Welcome to outer space where the disco is like a Shining Star, don't be a stranger

This blog post from years ago has been refreshed to include a copy in .wav

When it first started pressing vinyl Unidisc Canada released original material, but not for long. They went on later to specialize in re-editions, and re-presses. The Stranger by Shining Star was their 15th 12" single release back in 1979. Likely it was one of their best releases. Definitely one of their most coveted.

I absolutely love Unidisc's early sleeve graphic. It featured a woman in high heels with her panties dangling all the way down just above her ankles. The hole for the label was where her crotch would be. They also had another hot sleeve that was a graphic of a hot pink curvy naked female body behind open venetian blinds. This was used on many of their high NRG releases.

My The Stranger 12" had the dangling panties sleeve and I nearly didn't want to give it up for that reason alone. But back to the record itself. It was produced by Orlando Mazzoli an Italian who also worked on the classic Erotic Drum Band debut Action '78. Which incidentally had a sexy sleeve too. The Stranger is the perfect mix of carefree late 70's disco with a deep foreshadowing of what was to come with early Italo Disco, real heavy on the space theme. The deadpan vocals also kind of give off a Kraftwerky new wavey feeling. But the drums are really what give Shining Star it's umph. They carry on! It's one brooding, dark, psychedelic disco odyssey. Disco magic.

LISTEN TO THE STRANGER
WAVY

Apparently The Stranger was also released on a small Italian label but I have never seen that pressing and I'd imagine it's worth a mint. The Unidisc 12" is rather highly coveted itself.

KOTO ITALO DISCO PIONEER, from Chinese Revenge in 1982 throughout

HUGE KOTO ZIP

Anfrando Maiola is the main component of classic Italo Disco act Koto. He was born in Parma, Italy in 1954 under the star sign Acquarius and married a German woman named Martina.



Beginning in 1982 with Chinese Revenge and continuing throughout the 80's, he released quite a few happy italo disco synthesizer ditties.

Whoever was responsible at his record companies, and he did bounce around to a couple made some great decisons on the graphics. Spacey and futuristic images that were fun to look at. He actually lost the rights to his recording name when it was sold to ZYX records Germany but he recently won the rights back.





I've stuffed some italo magic into this zip including Chinese Revenge, Japanese War Game, The Visitor, Jabdah and Mechanic Sense. Japanese War Game was the one I really grooved out on when clubbing in Rome in 1983.

In 1989, a German record label ZYX has bought rights to all Memory Records catalogue, including the rights to "KOTO" music and name.


In 1990 he released a very capable cover of the Kraftwerk classic Trans Europe Express. It's not so well known and surely after his italo disco peak but it works for me.

Jabdah in 1986 was another high-point again featuring campy italo disco sounds with spacey elaborated vocals. Something tells me that Anfrando was a bit Star Wars obsessed and most likely a trekkie too. You can get directly to my listing for Jabdah in my ebay store by clicking the title of this particularly blog entry.

Memory's 1987 release was a Koto mix. It's yet another italo disco medley.

Koto was asked in an interview what was his favorite italo disco artist and his favorite italo disco song. He said. "In the past I surely listened to italo disco music and I really like the voice of Tom Hooker, I also like Self Control and Dolce Vita but my preferred italian artist is Vasco Rossi with Vita Spericolata.
Visitors, Chinese Revenage, Jabdah etc. Each song is real masterpiece, but Visitors made so big success."

I love that he's modest too! I think that Koto is among the campiest of Italo Disco acts too. It's the perfect blend of cheese, full stop Velveeta, but it's not lacking in the boogie department either. His synthesizer genius has surely influenced a lot of the dance music that came out after his years of success.





Check him out now:
http://www.myspace.com/kotomaiola



Lately, Anfrando Maiola has won back the rights to "KOTO" name, but the music he produces in 2003 is far from synthdance genre, it's rather in Techno and Dance style.

If you appreciate my blog please click on the ads.  Click on the title of this post and it will bring you right to my ebay store, the italo disco section where I add things weekly.

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.

LATE NIGHT RADIO by BETWEEN THE SHEETS italo disco Kraftwerk medley

Kitsch, light and airy this medley combining Kraftwerk and Vangelis tunes into a medley is kinda fun.

It was released on Bootlegs records Italy in 1984 and then on the Swedish italo disco remixes label Beat Box.

Medley consisting of tracks written by Kraftwerk and Vangelis. Both sides are identical.

Late Night Radio
Trans Europe Express
The Model
Autobahn
Chariots Of Fire
The Robots
Radio Activity

GET IT HERE