An insanely difficult record to find featuring Master Plan, with synthesizers by Tom O’Callaghan and vocals by Pepper Gomez, ‘Pushin’ Too Hard’ was born in the early Chicago House Days and went on to achieve cult status and become part of the history of House forever.
The next 12” in Dark Entries Editions is one of the all time Italo Disco club classics: My Mine – ‘Hypnotic Tango’. My Mine were the trio of Stefano Micheli (vocals, keyboards), Carlo Malatesta (vocals, keyboards), and Danilo Rosati (drums, keyboards) formed from the ashes of Italian New Wave group Ipnotico Tango in 1982. They shifted focus from the experimental post punk sounds towards something more commercial with which to try and enter the market, namely to make a record. Their catchy 1983 hit “Hypnotic Tango” is one of the essential underground anthems of the scene, so influential that it was remixed by Frankie Knuckles (his legendary 1987 Powerhouse mix is featured on this very edition) and sampled by Detroit innovator Carl Craig.
Channeling the same slick electronic-funkiness of his DJ sets into four tracks of wildly different music for Wrong Era’s vinyl imprint, this is a record for all occasions that takes in dreamy cosmic-psychedelia, chugging dance-workouts and explosive peak-time bangers.
The song “When I Let You Down” is the music for the trailer of a Gucci film “The Second Summer Of Love: Distant Planet” by Josh Blaaberg (2018). This is an Italo classics remastered. “When I Let You Down” on the a-side, “Boogie Tonight” on the flip.
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Emotional Rescue presents French 80s electronic band Takenoko and their unique and quirky euro synth-pop, here as collected works from 1982 to 1988. The compilation includes their 3 singles plus a number of unreleased songs heard for the first time. Formed in 1981 when Bruno Aujard, Jean Louis Simonet and Jean Michel Louisor met in Bordeaux, France, the trio took their admiration of post punk bands like Talking Heads and Gang Of Four and mixed it with the pioneering sound of Kraftwerk and the new wave of UK electronic bands and set about composing songs with the simple aim to make people dance. Encompassing their interest in Japanese culture, Takenoko, meaning young bamboo shoot – a metaphor for teenager in Japan – was born.
Emotional Rescue returns to the music of Takenoko, the Bordeaux based synth-pop project from 1982-1988, to follow their LP collection L’Amour Est Mon Arme (ERC062), with an EP of remixes from Dresden’s cult-like producer, Sneaker DJ.
A new Italo Disco production based on an old musical sketch by Fred Ventura. Rediscovered on a cassette from 1984.
Umo Vogue formed in Bristol by Stig Manley, Russ Crook and Neil Deamer who were in Bath based ska rock outfit ‘The AT’s’, along with Bristol based singer Debbie Marlow. Neil’s Brother Clive joined the band bringing a fantastic new dynamic to the band on drums, percussion and heavy artillery. The band name is a deliberate misspelling of the ultra-chic Italian fashion magazine ‘L’Uomo Vogue’. After winning the Bristol ‘Battle of the Bands’ in 1982 they were signed to Phonogram and dropped a few months later. They then signed to EMI in ’83 and released their first single ‘Just My Love’ released in early 1984. The second single was ‘Make It Real’ and was never released as the band were culled from the EMI roster in late ’84. For this reissue of their debut single we’ve added 3 bonus tracks, a demo of “Just My Love”, the unreleased follow single “Make It Real” and a bedroom demo “Erotica.” Each song displays ridiculously catchy melodies and innovative electronic rhythms. The drum tracks, a combination of rhythm machines and hand percussion, were mixed down from the 4-track tape used as backing on stage, with the rich slap bass and Roland SH09 synths weaves fluid lead lines in between the harmony vocals.
Ultra-rare proto-house vibes from Chicago courtesy of Still Music. This one’s long been coveted by followers of the jacking beat, the apostles of WBMX. Produced by Mike Macharello & Duane Thamm Jr this is a truly unique record and one that is very hard to obtain. If you dig the earliest grooves from the Windy City, or you have a passing interest in Italo or Freestyle then this is for you. A fully legit 12″ reissue, taken from Still Music’s recent, comprehensive overview of the ‘Let’s Dance’ label this is unmissable.
During the eighties it was possible to observe an Italian fascination with the mysterious Far East. This can be found across art, design and music in Italy during this time, in subtle or obvious ways. Specifically there are Italo-disco records that proudly show this influence, some of the best known being: Fun Fun – ‘Living In Japan’, Koto – ‘Chinese Revenge’ and City-O’ – ‘Rose of Tokyo’. Following in this theme is Fancy – ‘Null Null’, a one-off project from Italo-disco icon Raffaele Fiume. Adding to the original tracks of the 1982 release is a totally ecstatic and powerful remix from Betonkust: one of the most talented and exciting Dutch producers of recent years. Also included is an instrumental edit from Hysteric, for those who find the unique vocals challenging.
Another italo-disco and proto-house classic that inspired the early house movement. Heavily played in Chicago now reissued in the right form including the unreleased dub version mixed by the legendary dj Tony Carrasco.
Spencer Miles’ debut on Bordello A Parigi with two hard banging electro-disco tracks to wreck the festivals and clubs this summer.
The undisputed one man army returns to Bordello A Parigi with an adventurous tour through the history of his beloved sports club. Palermo Disco Squad is Innershades aka the Belgian artist Thomas Blanckaert.
The Hipodrome Of Music 