D05

Wow, I could go on and on about today's selections, but I'll try and keep it short -- too many long days.

When I began my Italo-disco Journey, I was perhaps a little overly enthusiastic. Like I've said before, a lot of the material from the loose genre is ... junk. Fortunately, there are gems -- and many of them, the deeper you dig -- and that's what makes the entire disco genre still relevant and something to look back upon in admiration.

Giorgio Moroder and Jean-Marc Cerrone are often said to be the founders of the Italo-disco movement. They had the vision on the production side of things that set a whole genre of music in motion. While their names are readily used, their work is sort of difficult to find because they were either working soundboards or lurking in the background more than taking the limelight.

However, in the 1970s, Cerrone and six other musicians joined together for Kongas, a world music-inspired , tribal-infused disco outfit that represents precisely what I wanted to unearth. The Italian label 12 Inch Stars released their first 12" single in the late-1970s; Kongas' "Anikana-o" was the b-side and Trax's "Crusader" was the a-side. What!? Trax!?

Trax was Pete Bellotte and Keith Forsey, and three or four years, the duo tore the nascent Italo-disco style a new one. Forsey is notable for (a) working closely with Moroder and (b) weirdly being the producer on a ton of Billy Idol singles, EPs, and LPs (i.e. "White Wedding"). Bellotte was another regular Moroder collaborator, but the Brit's work is less compelling than Bellotte's ... maybe one day I'll delve deeper into it.

But we're keeping this short! The below two songs are from the "Crusader"/"Anikana-o" 12" ... play them in the proper order and be blown away. This is a good one, folks.

Trax - Crusader

Kongas - Anikana-o