28 November 1956, Massa, Tuscany. Roberto Zanetti is born - the man who under the name Savage gave Italo disco one of the main hits of 1983, and under the name Robyx produced Ice MC, Double You and Alexia in the 90s. His career is a bridge from Italian dance pop of the 80s to Eurodance of the 90s. But not from Savage to Eiffel 65, as is sometimes written: Bliss Corporation was founded by other people. Separating the artist Savage from the producer Robyx is the task of this breakdown.
Robyx (Roberto Zanetti): from Savage to the DWA Eurodance factory
Roberto Zanetti began studying piano at fourteen. In high school he played in a band. In college he formed a band called Taxi, which included Zucchero Fornaciari on guitar - the future Italian rock star. Taxi released their first single "To Miami" in 1983, which became a local hit in central Italy. Under the pseudonym Joey Moon, Zanetti released "Angelica."
1983: the birth of Savage
In 1983 Zanetti collaborated with Giorgio Dolce to produce G.A.N.G.'s "Incantation" - a cover of a Mike Oldfield track. The release did well in Italy and led to a partnership with Discomagic Records. Between October and November 1983, Zanetti produced several tracks: "Buenas Noches" by Kamillo, "Starman" by Claudio Mingardi, "Magic Carillon" by Rose, and his breakthrough hit "Don't Cry Tonight" under the stage name Savage.
"Don't Cry Tonight" (October 1983, Discomagic Records) - #2 in Germany, 6 weeks in the top 10. Zanetti took the pseudonym Robyx from a cartoon character he created with a school friend. More on the Savage career - in the artist profile.
1984-1986: the Tonight album and touring
From 1984 to 1986 Zanetti focused on the Savage project. The album Tonight (1984, Discomagic) - singles "Only You," "Celebrate," "Radio," "A Love Again," "Love Is Death," "Loosing You," "Goodbye." "Only You" - #1 in Germany, two weeks.
During this period Zanetti also produced "Live Is Life" by Stargo - a dance cover of the Opus hit. The track topped the French chart and earned a gold record for 250,000 copies sold. Savage toured across Europe, enjoying particular popularity in Eastern Europe - Poland and Russia.
1986: Casablanca Recordings and Robyx
In 1986 Zanetti founded his own studio, Casablanca Recordings, which became the headquarters of his production company Robyx. This was a turning point: Zanetti stopped active concert activity as Savage and moved to producing other artists. The studio in Massa, Tuscany - near Zanetti's hometown.
Robyx in the 90s: Ice MC, Double You, Alexia
As Robyx, Zanetti worked as a songwriter and producer for other artists in the Eurodance and euro house genres. His 90s production portfolio:
- Ice MC - "Think About the Way" (1994), "It's a Rainy Day" (1994), "Scream". Eurodance with Ice MC's ragga vocals and female chorus. The tracks became European hits.
- Double You - "Please Don't Go" (1992). A cover of KC and the Sunshine Band. #1 in Italy, hit across Europe.
- Alexia (Alessia Aquilani) - "Me and You" (1995), "Summer Is Crazy" (1996). Eurodance production with female vocals. Alexia - one of the most successful Italian Eurodance vocalists of the 90s.
- Wilson Ferguson (Maurizio Felici) - "I'm Singing Again" (1988).
The last Savage single - "Don't You Want Me" (1994) - came out on Zanetti's own label, Dance World Attack Records (DWA). DWA became the main Robyx production label in the 90s and 2000s.
DWA Records
DWA Records (Dance World Attack) - the label founded by Zanetti for distributing his productions and Savage releases. DWA released not only Robyx output but also licensed tracks for other artists. The label is still active - dwarecords.it - and remains an independent Italian dance imprint.
The Eiffel 65 and Bliss Corporation myth
A common misconception: Roberto Zanetti allegedly founded Bliss Corporation and produced Eiffel 65's "Blue (Da Ba Dee)." This is incorrect. Bliss Corporation is a Turin-based label and production studio founded in 1992 by Massimo Gabutti and Luciano Zucchet. "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" (1999) was produced by Gabutti and Zucchet, written by Jeffrey Jey (Gianfranco Randone), Maurizio Lobina and Gabutti. Zanetti has no connection to Bliss Corporation or Eiffel 65.
The misconception arose because Zanetti and Bliss Corporation worked in adjacent genres - Italian Eurodance of the 90s - and both had international success. But their studios, labels and teams are different. Zanetti: DWA Records, Massa, Tuscany. Bliss Corporation: Turin, Gabutti and Zucchet.
"I have never had anything to do with Eiffel 65 or Bliss Corporation. My team is DWA Records, and we work from Massa, not Turin." - Roberto Zanetti (paraphrased from interviews)
The Robyx production signature
Zanetti's production has a recognisable signature: a clear bassline, female vocals on the chorus, a synth hook in the intro. In Ice MC's "Think About the Way" - Ice MC's ragga vocals contrast with a female chorus on the refrain, the same formula as in 90s Eurodance. In Double You's "Please Don't Go" - male vocals, but the same approach: melody at the centre, bass in eighths, drum machine four-on-the-floor. In Alexia's "Me and You" - purely female vocals, Eurodance formula with a synth hook.
Zanetti worked with the same musicians across different projects: session vocalists, engineers, arrangers. This is a studio model analogous to the Italian labels of the 80s - Discomagic, Memory, il Discotto - where one production team worked under different names. DWA Records is a continuation of this model in the 90s.
Savage discography: key releases
- 1983: "Don't Cry Tonight" (7″/12″, Discomagic) - Germany #2
- 1984: "Only You" (7″/12″, Discomagic) - Germany #1
- 1984: "Radio" / "A Love Again" (12″, Discomagic)
- 1985: "A Love Again" (Special Remix) / "Fugitive" (12″, Discomagic)
- 1985: "Time" (12″, Discomagic)
- 1986: "Celebrate" (12″, Emergent)
- 1986: "Love Is Death" (12″, Discomagic)
- 1988: "So Close" (12″, Discomagic)
- 1989: "I Just Died in Your Arms" (12″, Euroenergy) - hi-NRG cover of Cutting Crew
- 1994: "Don't You Want Me" (CD, DWA Records) - last Savage single
- 2020: Love and Rain (LP/CD, MagicRecords) - first studio album in 36 years
- 2026: "Eternity" (12″, Warner Music Italy)
The discography shows the career path: Discomagic (1983-1988) → Euroenergy (1989) → DWA (1994) → MagicRecords/RDS (2020) → Warner Music Italy (2026). Five labels, thirty-three years - from Italian indie to major.
Zucchero and Taxi: before Savage
Before becoming Savage, Zanetti played in the band Taxi with Zucchero Fornaciari - one of the most successful Italian rock musicians. Zucchero (real name Adelmo Fornaciari) later became an international star: the album Oro, Incenso e Birra (1989) - the best-selling Italian album of all time, duets with Eric Clapton, Paul Young, Miles Davis. In Taxi in the early 80s Zucchero was the guitarist and Zanetti the keyboardist and songwriter. Their collaboration ended when Zucchero went into blues-rock and Zanetti into dance music. But the fact that the future Eurodance producer and the future Italian rock-bluesman started in the same band is a remarkable detail of the Italian music scene of the early 80s.
Giorgio Dolce and G.A.N.G.
Zanetti's first significant production project - G.A.N.G.'s "Incantation" (1983), a cover of a Mike Oldfield track. Zanetti worked with co-author Giorgio Dolce, and this release led him to Discomagic Records. G.A.N.G. is not Savage, but it was the first time Zanetti acted as producer rather than performer. "Incantation" showed that Zanetti could make dance tracks - and Discomagic gave him a platform.
Between October and November 1983, Zanetti produced five releases: "Buenas Noches" by Kamillo, "Starman" by Claudio Mingardi, "Magic Carillon" by Rose, "Incantation" by G.A.N.G. and "Don't Cry Tonight" by Savage. Five tracks in two months - a production density characteristic of Italian labels of that period. Discomagic Records worked like a factory: one production team, one studio, dozens of releases per year under different names.
Robyx and Corona: a clarification
In some sources Zanetti is mentioned as the producer of Corona - the Italian Eurodance project known for the hit "The Rhythm of the Night" (1993). However, "The Rhythm of the Night" was produced by Francesco Bontempi, Giorgio Spagna and Francesco Conte - not Zanetti. The connection between Robyx and Corona in certain sources may refer to later releases or remixes, but the core Corona production is a separate team. As with Eiffel 65, it is important to separate Zanetti's real production credits (Ice MC, Double You, Alexia) from projects attributed to him.
2020: Love and Rain
In 2019 Zanetti began recording Love and Rain - his first studio album as Savage after Tonight (1984). The album was released in early 2020 on Polish label MagicRecords and Russian RDS Records - Zanetti was living in Poland at the time. 14 new songs. In 2020 Before (1983-1986 Demo Collection) - demo recordings from the early period - and Love and Rain Remixes also came out.
2026: Eternity
In 2026 Savage released "Eternity" - a single on Warner Music Italy. Forty-three years after "Don't Cry Tonight" - and Zanetti is still releasing music. The career path: from Taxi (1983) to Savage (1983-1994) to Robyx (1986-present) - one man, three names, thirty years in dance music.
Robyx is not "the Italian producer who made Eiffel 65." Robyx is the producer who made Ice MC, Double You and Alexia, and who still releases music from Massa under his DWA label. The career bridge from Italo disco to Eurodance is real. The bridge from Savage to Eiffel 65 is a myth that needs debunking.