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Eurodisco

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(Redirected from Euro disco)
For the Bis song, see Social Dancing.
Not to be confused with Eurodance, Eurobeat, or Europop.
Eurodisco
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsMid-1970s in West Germany, France, Italy, and United Kingdom.[4][5]
Derivative forms
Fusion genres
Space disco
Other topics

Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco or Euro-disco) is a genre of electronic music that evolved from disco in the middle 1970s,[17] incorporating elements of europop and rock in a purely electronic and futuristic sound.[18] The genre emerged when European producers and musicians, especially Giorgio Moroder, Marc Cerrone and Frank Farian, adapted American disco music by incorporating European pop influences and recent new musical technologies, such as synthesizers and electronic drums.

Many Eurodisco compositions feature lyrics sung in English, although the singers often share a different mother tongue. In addition, the genre is considered to be one of the earliest forms of electronic dance music,[19][20] as well as being credited as a precursor to later electronic music genres such as house, eurodance and techno.

History[edit]

During the early to mid-70s, disco music was on the rise, initially dominating the dance floors of the United States. European artists and producers began to incorporate elements of the disco sound into their productions, adding local influences and electronic experimentation that would result in the creation of a distinct sound later on. In 1975, the song "Love to Love You Baby" was released, by American singer Donna Summer and produced by Italian producer Giorgio Moroder. The success of the song was immediate, reaching the top of the charts in several countries and paving the way for the dominance of disco music in night clubs around the world. This song along with other early Eurodisco examples such as Silver Convention with "Fly, Robin, Fly" and Boney M. with "Baby Do You Wanna Bump" and "Daddy Cool", and the following year ABBA with "Dancing Queen"[21] and Cerrone with "Love in C Minor"[22] maintained a connection with the soul and funk orientation of North American disco music, but during the mid to late 1970s Eurodisco acquired a more mechanical and electronic sound. Pointing to the Western classical tradition, Moroder and other prominent Eurodisco producers such as Cerrone, Alec Costandinos, Jacques Morali, and Henri Belolo introduced elaborate orchestral instrumentation and grandiose conceptual themes into many of their recordings.

The term "Eurodisco" was first used by journalist Vince Aletti, in his Record World column, at the end of 1977. Aletti proclaimed that year as "the hottest year in imported music", highlighting the significant impact of European productions on the music scene. musical, and comparing the flow of imports to a barbaric invasion.[23] On the other hand, the term was also used, albeit in a negative way, by Village Voice scribe Robert Christgau, who cited that he found the bad lyrics in Take The Heat Off Me (Boney M.'s debut album) unintentionally funny, and his "tinkly-shit" choices of American covers (such as Neil Young's "Heart of Gold") sounded to his ears "calculated, as if produced by some fantastic cuckoo clock".[23] In another analysis, he cites that Silver Convention's song lyrics were "so simplistic that they could not have been invented by someone who knew English as a native language".[23]

The term was commonly used to describe the influx of dance records, often synthesizer-driven, that arrived in America in the late seventies. Nelson George, the R&B historian, disparaged the "metronome-like beat" that powered these records, writing that they were "perfect for people with no sense of rhythm".[24] The subtext was that African-American musicians were being replaced by white foreign producers. But the invasion of Eurodisco, which helped move disco away from its R&B roots, also helped the genre establish an independent musical identity.[24]

In 1977, Summer and Moroder, alongside Pete Bellotte, brought a new level of sophistication to musical production with "I Feel Love", a song that played a crucial role in popularizing the Eurodisco sound. The track stands out for its innovative use of synthesizers and sequencers, with a continuous four-on-the-floor bass drum and an off-beat hi-hat,[25] creating a futuristic and mechanized sound. Instead of using traditional instruments, the song was constructed largely using Moog synthesizers. At the end of the 70s, Eurodisco had developments and variations. The most notable spinoff is Space disco, a cross between Eurodisco and Space music. Another popular variation, without a specific name, characterized by the "Latin" sound added to the genre, which can be heard in the songs of singer Raffaella Carrà, La Bionda (DD Sound), Easy Going and the French band Gibson Brothers.

In the mid-80s, a second wave of Eurodisco gained strength and was marked by even more polished and commercial productions, with a strong focus on pop melodies and heavily influenced sonically and aesthetically by new wave music. Countries such as Germany and France were the main centers of production of this genre during this period. Among the iconic bands of the second wave of Eurodisco, Modern Talking stands out, formed by Germans Dieter Bohlen and Thomas Anders, with the frequent collaboration of producer Luis Rodríguez. In Poland, disco polo, a local musical genre heavily dependent on Eurodisco, was developed in the early 1980s and 1990s.

In mid to late 2000s, Eurodisco saw renewed interest. Artists such as Irene Cara, Berlin and the late Laura Branigan saw a surge in popularity, especially in places where it was not commercially successful after 1984, such as North America and South America.

Influence in the United States[edit]

The influence of Eurodisco had infiltrated dance and pop in the U.S. by 1983, as European producers and songwriters inspired a new generation of American performers. While disco had been declared "dead" due to a backlash there in 1979, subsequent Euro-disco flavored successes crossing the boundaries of rock, pop and dance, such as "Call Me" by Blondie and "Gloria" by Laura Branigan.[26]

Branigan (produced by German producer Jack White) moved deeper into the Eurodisco style for further hits, alongside Giorgio Moroder-produced U.S. acts Berlin and Irene Cara. By 1984, musicians from many countries had begun to produce Eurodisco songs. In Germany, notable practitioners of the sound included Modern Talking, Arabesque, Sandra, Fancy, Silent Circle, Mike Mareen, Lian Ross and C.C. Catch. Bands like Laban from Denmark; Magazine 60, Début de Soirée and Monte Kristo from France; Troll from Sweden; New Baccara from Spain; and Joy from Austria also helped, along with German artists, to consolidate the Eurodisco sound in the mid to late 80s.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Horn, David; Shepherd, John (8 March 2012). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World Volume 8. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4411-4874-2 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Koskoff, Ellen (25 September 2017). The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351544146 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Peter Shapiro (23 June 2015). Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco. Macmillan + ORM. ISBN 978-1-4668-9412-9. The following year, the flip, "Baby Come Back," becomes a huge hit across Europe, setting in motion Europop and soon Eurodisco.
  4. ^ Electronica, Dance and Club Music. Routledge. 5 July 2017. ISBN 978-1-351-56854-8. Retrieved May 31, 2024. ... eurodisco emerged in the mid - 70s and revolved around a simplifica- tion of early disco's polyrhythmic percussion , which it reduced to a pound- ing bass beat ...
  5. ^ Wodtke, Larissa (6 April 2023). Dance-Punk. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781501381874 – via Google Books. ... instead of coming from Eurodisco strongholds in Germany, Italy, or France, the best imports right now are from England...
  6. ^ Kuligowski, Waldemar; Poprawski, Marcin (27 November 2023). Festivals and Values Music, Community Engagement and Organisational Symbolism. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 9783031397523 – via Google Books. disco polo , a musical genre combining influences from Italian and German eurodisco and Belarusian , Ukrainian and Balkan folk melodies , with kitsch lyrics mainly about ( heterosexual ) love ( Socha 2020 ).
  7. ^ Ellis, Iain (29 October 2008). Rebels Wit Attitude Subversive Rock Humorists. Soft Skull Press. ISBN 9781593763350 – via Google Books. ... Fischerspooner and Chilly Gonzales have also embraced the "electroclash" style-a camp mutation of Euro-disco and new wave-as the vehicle for their own campaigns of identity fluidity...
  8. ^ Morley, David; Ang, Ien (3 August 2005). Cultural Studies. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781134957927 – via Google Books. Eurorecords had to have immediate cross-national appeal, musical simplicity was of the essence- a bouncy beat, just one chorus hook, elementary lyrics. The fun of these records was entirely a matter of sound quality, but once a record was a hit it took on a kind of sleazy, nostalgic charm of its own. It was precisely the brazen utility of these records, in short, that gave them gay disco consumer appeal too.[...] Eurodisco also had an obvious element of camp -British club audiences took delight in the very gap between the grand gestures of Eurosingers and the vacuity of their songs.
  9. ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Bush, John; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2001). All Music Guide to Electronica: The Definitive Guide to Electronic Music. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-628-1. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  10. ^ Le Menestrel, Sara (2007). "The Color of Music: Social Boundaries and Stereotypes in Southwest Louisiana French Music". Southern Cultures. 13 (3): 87–105. ISSN 1068-8218. JSTOR 26391066.
  11. ^ Hasselhoff, David; Thompson, Peter (15 May 2007). Don't Hassel the Hoff The Autobiography. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781429901062 – via Google Books. Simon invited me to work with Stock, Aitken and Waterman, Britain's biggest hit-makers of the 1980s whose work favoured a high-spirited blend of pop music and Hi-NRG, a high-tech version of Euro-disco. I checked into the Piccadilly Hotel
  12. ^ Schütte, Uwe (11 January 2017). German Pop Music A Companion. De Gruyter. ISBN 9783110423549 – via Google Books. Like Frankfurt, Munich also had a (more indirect) house and techno pre-history via the Eurodisco sound associated with Giorgio Moroder.
  13. ^ Decentring Dancing Texts The Challenge of Interpreting Dances. Palgrave Macmillan UK. 24 July 2008. ISBN 9780230584426 – via Google Books.
  14. ^ Borthwick, Stuart; Moy, Ron (15 April 2020). Popular Music Genres: an Introduction. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7486-1745-6 – via Google Books.
  15. ^ "How Synthwave Grew from a Niche '80s Throwback to a Current Phenomenon". Popmatters. 25 November 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  16. ^ Schütte, Uwe (11 January 2017). German Pop Music A Companion. De Gruyter. ISBN 9783110423549 – via Google Books. Like Frankfurt, Munich also had a (more indirect) house and techno pre-history via the Eurodisco sound associated with Giorgio Moroder.
  17. ^ Evans, Mike (4 October 2018). 30-Second Rock Music - The 50 Key Styles, Artists and Happenings Each Explained in Half a Minute. Ivy Press. ISBN 9781782405542 – via Google Books. 'Euro Disco', an electronic music style popularized by producers like Giorgio Moroder.
  18. ^ Ellen Koskoff, Ellen (25 September 2017). The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music The United States and Canada · Volume 3. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351544146 – via Google Books. Rhythm and blues disco was joined by Eurodisco, a style from the continent that relied largely on synthesized instrumentation and effects. Lacking the footing in the rhythm and blues idioms that carried American disco, Eurodisco sounded more purely electronic, often more futuristic. Some tunes
  19. ^ Reynolds, Simon (24 May 2011). Bring the Noise 20 Years of Writing About Hip Rock and Hip Hop. Soft Skull Press. ISBN 9781593764609 – via Google Books. The 'funkless' accusation is pretty incontestable. It goes back to Giorgio Moroder, whose productions for Donna Summer pioneered the first all-electronic dance music: Eurodisco.
  20. ^ Christopher, David (1999). British Culture An Introduction. Routledge. ISBN 9780415220538 – via Google Books. Around 1977 the German producer Giorgio Moroder popularised an infectious, rhythmical, electronic dance music (later known as 'Euro disco') through the music of the American vocalist Donna Summer.
  21. ^ Napier-Bell, Simon. The Business - A History of Popular Music from Sheet Music to Streaming. Unbound. ISBN 9781800182547.
  22. ^ Sturman, Janet Lynn, ed. (2019). The SAGE international encyclopedia of music and culture. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1-4833-1775-5. OCLC 1063747665.
  23. ^ a b c Jeffery, Alex (6 May 2021). Donna Summer's Once Upon a Time. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781501355486.
  24. ^ a b Sanneh, Kelefa (2021). Major labels: a history of popular music in seven genres. New York: Penguin Press. ISBN 978-0-525-55959-7.
  25. ^ Ahlers, Michael; Jacke, Christoph, eds. (2017). Perspectives on German popular music. Ashgate popular and folk music series. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-4724-7962-4.
  26. ^ David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music. 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2023. The influence of Eurodisco was soon felt in America, where Moroder provided Blondie with their biggest US chart hit ('Call Me'), and Laura Brannigan would also hit Number One with a cover of the Italian pop hit 'Gloria'.

External links[edit]

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