Alive with Love/Without your Love Cut Glass

WITHOUT YOUR LOVERefreshed link by request

1979's DJ of the Year
TINA FABRIQUE ALIVE WITH LOVE
This double A side is one of the earliest examples of a genre of disco that became huge in the 80's particularly in gay clubs, HI NRG.  This genre was especially big at the San Francisco mega disco The Trocadero Transfer whose resident DJ Bobby Viteritti was 1979's Billboard magazine DJ of the Year.  In fact he even did a take on it and I've included it in the zip below.

The duo also previously recorded under the names Hott City and Graffiti and were composed of Mildred Vaney and Ortheia Barnes.

The follow-up was the sublime Rising Cost of Love though it's much less well known then Without Your Love.  I still have the original double A side 12" on Ear Hole Records in my discogs store.

I was also able to come up with some rare remixes for my zip including the Razormaid and the Hot Tracks remixes.  Then there is even a take by the guys at Almighty which was released in 2003.  They tend to do an updated Hi NRG sound which has a big gay club appeal.

Apparently the Hot Classics Version from 1985 features uncredited synthesizer work by the master Patrick Cowley.  

Synthesizer King Patrick Cowley

Italo Disco Classic TANTRA celso valli's crowning glory Hills of Katmandu

Though the output of the act Tantra was only between 1979 and 1982 the impact of their sound is nonetheless unforgettable.  Italian Disco Genius Celso Valli was the man responsible for so many acts but Tantra must be considered his crowning glory.

  The Hills of Katmandu is simply his Stairway to Heaven.  It first appeared in 1979 and then in various forms and remixes after that.  It's one of the crucial bridge tracks because it's not only disco and space disco but it's considered an early example of Hi NRG and a seminal Italo Disco masterpiece.  In the zips I've provided a variety of versions including a Hot Tracks edit and great remix by the Australian DJ Paul Goodyear, twelve inch versions, album versions and more.  http://www.filefactory.com/file/45a7lby5tvnb/zip2.zip 

http://www.filefactory.com/file/6ch9muas3aj5/zip1.zip

Lest you might think that Tantra is a one song act it's simply not the case.  But the fact that Hills was able to fly all the way up to #2 on the Billboard Disco Charts in 1980 (the most transitional year of disco music) was definitely a feat to be considered.  

Get Happy and Ma-Cum-Ba had some happy dancers but then the genius Patrick Cowley got his hands on Hills of Katmandu and this extended the life of the classic even longer, not to mention the fact that a Spanish version was also recorded to satisfy worldwide demand. 

I couldn't resist posting this fab photo of Patrick in my city at the Colosseum.  To think that back then it was a major cruising spot and people could walk around in it even at night! 

If you'd like to explore the Celso Valli sound further I suggest you check out Macho, Passengers, and especially Azoto to name a few.

HOT TRACKS VOLUME 1 ISSUE 3 1983

Sometimes it's just fun to reminisce.  It was a great transitional time for dance music.  Lots of new wave, more traditional style disco and then a nice chunk of Hi NRG.  1983 sure was a great year.  One thing this chart doesn't reflect is the great amount of fantastic italo disco that came out that year.