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1983, Terni, Italy: the trio My Mine records Hypnotic Tango on Progress Record. Germany #5, 18 weeks in the chart. 7-inch 3:44, 12-inch 6:10. The song outlived its creators by 40 years: Bananarama interpolated it in 2005, Benny Benassi remixed it in 2023.
June 1975: Frankie Valli releases the first wide-scale 12-inch promo - 10:32 on one side. The format was invented by accident by Tom Moulton. We break down how maxi-singles, 7-inches and album versions differed in Italo disco: duration, dynamics, breakdown and DJ intro.
1985-1986. The Milan label Out Records releases Radiorama and connects the Italian disco infrastructure to international distribution. Catalogue, producers, twelve key releases.
9 November 1949. Uwe-Michael Wischhoff - the future Mike Mareen. From Hamburg's Star-Club via the merchant navy to Eurodisco. Hits: Dancing in the Dark and Love Spy on ZYX.
1983. Roberto Turatti and Miki Chieregato create Den Harrow. Face - Stefano Zandri, voice - Tom Hooker. Chieregato is the invisible producer behind the hits of Italian disco.
February 1984. The Roland Juno-106 with three chorus modes - the machine's most recognisable feature. Chorus in synthesisers, guitar, studio and vocals - four applications.
1980. The Oberheim DMX - the second digital drum machine after the Linn LM-1. $2,895, 24 sounds on EPROM chips, swing - the feature that connected new wave and hip-hop. Twelve known recordings.
1980. Two drum machines launch simultaneously. The TR-808 at $1,195 generates sound through analog. The LM-1 at $5,500 plays samples. Why the 808 does not sound like the LM-1 - broken down at the physics of sound.
1983. Clan of Xymox, Wolfsheim, Deine Lakaien - three genres born in the same post-punk environment but diverging by rhythm, vocals and synthesiser. Fifteen verifiable examples.
1979-1984. Five years in which synth-pop and new wave travelled from a common root to two distinct genres. Comparison table, ten borderline tracks, a listener's test.
4 minutes 44 seconds. The Letniy Veterok remix by Disco Magic & valex77 of Kanikuly's song - EuroDisco arrangement, bass line, synth pads. A breakdown of how an Italo Disco remix is built.
1993. 2 Unlimited pushed No Limit to the top of the charts, and the genre got its name. Beyond the obvious names - Snap, Culture Beat, Haddaway - stood dozens of projects whose singles sold millions while producers hid behind studio walls.
5 May 1983: Righeira release "Vamos a la playa" in Spanish. The chorus is about the beach; the verses are about a nuclear bomb. #1 in Italy and Switzerland, #3 in Germany, 3 million copies. Writers, single versions and the nuclear subtext.
1974: Tom Moulton and Jose Rodriguez create the 12-inch single - a hybrid with a wide groove and maximum volume. A 7-inch holds 3 minutes; a 12-inch holds 9 minutes at 4-6 dB louder. Why Italo Disco lived on this format.
Autumn 1984: Giacomo Maiolini, 21, founds Time Records in Brescia. With the duo Farina-Crivellente - the label becomes one of the biggest in Italo Disco. Atrium, Albert One, Ken Laszlo. In 1988, the shift to Eurobeat for Japan.
December 1985: Silent Circle release "Touch in the Night" - #15 in Germany, 14 weeks in the chart. A West German trio: Tychsen, Breitung, Behrens. Producers Dietrich and Simons, label Blow Up. Ten tracks, charts and Russian popularity.
24 April 1956: Roberto Turatti is born in Milan. With Miki Chieregato he created Den Harrow - a project named after the Italian "denaro" (money). Stefano Zandri was the face, Tom Hooker the voice. An Italo-disco factory, 1983-1988.
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