|
What do you think?
I think the interest for Disco music & culture have become bigger and bigger for every year now... OK it isn't as big
as it was in it's glory days of the late seventies. But since the "Disco is dead" years in the beginning of the eighties
(when they started to call music that in the seventies would have been called Disco for things like Hi-NRG, Dance or
likewise) the interest has definatly rised for every year...
How come it has become so popular again after all these years?
I think it has a lot to do with DJ's, CD's, artists and fashion... Why?
I think many DJ's are pioneers in this area. Many DJ's continued to play their (and their crowds) favorite Disco records.
'Cause even though you couldn't mention the word Disco in the streets the fact is that this was and IS great dance music.
Nice rhythm, beats and often "happy" lyrics just the kind of ingredients that makes you wanna shake your booty.
The DJ's kept on playing these great songs and the crowd kept on dancing a winning concept!
Later many DJ's slipped into the music business as remixers for different artists. They then often tried to find new
sounds to use in their remixes. They started digging in their record collections for old disco and funk tunes. When they
found a nice bass line or some other part of a record they thought they could use they sampled it into a computor. This
way they could use the sound in a new remix and could do almost anything with it. One of the most sampled acts is
James Brown, but people like Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards with their
great tunes and basslines have been sampled just as much.
A list of songs that uses samples would be hundreds of pages long. Many of the latest hits uses samples or is new versions
(covers) of Disco originals. But songs like "S-express" by S-Express (samples Rose Royce's "Is it
love you're after") and "the Bomb" by the Bucketheads (samples Chicago's "Street player")
are brilliant pieces of work and show how you can use a sample to create something new and cool.
These songs that are sampled in a new hit often become sought for by DJ's and others. Everyone want to get hold of the
original and play it in their club or to their friends. This way I think DJ's are part of the Disco hausse.
CD's can't be very Disco, can it?
CD's are part of this as well... Many of the people that were young and out partying during the Disco era are around
30-40 years old today, most of them have a good economic situation and want to get hold of the music from their youth.
They maybe haven't got their vinyl records any longer or they want the CD instead and this makes them, along with
youngsters of today that want to get hold of sampled tracks as well, the target for record companies to release these
records on CD. How many of your old LP's have YOU bought on CD? I have bought several... The companies can sell a
already produced record to a low cost for them and we can get hold of favorite tracks on CD.
OK What about the artists?
As I said earlier many of todays hit tunes are actually covers of remade versions of old classic Disco tunes. One
example is the great East 57 Street's tune "Saturday" that's actually is a remake of a Nile Rodgers &
Bernard Edwards (who else) written tune, which they wrote for their former Chic member Norma Jean Wright.
Also many new artists choose to build their song on a sample by some old Disco or Funk tune. So artists often choose
their samples today and it's not only the DJ's who are using samples for their remixes any longer.
Finally What has fashion to do with Disco?
All fashion goes in cycles. One time you should look like in the sixties and next time you should look like in the late
seventies. Now it's one of these seventies times. You've got these platform shoes again and trousers with large foot
width just like in the seventies. Along with the fashion industry other branches are soon to follow
For example we'll
be able to see no less then 2 movies about the legendary New York discoteque Studio 54
during this summer. And we have already seen Boogie nights. Movies like these are always released together with a
soundtrack filled with Disco tunes... and so on!!!
I think fashion really influence peoples lives even if we really doesn't see it.
So... I'd say Disco is still of interest to people. Look at yourself you're reading this right now, that must be part
of a kind of interest for the subject!?
I also have my own little Disco Inferno [Now disco-disco.com] on the Web, it gets more
and more hits every day and I receive more and more mails every day as well. So I guess I can say I know for sure that
the interest is getting higher and higher all the time...
'Till next month...
Take care and Disco-on,
"Discoguy"
P.S. Do you know (in person) any old Disco artists/groups OR are YOU an old Disco act that recorded Disco stuff 'during
the days' Please contact me! I'd love to hear from you. And all you others too of course!!!
|