A latecomer's guide to nu-disco | My Chemical Toilet

A latecomer’s guide to nu-disco

You might not realise this, but there is some amazing disco music out there. God, even just writing “disco music” feels wrong on so many levels. Such are the depths to which disco’s reputation has sunk in popular opinion.

But in honour of the fact that italo disco-fixated “metal band on synths” Heartbreak (left) are due to spend the next month blowing socks off up and down the country - beginning with the latest Levi’s Ones To Watch show at London’s Macbeth on Thursday 23rd April - I thought I’d do a thing about this nu-disco hoo-ha which is probably going to soundtrack a fair few debauched evenings this summer.

At this point I’ll attempt to placate connosieurs who will groan about how disco never went away, and how it only went underground, and how I haven’t even heard 1% of the disco I should have, and so on. Guys: I know. If you have knowledge and tips to share I’m sure anyone keen to investigate further - inluding me - will appreciate you sharing in the comments at the end of the post.

While would-be purists prepare their sneers for the mainstream success that nu-disco seems ready to enjoy thanks to the likes of Hed Kandi getting in on the act, those uninhibited by the authenticity police can instead aborb themselves in tunes that, whether they be re-edits of thirty year-old records or freshly-minted modern classics by inspired noobs, provide a refreshing change to standard house music.

Firstly, you need to try your best to disassociate the word “disco” from the visions that doubtless reside in your brain. Vomit-sprayed office christmas parties, chicken in a basket happy hour binges, the wedding receptions of your nightmares, pisstakes of The Bee Gees and Saturday Night Fever, “disco sucks” bonfires by trad-rock homophobes… If you can pretend at least some of this never happened, you’ll be better disposed to get the most out of 21st century disco.

The disco I’m talking about is less about throwing hectic Travolata-style shapes and more about slinky, slow-burning, often psychedelic numbers which build gradually to pulsating, synth-festooned climaxes you almost don’t notice arrive.

While Hercules & Love Affair brought nu-disco to the attention of many last year, there’s probably a danger that the artsy air Antony Hegarty brought to the project might have deterred those who like their club music to actually feel like, you know, fun. That’s where the influence of late 70s/early 80s italo disco becomes a welcome element - after all, a lot of it heavily influenced what we now know as house music anyway.

Italo disco had a sense of spacey futurism, with vocoders, synths and drum machines used to create tracks that were often the antithesis of 3-minute pop hits, rather possessing a hypnotic, pulsating feel which, in a parallel universe where Gatecrasher never happened, might today be known as trance music.

The other week saw this great article at Splice Today about “Italo Hammers” - basically the best Italian disco numbers from the period. Listening to these tracks just brings it home to you how many modern-day acts can be identified as disco-influenced. It lists Mr Flagio’s “Take A Chance” as the perfect introduction to Italo, and you can understand why when you listen to its 7+ minutes of vocodered, handclappy goodness:

Of course, the great thing about getting into disco nowadays - nu or otherwise - is that there are plenty of online destinations where you can quickly catch up on the stuff you’ve missed.

Beat Electric is just fantastic, rummaging through vinyl archives to present vintage disco cuts, re-edits and 12″ mixes for your delectation. I’ve always found that immersing yourself in an unfamilar area is when the blogroll really comes into its own - Beat Electric will lead you onto equally fascinating troves courtesy of the likes of American Athlete, which will in turn send you to Disco Connection, and so on. Find one site, find them all. And don’t discount artists who look weird - they’re often the best ones.

When it comes to discovering more modern acts, or modern reworkings of old tracks, there are just as many sources for you to spend time digging through. Discodust is one of my favourites, consistently serving up new acts who straddle the line between disco, electro pop and house. The sheer number of blogs out there with the word “disco” in their name can be a bit overwhelming, but it’s also a sign that whereas ten years ago the word might have denoted naffness, the likes of Disco Delicious and Discobelle touch on acts who run the range from smooth, funk-informed disco to more abrasive Ed Banger-style bowel-shakers.

So those are some of the sites to check out, but who should you be listening to when it comes to modern-day acts? The likes of Todd Terje and Lindstrom get mentioned often, but for me personally they’re a bit too far to the minimalist end of things.

I prefer the beats to have a melody wrapped around them, so if you’re of the same bent I’d suggest checking out the likes of Aeroplane, whose remixes of Friendly Fires’ “Paris” and Grace Jones’s “Williams Blood” were huge last year and who have also transformed tracks by MGMT and The Shortwave Set into blissed-out balearic sunset soundtracks. They might not appeal to those bands’ more guitar-centric fanbase, but taken on their own merits they are great places to sample the new wave of disco.

Aeroplane’s 7-minute remix of Coyote’s “Too Hard” is a prime example of a track which builds stealthily to a sparkling, almost unbearably pretty crescendo without resorting to the sudden, jarring highs and lows you might have come to associate with much club music (not that they don’t have their place):

Of the new breed the aformentioned Heartbreak are probably closest to the plinky hi-NRG of italo disco, while Shook smooths out the Justice-style electrothump that has been laying waste to dancefloors for the last couple of years. You could also argue that Sebastien Tellier’s splendid Sexuality album is an example of the slinkier groove that disco brings to the party.

Pilooski, meanwhile, is one of the leading practitioners of the re-edit, retooling old tracks like The Pointer Sisters’ “Send Him Back” and Nina Simone’s “Take Care Of Business” into elongated, more dancefloor-friendly versions of their former selves, highlighting their best bits for maximum hookiness without going all Jive Bunny.

Anyway, that’s my contribution to the nu-disco bandwagon. It’s by no means meant as a comprehensive overview - I’m a newcomer to the stuff myself. Below are some decent acts and sources worth checking out, but if you know better - and someone also does - I hope you’ll share in the comments.

Read
Wikipedia: Nu-disco
Spin: Boogie Children
Daily Telegraph blogs: Hello Nu Disco, Goodbye Nu Disco

Listen
Futureboogie mixes
Last.fm: Nudisco
Aeroplane MySpace
Shook MySpace
Pilooski Edits MySpace
Prins Thomas MySpace
Lindstrom MySpace
Heartbreak MySpace
Dimitri From Paris - Disco Forever: The Sound Of Underground Disco (Spotify link)
Chic - Definitive Groove (Spotify link)
Sebastien Tellier - Sexuality (Spotify link)
“Italo Disco” search results (Spotify link)