Wheres all the Anthems?

Recently I randomly got to thinking about the increasing disappearance of the “Anthem”. Maybe it’s just me but it seems bangers only get played a few times these days and then get shelved when they could be still blowing the roof off the fukin disco. Back in the day there was no CD’s or downloads so some 12’s would stay in the box for longer due to their impact on an audience and the fact you could’nt purchase a vast amounts of music instantly to replace them due to limited releases each month.  The audience would hear your selection regularly and as a result the better tracks would become anthems for a scene. I’m bringing back the anthem and reviewing some tracks that Red Laser regulars know there bound to hear when I get excited (or lazy)

 Tin Man – Falling Acid

Defo my deep anthem. This track goes deeper than black holes. If this was pressed on gold it couldn’t be heavier. Tin Man has his sub bass in the perfect place on this acid monster. If you let yourself go its twisting analogue blobs will make you gurn like a denture-less pensioner with a mouthful of hot soup. And that’s before you drop any E’s mate. Take on the Falling Acid challenge! You must stay expressionless for the full 7 minutes of this record. I’m tellin ya without the assistance of Botox it’s fukin Impossible

 Aurra – You And Me Tonight

Defo my top shallow anthem. This record aint deep at all but that’s what makes it brillo. Even the moody fellas will join the girls on the floor without fail for a slice of the boogie jam pop tart. Great for watching dancing couples act out the story of the song. The guy trying to get back into his ex girlfriends gusset while the girl fucks him off for being a “PLAYA”. The last time I played it in Q Carvern it went mental. If a deaf person walked in at that moment they may have guessed we were all singing Ol Lang Syne or the Okey Cokey. This is a 50p jam all day long so get online or down the charity shop quick. Great sing-a-long tackle

 Il Bosco – Norea Son

“Ok. What kind of arsehole reviews his own record?” You ask. So I aint gonna, but the truth is this is the only track I ever made that I like to play out regularly and (Sucks his own dick) it always gets a “What the fucks this track mate?” which is a good sign that you did something right. I know a lot of producers suffer from the “cant play my own track” thing purely due to the fact a lot of times you will set out with a dancer in mind and end up making a listener instead so I’m buzzin that with this track I actually fulfilled my own brief. By the way I will just ad the whole process I did without using a computer once. Music and Artwork. Don’t forget to turn up the highs on the mixer for maximum sonic seduction due to my piss poor EQing

 Carol Williams – Cant get away from your Love (Dub)

Its Intergalactic surfing time on echo waves through the cosmos when this dubbed out boogie monolith gets dropped. You can’t lose playing this fucker. Even your weird relatives who claim to not like any music will have to fight back the enjoyment as this bubbling pot of synth stew fills the room. Catch auntie and uncle dickhead floating around the disco like the Bisto Kids

 Strike One – Can’t touch me anymore

Needle down, hair’s on your body up. Instant audio hope. Turns any darkened room into a smile factory. Empowering lyrics for the bitches, skull compressing bass squelch for the Gee’s and soaring catchy horn hook make this an instant floor filler. To top it off you will unintentionally annoy the fuck out of your work colleagues when you randomly hum the tune 50 times a day unless you’re jobless in which case you can pump it loud while watching toothless sperm bags receive DNA results on Jeremy Kyle. “Just as we thought. It’s yours Shep! Now are you gonna do the right thing?” “Woof Woof” 

 Midnight Savari – Phantom Galacton

When this came out a few years ago it instantly appealed to my passion for early 90’s rave records. The piano stabs remind me of the early tracks that would rock large warehouse party’s in the North of England. Those places would sell out 5000 people and didn’t have a drinks licence. Imagine spending £10 to get in a club where you couldn’t buy a sodding beer. Fuck that! It just wouldn’t fukin happen these days!! But it did back then and this is the type of sound that was considered hardcore. How times change (predictable boring old cunt). Anyway just to make things even more interesting these dudes are from Jakarta! See! Eastern music isn’t just out of tune plinky plunking and ear bleeding  gibberish!

Gift of Dreams – Mandroid

This has to have been made by a bunch of homosexual, future obsessed, crack addicts in the early 80’s for sure!! That’s how I imagine Gift Of Dreams to be when I first heard this record. Initially I thought it was novel. Then a couple of years ago I dug it out again for a mix tape I did for OiPolloi’s blog and realised the sheer brilliance of this early electronic soulful powerhouse. Sparse beats, heavy arppegiatted synths and raw vocal make this an absolute belter. Nothing else sounds similar. It’s one of my 3 year old boys favourites too and he always makes me rewind the intro so he can repeatedly hear Mandroid’s phantom style robo cackle when it comes on in the car. A true gem

 Tyree – Acid Over (Piano Matey Mix)

Older friends who lived the Acid House scene always used to pull me up for playing this version saying “Your playin the wrong version ya mad – ed!” But to me this is the one. Its does you right to sometimes hear tracks from a scene you know little about as you will be uninfluenced by the whole “This version is the classic. All others are to be deleted from time” attitude. I put this on the another earlier mix I did for Manchesters OiPolloi blog a few years ago and people asked about this more than any other track on the mix tape. Last time I looked there wasn’t even a Youtube viddy for this slept on classic. Scandalous!!!

Il Bosco (Click here to hear)

Rise Of The 2nd Hand Machines

When im chattin with people that don’t have a clue about music or production and the word “Studio” gets mentioned I can immediately see them conjuring up in their head a large fabric covered room in my house with a 64 channel desk in front of a massive window that looks into another larger room filled with mic stands and instruments. Actually the word “studio” is a tricky one as I too instinctively imagine this utopian workspace when mentioned.  The truth is 80% of "studios" are a room in a house with some keyboards and a laptop. Some studios are just the fukin laptop so the next time an 18 year old spouts off to you about his studio he’s probably on about his fukin rucksack. Some studio’s however are a collection of music, equipment and instruments gathered over time by various means of canny purchasing and lucky acquirements and it’s these workspaces that are very interesting places indeed. These collections of caliginous crap define an artist’s style through a “making the best of what I’ve got” ethos and will often lead to a distinctive sound as a result.

In my early 20’s I was encouraged to start making music by top Geordie crackpot Mark Rae. Mark was then one half of the very successful Manchester based production outfit Rae & Christian and Bossman of GrandCentral Records.  He helped me purchase my very first piece of kit and it was this machine that the rest of my studio would be built around over the next 15 years. It was an Akai MPC2000XL. Everything I have ever made and still make today is done with the MPC and I never learned to use a computer as a result to which I regret but many computer based producer friends seem to envy.

So at one time my “Studio” was a solitary MPC on a table in the corner of my living room that then became an MPC and a Korg MS2000. And then a year later was an MPC, Korg MS2000 and a Yamaha O1V Desk and so on until I obtained enough bits and bobs to warrant its own workspace which was sometimes a rented studio and the rest of the time a spare room in my gaff. The following is just a small selection of the bits 'o' shit I’ve accumulated that has been  quite special to me and I still find useful today

AKAI MPC2000XL

When people with a passion for music production technology realise I make music they often start to talk shop using words like “Interface” and what Hertz or Frequency’s they like and don’t like (Yawn). At this point I know from how they talk at me that I’m suppose to understand this language. When I try to explain I do not have a clue what they are on about their brain will refuse to compute such a ridiculous suggestion from somebody that releases music and more often than not they will carry on talking shite and spouting codes at me like all I do with my time is read ‘Sound on Sound magazine’. My studio set-up and style of making music is “Go in, switch on, move some stuff around, press some buttons, make some noises and record” The MPC is perfect for this scenario. When I bought my first one i plugged it in, threw the manual behind the couch and worked it out. The MPC really is like a kids toy for making music. You can sample music, sequence those samples and organise them into fully finished musical arrangements knowing 5% of the machines capabilities and you can learn the other 95% at your leisure as the years roll by.  Classic Piece

Memory Moog

8 years ago my girlfriends Dad had this broken unit in the cellar and I was allowed to rescue it and get it repaired and it has lived in the studio ever since. The sheer power that blasts from this analogue bitch is unreal. I love seeing people use it for the first time as their facial expressions are always the same ’open mouthed joy’ at what they are hearing. It is really difficult to fit the Memory Moog into compositions that use samples or digital synths because the Moog sounds just wipe everything else into the distance a bit like putting chillies on your fruit salad. You like all the elements but the chillies overpower everything else so much you might as well just of had chillies. In fact scrap that analogy. It’s more like putting concentrated hydrochloric acid or your fruit salad. It dissolves the fruit instantly and melts your face with the 1^st bite. As a result you have to use as much of the moog as you can in one track and if you get it right “FIYA!”. The Moog does have one massive setback tho. Every Memory Moog made is an absolute nightmare to control regarding the tuning. I’ve become the ‘Hulk Hogan’ of the studio after years of wrestling with the bastard. You can however have your Memory Moog modified. There is a company in Germany called Lintronics that will take it apart, replace all the pots and terminal components for solid gold ones, make various modifications and rebuild. I received an email reply after I enquired about this modification. The last line of the email said “The whole process will take a year and will cost £5000 but in the end you will be the owner of the most powerful synth ever made!” Anybody got £5000 they can give me?

Echoman

If im not with the family, in the studio or at work and I have some spare time and money there is nothing more I like to do than dig through piles of shit in second hand shops. The anticipation of unearthing a forgotten record collection or a piece of music equipment so obscure the smart arse shop owner can’t get an instant evaluation online. This little fucker turned up on a shelf in a grotty little cave in Chadderton, East Manchester. I instantly new it would be great find if I could get the right price and so a spaghetti western style standoff between me and damp hovel owner quickly followed. I went up to the counter with excited enthusiasm for some records that I was handing over for an evaluation, my plan was to confuse the shop owner by taking the heat away from my hidden agenda via the records , I then nonchalantly waved the echoman and said “oh and this thing, How much for this?” And while shop owner wasted his time ebaying every record as to not be outdone by what he thought was a clued up vinyl dealer more punters entered the shop and queued for his assistance. By the time he got to checking the Echoman on ebay he was getting flustered and I found myself ready for the kill. I waved £25.00 at him, He quickly came back “Give us 30 and its yours” Booooooom “YOU LOOOSE” “MINE” “HAHAHAHAHAHA” When I got it home my old mate Jim Holroyd aka Begin popped over and we fucked around with it in the front room with a minidisk of noises and chuckled at its simple ability to take you into the cosmos. Great little twist and go tape echo. Deep Space tackle

Baldwin Electric Piano

Sometimes you end up with equipment by absolute chance.  About 10 years ago I moved into a block of flats on an estate at the edge of the city centre. The guy who was moving out was off to live in Paris and had nowhere to store this 70’s analogue piano. “It’s yours mate” “Nice one one ar kid!” I didn’t really get excited about it at the time. I just thought it was cool to have a piano in the house but it turns out over time that this piano has an amazing unique warm sound that is instantly noticeable to anyone who has played many different pianos. The fucker weighs a tonne and sounds absolutely amazing.  Not only does it have a large speaker under the pink fabric it has an output jack so you can plumb it straight into the desk. No matter where I look on the internet I cannot find something similar to get an evaluation so I don’t have a clue how much it’s worth but I know for sure it’s a keeper. 

Il Bosco

Making the most of your mates

After starting the club night Red Laser Disco and just plodding along as a weekly event in a bar where people didn’t give a shit about music, never mind synth orientated disco, I decided to give myself a kick up the arse and throw some energy into developing the good initial idea and take it to a suitable venue and advertise with bold strong artwork. And so in true ‘wing and a prayer’ style i approached a good friend to help me. It was DJ Bob Dazzle aka Eoin McManus who gave Red Laser it’s ‘Look’ when he designed a series of eye-catching / retina frazzling neon rizzo print posters to advertise the club night and he did it for nowt more than a home cooked scran and a couple of beers. Fukin bargain if you ask me. 

Even though extremely appreciative of the kind gesture I am certain I will be missing a pound of flesh at some point in the future. Anyway there are plenty of design business’ out there that have the fukin cheek to charge shit loads of money and produce absolute shite. The amount of uninspired  design that surrounds us day to day keeps me laughing out loud and can actually brighten up my travels around the city centre for all the wrong reasons.

I first met Eoin when he came to Fat City for a promotions job interview when he was 16. He still jokes at the fact I sometimes treat him like the 16 year old I met all them years ago to which I suggest he can DJ at Red Laser if he brings his ID. Because I instantly liked him when we met I tried to undersell the promotions position by attempting to convince him that club promoting was a shitty job that paid no money and offered little perks. He seemed undeterred. I offered the job to a Manchester Uni student a few years older called Louis.

Predictably that was not the last of Eoin. He set up his own promotions business and became established as an essential distributor for all the quality nights at that time including Fat City promotions and quickly became a good friend as he fitted effortlessly into Manchester’s bunch of underground idiots. And it wasn’t long before he had set up his own club night, the successful ‘Hot Milk’, where he was able to exercise his passion for DJing, Design and Reggae and Bashment records. His stylised poster and flyer designs saw him attract more and more commissioned work and now, 11 years later, he heads up marketing at Manchester fashion behemoth OiPolloi as well as flexing his design muscle for the cities club nights and record labels.

When the label idea came around and the wheels were set in motion for the first 3 EP’s Eoin was the obvious choice regarding the design. EP1 looks fukin ace and EP’s 2 and 3 are set to drain any budding designer’s spuds.

After then sending the above post to Eoin to see if I had been accurate with the above he had his own version of events and sent me back this edit

“After starting the club night Red Laser Disco and just plodding along as a weekly event in a bar, where people didn’t give a shit about music, never mind synth orientated disco, I decided to move to a monthly at Cord. The poster was toss. A good friend told me so. It was DJ Bob Dazzle aka Eoin McManus (I say good friend, but I still can’t spell his name despite having known him 13 or 14 years. I guess I could just look on Facebook but obviously I’m too lazy). I first met Eoin when he came to Fat City for a promotions job interview when he was 16. He still jokes at the fact I sometimes treat him like the 16 year old I met all them years ago to which I suggest he can DJ at Red Laser if he brings his ID. Anyway, shit jokes aside, because I instantly liked him I bigged myself up massively, playing the bigman promoter telling him how many girls he’d get once he was working for me. I offered him the job on the spot telling him I just had to inform my ‘mate’ Dave before it was legit. I then spent a week dodging him because my ‘BOSS’ Dave decided to give the job to a student called Louis. I had to tell Eoin I was full of shit. Undeterred, Eoin took a job working for Jonny K (Eyes Down), who he met in Fat City after being shown the door by us. It wasn’t long before Eoin was working for Fat City too… the morale of the story? None”

And after Eoin jogged my memory on that first meeting many years ago I am now able to bring the full truth

I first met Ouwin when he came to Fat City for a promotions job interview when he was so young he had not yet grown any pubes. He was also horribly dis-figured and was having a sexual relationship with his uncle. He still jokes at the fact I sometimes treat him like his uncle did, bumming him vigorously for design work whenever possible. Anyway, because I instantly liked him I enrolled him into my charity helping impoverished kids off the streets of Manchester and giving them a ‘life’. He met many girls but wasn’t interested as they didn’t have a cock. I went and spoke with Dave at Fat City who was my secret Son, the result of a fling I had years earlier with Samantha Fox, to see if Owwin could fit into a promotions roll he had vacant. He was immediately against the idea as he feared Ouwen would repel business due to his hideous looks and the fact that his tongue too big for his mouth causing a permanent river of saliva to cascade of his chin . I agreed with Dave and we offered the job to Newton Faulkner. Predictably that wasn’t the last I saw of Ouwin. He went on to set up his own successful promotion ‘Hot Dribble’ where he was to entertain old age pensioners with his passion for ‘Mall Jazz’ records (This information may not be the exact truth as my memories may be clouded due to years of recreational substance abuse however Newton Faulkner and my affair with Samantha Fox are true)

Il Bosco

THE IMPORTANCE OF MIXTAPES

Out of all the music related things I love doing DJing is the thing I love the most and mixtapes have been a big part of my life since being 14 years old. I remember being mugged by skally’s on the 67 bus in Salford and was well gutted, not because of the traumatic experience or the beating, because the bastards took my favourite mixtape. They didn’t even rob my walkman. Just the fukin mixtape!

 Back then in the early 90’s great mixtapes were hard to get hold of if you were a skint 15 year old especially loud clean copies. Everyone would be very reluctant to lend them out. Just like cassette porno’s you would be a complete idiot to give without receiving a tape of a similar quality. If your walkman decided to eat your mixtape you would have to do an edit job by opening the cassette, cutting out the crumpled section and joining two neatly cut ends with tiny strips of sellotape and before the internet if your tape was the last copy and it was destroyed then that mix was gone forever and it would be talked about years later like a dead relative.

The following are four mixtapes /mix sessions that had a profound effect on me and that I personally consider as the cream of their genre’s. In fact, I regard each one a length of audio art


Sasha @ Universe 1992

By 1990 I had become a total rave bulb. I was everything that annoys me now as a late 30’s cynic. A little drugged up gimp full of hope and teeth. Still too scared to take E’s I would go to clubs and have my usual full gram of wiz and an acid tab in one shot with one of each in the back pocket for later.  When I finally popped my ecstasy cherry I was like “Is that it?” Like cautiously trying Red Bull after having a Whiskey habit. This was my best and worst days of clubbing rolled into one. Manchester in the early 90’s was plagued by gang war and random violence seemed to be the trend. Travelling far and wide to avoid brainless fuckwits became the norm. Wizz and acid do not mix well with a tense atmosphere. When it was good it was amazing. When it was bad, and you were 80 miles from home, it was like being trapped in a David Lynch nightmare. Still the music was fantastic. Just before the choons being produced got too fast and I fell out of love with the scene this mixtape was released and was the hottest tape around. This rave masterpiece from Sasha must have been played in so many Fiesta XR2’s, Vauxhall Astra’s and Ford Escorts it will probably come free with a second hand purchase of any of the affore mentioned cars. I still meet people today who recite the MC’s lines like quoting a favourite childhood film. Sad bastards (I do it too ha ha). Still sounds fresh as fuck. Timeless

Listen Here

DJ Leacey – 2000 battle of the year Final Flying Steps v’s Waseda Breakers

From the mid nineties onwards I was heavily emmersed in Hip Hop. One thing that fukin annoys me is when you say Hip Hop to somebody and their pea sized brain immediately process’ that as Rap completely disregarding the art, dance and DJ facets of the culture. It was these aspects of Hip Hop that I was drawn to the most and I would collect B Boy and Graf video’s like Graffiti TV and Battle of the Year. In 2000 a friend made a copy of that year’s Battle of the Year finals in Germany. The final battle was Germany v Japan and the DJ was DJ Leacy (R.I.P). When you think about it house and techno DJ’s have got it fukin easy. Straight four four drum paterns with minimal sounds means that Stephen Hawkins could mix it for 2 hours while doing wheelies to bag a shag.  Here DJ Leacy is mixing double copies of some of the rarest Latin, Funk, Disco, Boogie and miscellaneous styles I ever heard using all vinyl while live on stage in the world final of the biggest BBoy competition on the planet and he’s BRILLIANT! This is a lesson in real DJing. Its raw but it flows perfectly. As a DJ set it has so much character and style it could only be Leacy and as a result makes for one of the best BBoy finals ever. The guy’s a fukin hero. Someone please upload HD full version to Youtube! Game Changer

7 Mins of live footage here. PArts 1 nd 3 also on youtube. Official dvd has good sound though. Get over the MC and listen

Moonboots – Falling Leaves 2011

Sometimes you hear music and it becomes a soundtrack to what is happening around you. Almost like a weird moment of clarity when you’re experiencing a wonderful situation while being able to simultaneously watch from the outside as if you were watching that moment back on TV at the same time as living it. I, induced by this mix, had this happen to me last summer when me and my 3 year old son were hanging out preparing food and messing around in the garden. Moonboots had intended for this to be a soundtrack to autumn but it doesn’t matter when you listen to this as it’s amazing. I can’t express how beautifully crafted this mixtape is. Nothing highlights the naivety of a DJ more than over complicated mixes or desire to keep records in the mix for as long as they can. Here Moonboots shows just how many years he’s been perfecting his craft with the subtlest of seamless blends, the perfect placement of his selections and the most beautiful music you will hear together in a mix. All vinyl too. Life changer

Listen Here

Flemming Dalum – Italoween  2012 - Artwork by Kid Machine

Red Laser artist and living Italo legend Flemming Dalum has been making mixtapes since the early 80’s. When this was released in Oct 2012 it was hailed as his best ever and that was right. It’s like an audio journey through a future city at night with bright sporadic synth bursts that shatter the dark while the beats chug through the steamy neon streets. If John Carpenter directed a film version of Akira this would be what it sounded like. The best thing about the mix is that Flemming has what’s known to be a complete collection of 80’s Italo but refuses to be stuck in the past by sourcing new and exciting productions and making them the predominant feature of the mixtape. A fantastic future retro journey by a master selector. Future Classic

Listen Here

Il Bosco

EP1. How It Happened

Finally! After various setbacks the finish line is upon us and we have a beautiful record with amazing  bespoke poster artwork. Personally I will be framing the poster and re housing my vinyl in a solid jacket for DJ’ing purposes but collectors may want to keep the item complete. Last night was fuking amusing as Me, Matt Triggs and Bob Dazzle formed the Red Laser Records cottage industry chain gang with Bob slicing 2mm off every poster so they would fit in the sleeve’s and me and Matt combining Poster, sleeve’s and vinyl to make the release complete. That twee bitch off the telly Kirsty Alsop would have had a ‘wide on’ at how ‘Homemade’ this all is. Anyway I ended up going back to my car after we had finished and I had a fuking parking ticket. Well Mr Parking Twat FUCK YOU as I was so happy with the finished EP1 I couldn’t give a fuck HA HA HA HA HA (inane cackle through gritted teeth) :D

The whole idea of the label was to release music on vinyl that we can play at the club night Red Laser Disco. The fact I do not play or never have played CD’s or a laptop when DJing meant I needed to get Vinyl’s produced so I can use the music. Even though I’m a vinyl purist I do not turn my nose up at how music is played. I have been to plenty of nights where the DJ has impressed using CD’s or a laptop. I am interested in music and refuse to get bogged down in arguments regarding the different methods of playing it.

                               Il Bosco's piss is pink

Originally at the start, before I met Kid Machine and Starion I wanted to release rare italo records as I had to take very rare and expensive vinyl’s out to clubs. I am not the best at looking after records when I am pissed and a mint condition record would come home in a G+ condition. 4 rare italo bombs on wax would be a great solution to my problem.  Then before I knew it I had Ste Spandex, Starion, Flemming Dalum and Kid Machine all making new music for a first EP. The result of this is an anything goes label based around the sound of Red Laser Disco with the original concept mixing with the current organic mutation allowing old and new to sit seamlessly together. So here it is

Flemming Dalum & Kid Machine – Fantasmi

Analog disco death chugger. Like a 80’s horror film score on ecstasy. Italo legend Flemming ‘King of the Cut’ Dalum and NeoItalo Blazer Mark ‘Kid Machine’ Wilkinson collaborate to great effect and produce a slo-mo disco belter.

Il Bosco – Slow in C Minor

The original concept of taking an amazing old track and making it playable for a night at Red Laser Disco right here. It’s hard not to feel like a bit of a cunt when tweaking another artist’s original track and releasing it under your name but it’s a concept I have loved as a collector for many years from DJ’s like Harvey, The Unabombers and many more. This curiosity for discovery will hopefully force your fat arse off the couch and down the local second hand shops to get digging through the crates and keep Vinyl alive!!!!!

Starion – Another Dimension

Another Dark Disco Destroyer with heavyweight analogue bass line. Never fails to get the people shaking their heads in disbelief at how heavy Italo can be. Manctalo at its finest

Ste Spandex – Freak For You

Remember not all Italo is camp key changes and rapid fire synth drum rolls.  Italians were making some of the best boogie records of the early 80’s with people like Kano, Elektra and Advance. Spandex delivers the perfect Italo boogie homage with a cover of an underground Boogie classic with Sarah Bates on Vocals. BIG CHOOOOON

Red Laser EP2 and Ste Spandex EP1 will be with us by February (I hope).

Thanks for supporting your local independent label

EP1 available from Piccadilly Records, Clone, Juno, and more 

Il Bosco

Turn off your TV and read (Using your laptop)

As we will be celebrating our Christmas Party (See link at bottom of page) on Friday 7th of December and

after the reaction I had from the ‘Writing can be uplifting’ post with people asking for more 'Skally Gonzo' reviews i give you this gift of more Italo related verbal bum gravy. ENJOY

I have been pretty obsessed with early 80’s dark Italian disco records for about 8 years now. The heavy productions and its ability to seamlessly crossover into so many other types of music makes for a wide variety of styles to come under one banner rather than today’s ridiculous amount of sub genres limiting what genre collectors collect. It means Italo collectors will have Boogie, Disco, Electro, Proto House, New Romantic and even Euro Pop in there collections. I’ve been into hip hop culture since the early 90’s and its principles of sourcing from a vast variety of styles are the same as with Italo. As a hip hop collector I would find myself collecting more funk, soul, jazz, latin, reggae, and rock records while Italo covers the electronic back catalogue perfectly and this is why I enjoy collecting it so much.

Coco Bill – Evita

A good trick for quenching ones raging thirst for new vinyl’s is to search for something you own on Discogs that you know is obscure. If pretty obscure one or two thieving cunts should be selling it at rich collector prices. Have a look at what else they’re selling and listen. 4 Years ago this is how I came across Coco Bill and it blew my fukin head clean off. Its solid steady arppegiated thud and soaring piano led vocals had me gliding around the studio like a robotic dancing crooner unit. As for the Discogs bandits. Get it on ebay for a quarter of the price and give a large ‘up yours’ to the dealers

Bijou - Marine

New Danish bass bin rumbler ups the pressure in the disco cooker. This twelve comes with a nice bespoke cosmic sleeve too. The track is so simple it will have most producers asking ‘Are they taking the piss?’ This is the perfect example of how you can have only a few sounds in a track but they work with each other so well its like an electronic orchestra. If dudes on Master Chef could marry flavours as well as this guy marries sounds Michelle Roux Jr would be going home with sticky undies. “Analogue Chug doesn’t get better than this”

Europe – Unisexappeal ‘Scratch Remix’

The early eighties saw the birth of ‘The Scratch’ on Electro and Hip Hop records out of the US. For some reason the Italians got the Scratch bug without actually knowing how to use the technique effectively. In fact they were shite at it and they knew it. But for some reason the Italian scratch eventually manifested itself as stripped down ‘Scratch Remixes’ on plenty of Italo B Sides. That trend is responsible for this proto house blockbuster on the obscure Tanga label. It actually is an acid house record 6 years before acid house!! Nice voccoder bursts to boot. Buzzin Tackle

Expansives – Life With You

Camp, badly produced, non comprehensible new romantic hybrid that is ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!! Seven minutes of super heavy bass driven cosmic horror pop. If you see this for £300.00 online buy it begrudgingly from the thieving dealer. If you see this for £300.00 in a record shop then go back after it’s closed and drive your car through the fukin window. Repairing the damage to your car will cost less than the vinyl. The good news is that there is a cheap bootleg out there on Panama records. The bad news is even the cheap bootleg will cost you £70.00. One of the best ever

Last Waltz – Criminal World (Phoreski Remix)

Top ‘mad bastard’ mackem and years in the game producer Phoreski delivers a lethal dose of smacked up NeoItalo for the disco released a few years back on then emerging Newcastle label ‘Object of Distraction’. You can tell when I have decided to play this record at Red Laser because you will see me hammering the smoke machine like a post opp patient on the morphine button.  Just the right dose of beat heavy electronic soup and synth noodles. Essential

Barbara York – Tonight (Disco Version)

Anybody who has spent more than an hour with me will know I’m crazy about Boogie records. The Italians produced some of the best ever. This is a perfect example of what makes a class boogie track. Squelching subs, disco licks and the dude on guitar slaps it like he’s playing Kim Kardashians arse. This is seven minutes of soaring disco bliss. Guaranteed female saturated dance floor too.

Mondo – The Only Love

One for the italo connoisseur as it may need an acquired taste to appreciate this records euro pop sensibility. There’s no doubt in how heavy the bass line and synth pads are but you might want to fantasise about the singer swallowing his microphone mid session and not being able to finish the record. Well you can! Flip for the instrumental B side, sit back and imagine that mic in the toilet covered in blood and shit!

Italian Stars – Pick Me Up 7” Version

Personally I have always preferred 12 inches rather than 7 inches. 12 inches fits better in my box. Don’t worry this is a record review not an homo erotic fantasy. The arrangement of this version is perfect for smashing up the dance floor. Horror synth intro, weighty drum break and then let the electro boogie funk jam ensue. Run quick enough and you might get this or the 12 inch longer version (Pictured) for only a few euros. I suspect it won’t stay that price for long though. Proper Boogie Belter

Steele Up – Waiting For You (Instrumental)

Another Italo number where the vocal keeps crossing the line of decency. But any true italo record will have its instrumental B side to save the day. All the evidence points to Italy having an abundance of amazing producers and snide vocalists throughout the golden era of 82 – 85. This instrumental showcases how good the productions were. It’s a confusing feeling stood next to a club speaker when this track is playing as the kick drum will punch a hole through your ribcage while the bass tickles your bollocks. Instant Party 

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Il Bosco