Records, subsidiary of Atlantic. BigBeat label chief Craig Kallman is the judge in the video for this song which then received numerous awards. Erykah Badu also covered this song for her 2010 track "Turn Me Away (Get MuNNY)" on the album New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh). "Give Me Your Love" was sampled by Armand Van Helden in "Full Moon" (ft. Common).

REFRESHING LINKS

I've just spent some time refreshing links from older blogs.  As to call attention I've pushed them up to the front.

Please feel free to ask for link refreshes whenever you want.  I will try to do my best to get a fresh one up.

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Thanks to all my followers for fiver years plus of Italo Disco reminiscing.


Here's a virtual cupcake for you.  I'm on a diet so let's spur each other on if need be.

I AM THE ULTIMATE WARLORD and AMERICAN FADE

A space disco favorite of mine is definitely Ultimate Warlord by The Immortals.  This Canadian record is just all out odd. I AM THE ULTIMATE DOWNLOAD
Produced by Willi Morrison and Ian Guenther it originally came out on RCA Canada in 1979.  But became much better known in 1981 when San Francisco label Moby Dick licensed it and did remixes.  It quickly became a classic at The Trocadero Transfer in San Francisco spun regularly by Bobby Vitteritti and it was also big at The Saint in the East Village New York City.    Remix
The Immortals had no other releases but Willi Morrison had other great Hi NRG projects like American Fade who had a major smash with I'm Alive download it.  Then there was also the superb Grand Tour with the classic Flight from Versailles. Will was responsible for THP, Sticky Fingers, Southern Exposure and even the Skatt Brothers WALK THE NIGHT and the Duncan Sisters too.  Willi Morrison had a successful disco career alright! Ian Guenther was partially responsible for most of those projects too but certainly seems less prolific at least as far as Discogs.com is concerned.  

CAPRICORN was an alias

It was early on the italo disco scene.  Claudio Simonetti and GianCarlo Meo used a few other aliases including Kasso and Easy Going too.  Capricorn from 1980 was a major disco pleasure not to be missed.
One of the follow-ups from 1982 I need Love is one of the definitive classics of the Italo Disco era.
1981's Pow Pow Pow though kinda lost in the shuffle was nothing to shake a stick at.

CAPRICORN INSTRUMENTAL
CAPRICORN VOCAL

ITALO DISCO GEM A NEW DAY ALEX CHROMA BAND



1986 was just about the last year of the major heyday of Italo Disco.  This release on Italian label OUT has all the necessary components of classic Italo Disco.  It's a highly coveted collectible.

DOWNLOAD IT

Short Dick Man a bitch track classic (don't want no)

In the early 90's a lot of bitch tracks were released.  Some of them became very well known like the ones by Sweet Pussy Pauline that I have blogged in another post.  Here I offer you Short Dick Man by 20 fingers featuring Gillette.  A track from 1994 it sounds particularly dated yet it's still kinda funny.




The German import of Short Dick Man.