from the 12” single, Discomagic Records, 1982
Distil both the darker and faster elements of Giorgio Moroder’s space disco & Patrick Cowley’s brand of post-disco, then cross-pollinate with the pop-leaning elements of new wave, and you have italo---Italy’s answer to the world’s pleas for solid dance tunes, and the best case made for a genuine missing link between disco and house/techno music. Looking back now, I have to admit, this bangs harder than the early house tracks which came out three or four years after this stuff. Roland’s infamous and punishing TR-808 was at the core of many dark italo tracks (those who were recording in a studio that could afford one anyways), and it certainly takes center stage here, pummeling the listener with its jackhammer bass. The heavily processed vocals and laser-like synths blend seamlessly, creating mental images of some mega-urban android disco on Mars.