2009: The year of disco?

2009: The year of disco?

30 October, 2009 | 8.44AM

• Written by: Jack Spontan
• Filed under: Music News: daniel wang, disco, nu disco, tensnake, todd terje

In a glum 21st Century epoch of economic crisis, political unrest and nuclear menace, it is perhaps unsurprising that the style of music most feted for its pure, unadulterated sense of fun has crept its way, with a side-step shuffle and a double handclap, back onto dance-floors across the globe.

As melody replaces minimal as the buzz du jour, it is the dancing that once again takes centre stage leaving the uber-koolische backs slumped forlorn against the wall.

We are, of course, talking about D.I.S.C.O..

While some might argue that disco has never truly been away –hip-hop and house producers in particular have long plundered its resources to furnish their sample-laden oeuvre– surely the glitter-ball hasn’t shone as brightly over a scene since its infamous ‘demolition’ in 1979 as it has over the last two years.

Despite often being saddled with the annoyingly constricted ‘nu’ prefix, contemporary disco is a deceptively broad school encompassing a variety of quirky sub-genres. Whether your proverbial flavour is breezy balearica, irreverent italo or butt-shaking boogie, you can find it all down at the (nu) Discotheque.

In celebration of this musical renaissance we have profiled and interviewed some of disco’s brightest new stars. Clap-clap.

Tensnake

You’d be hard pressed to find anything that Hamburg’s very own King Midas has done thus far in his career that hasn’t been jaw-droppingly outstanding.

Deeply rooted in the sound of 80s boogie and Italo, Marco Niemerski (that’s Mr. Tensnake to you and me) has forged a formidable reputation as a stellar producer and arch-remixer that has won him gushing plaudits, as well as heavyweight commissions, from big names such as Junior Boys, Foals, and Sally Shapiro.

His EP for respected imprint Running Back was released earlier this year to wide critical acclaim, and with projects lined up in the coming months for disco powerhouse Permanent Vacation and Tim Sweeney’s highly anticipated new Beats In Space label, it is hard to see where this Snake’s insidiously funky slither up the ladder will end.

A hotly in-demand live show is merely the latest string to be added to the impressive Tensnake bow and will no doubt serve to ensure that the ever-increasing legion of fans grows even stronger.

(Read the in-depth interview we did with Tensnake earlier this year).

Daniel Wang

Surely a man of Daniel Wang’s stature needs little introduction. Having operated the hugely influential leftfield disco label Balihu Records (consisting predominantly of his own sumptuous productions) since 1993, Wang’s entry in the contemporary disco canon is as assured as it is richly deserved.

His no-nonsense approach to making music, shunning the tediously meticulous mouse-click method in favour of real instruments, melody and, well, good old fashioned musicality, has set him wide apart from the vast majority of dance producers that graduated from the Villalobos school of sound.

James Murphy and Morgan Geist are among the many to champion Wang’s work, with the latter releasing his previous artist album, ‘Idealism 2005’, on his acclaimed label, Environ.

While the vast Balihu catalogue remained the plaything of the vinyl-junkies for a good 15 years, Daniel has very recently cleared the way for digital distribution, and we at Beatport are, to put it mildly, rather excited.

Why do you think that disco has made such a comeback stylistically?

D.Wang: I don’t think it’s nostalgia at all, I think it is just natural. I’ve always said that all these genre names are meaningless - techno, house, two-step - they’re all just possibilities of what you can do over a 4/4 beat.

If you click on your laptop and make some boring loops and drop the kick drum after four minutes, you can call it minimal. If you put your soul into it with some great chord changes, or at least some synths and guitars, then it can only sound like disco.

How best would you personally describe the music that you make?

Spacey melodic afro-techno-euro disco, but didn’t I just say that names are meaningless? Ha ha.

What do you think the future holds for this style? Is musical nostalgia here to stay?

I don’t think in terms of future and past very much any more. There are arrangements from Tschaikovsky or Ravel, nearly a century old now, which still sound gorgeous and modern and even funky, there are countless new releases (99%) which sound instantly stiff and uninspired. 

It’s not nostalgia, it’s just good or bad music - the presence or absence of human intelligence and emotion is what defines it.

Name the record which for you most defines the label ‘nu-disco’.

Uh, not sure!  Hercules and Love Affair ‘Blind’ I think!

Permanent Vacation

Benji Froelich and Tom Bioly, the Munich-based masterminds behind that bastion of contemporary disco, Permanent Vacation, have not just got the bit, but rather a whole chunk of funk between their teeth.

Their widely coveted record label has been responsible for shipping some of the biggest tunes yet to grace this burgeoning scene, turning previously unheard-of talent into tomorrow’s classic act.

They have been astute enough to fashion one of the most impressive artist-rosters around, counting on folk like Tensnake, Todd Terje, Aeroplane, and Sally Shapiro to produce the goods that have so far never failed to get feet on the floor.

Bioly and Froelich are, however, much more than a pair of skilled A&R scouts - their recent foray into production, with disco queen Kathy Diamond lending her sassy vocals, was fervently received and is a constant high point in the duo’s increasingly sought-after DJ set.

Why do you think that disco has made such a comeback stylistically?

Because everything in this world comes and goes in circles and so it was only a matter of time before disco would appear again on the map.

Actually it was a very natural thing, because after a longer period of more digital or minimal sounds, people were craving more soulful or “handmade” music.

How best would you personally describe the music that you make?

For the label, I like the expression Prins Thomas used once: “callitwhatyouwantdancemusic”, because that’s what it is after all: dance music.

When we create music ourselves, probably the best way to describe it is Tribal Disco House. ;)

What do you think the future holds for this style? Is musical nostalgia here to stay?

Nostalgia is a nice thing sometimes, but it also can be dangerous when you get lost in it. I think it’s always good to be inspired by something old and make something new out of it.

Name the record which for you most defines the label nu-disco?

Hard to tell, but probably some of the early Lindström and Prins Thomas productions. Most of all their first album.

Lindstrom

We come now to the Father of the Scandinavian Space Trinity. It is hard to find words to describe the music of Hans-Peter Lindstrom without sounding like you just stepped out of the ‘60s with a flower in your hair. Phrases such as ‘far-out’ or ‘woah’ are probably the most accurate.

2005’s epic anthem, ‘I Feel Space’, thrust Lindstrom into the limelight, taking Ibiza by storm in its wake, and afforded him the opportunity to hone more esoteric experimentations.

Despite remixes in abundance and fruitful collaborations with fellow Norwegian, Prins Thomas, all garnering considerable critical commendation, it was last year’s magnus opus, ‘Where You Go I Go Too’, Lindstrom’s debut solo artist album, that didn’t quite turn heads so much as set them spinning.

A veritable space-opera consisting of only three tracks clocking in at over 60 minutes, it is a wonder that Hans Peter (or is that Han Solo) was able to make it back to Earth from whichever far-flung corner of the cosmos he had been jamming in order to deliver this awe-inspiring acid-trip of an album to us mere earthlings.

As anyone who has seen him play live will testify, Lindstrom lives on his own little world, but you can be sure it’s a happy world; one where all are welcome and everyone is dancing.

Prins Thomas

If Lindstrom is the Father of this space-cadet trinity, then Prins Thomas must surely be the Holy Ghost.

While the previously mentioned collaborations with his compatriot are of a harmoniously organic ilk, Thomas’ own style is considerably darker with a firm emphasis on percussion, which he himself frequently plays live on (would you believe it) an actual drum-kit.

Such is the Norwegian’s reputation for churning out tune after tune in his self-styled Diskomiks mode that he has become something of a ‘must-have’ in the remix ranks in recent years, with big-hitters such as Simian Mobile Disco and LCD Soundsystem among countless others knocking on his door.

As a DJ he is known for his vastly eclectic and often lengthy sets that, as the old adage goes, ‘take you on a journey’. As if all that wasn’t enough, he also runs not one, but two of the most revered labels in the current leftfield-disco scene – Full Pupp and Internasjonal.

Todd Terje

To round off our spiritual analogy, we come of course to the Son – Todd Terje. The boyish looks of this cheekily named kid from Oslo belie his fearsome ability and deft skill in disco delirium.

He is the man responsible for some of the scene’s already instant classics - ‘Eurodans’, ‘Balearic Incarnation’ (his remix), or the massive remix of Simon Baker’s ‘Plastik’ to name but a few.

The naughty boy inside him, however, still creeps out from time to time in the shape of oddball re-edits of such diverse acts as Guns n Roses, Wham! and Chris Rea, which have been keeping the internet abuzz with excitement as well as provided many a hands-in-the-air moment in his notoriously fun DJ sets.

It is with this sense of fun that Todd Terje has won over a large global fan-base and captured the essence of the music of yesteryear. 

(Read the in depth interview we did with Todd Terje earlier this year.)

Motor City Drum Ensemble

Contrary to nominal suggestion MCDE consists of just one man, Danilo Plessow. However this is to be sure one man with an ensemble of talents.

Certainly more of a straight-up house producer than the others featured in this article, Peslow’s music undoubtedly errs enough on the disco-friendly side of inspiration to warrant his inclusion.

Having wooed the electronic world on key labels 2020 Vision and Endless Flight with silky smooth house numbers that betray his conspicuous nod towards the hallowed Detroit turf, Plessow – from Germany’s very own motor city, Stuttgart – lets his hair down with his much admired series, ‘Raw Cuts’.

Splicing disco esteem with house love, MCDE’s ‘Raw Cuts’ present the perfect synthesis of old and new in this neo-classical renaissance.

Why do you think that disco has made such a comeback stylistically?

I guess people were just fed up with unemotional dance-floor tools all night long, plus you can find also older, sometimes incredibly rare records on the internet in seconds - so there’s a new generation finding out about disco!

You would be surprised how many 18-20 year old sing along when I drop ‘Is It All Over My Face?’ by Loose Joints.

How best would you personally describe the music that you make?

MCDE is just basic house, the kind of house I missed from the last few years - but you can also just sum it up like this: I try to make music that transports some emotions, I prefer to be edgy rather than just go the safe way - and I want my stuff to have a longevity.

What do you think the future holds for this style? Is musical nostalgia here to stay?

It has always been like this. Every style has been influenced by something that has been there before - if you look at the history of music, that’s just how things develop.

And the fact that we now have the ultimate musical instrument which can emulate everything you can imagine, the computer, has led to a point where nostalgia and human-feel actually matter again, in electronic music, but also in pop, rock, etc..

Name the record which for you most defines the label ‘nu-disco’.

Oh, I really don’t like this term and to be honest, I feel much better to be labeled as ‘house’ - I dont follow ‘nu disco’ that much, but I think the most classic and best disco records from 2000 and on have come from Metro Area.

Aeroplane

Belgian Italo fetishists Stephen Fasano and Vito de Luca (the men behind the Aeroplane moniker) are surely one of the most recognisable names to be associated with the nu-disco movement.

After their 2007 track ‘Caramellas’ - with its blissed-out piano riff and balearic bongos - became a veritable dancefloor smash, the duo emerged as the darlings of the remix world, leading the likes of Friendly Fires, Sebastien Tellier, and Grace Jones to enlist their prized handiwork to revamp their own material.

And deliver the goods they did, with their rework of Jones’ ‘Williams Blood’ even becoming a favorite of chin-stroking British broadsheet The Guardian.

Their consistently high-quality musical endeavours, coupled with universal critical acclaim, have ensured that this Aeroplane is flying high.

Why do you think that disco has made such a comeback stylistically?

I think a lot of people were bored with the hard and cold sounds of electro and minimal music at the beginning of 2000 and wanted to make something more “musical”, with a real bassline or a synth solo. I guess it is also a cycle, disco seems to come back regularly!

How best would you personally describe the music that you make?

Psychedelic opera disco pop.

What do you think the future holds for this style?/Is musical nostalgia here to stay?

What you describe as “Nu-Disco” now, that sound has already changed if you compare it to a “Nu Disco” record of 2003. If there is a future for this style, I feel this will be more about production technique than about creativity.

Name the record which for you most defines the label ‘nu-disco’.

Todd Terje ‘Eurodans’.

Horse Meat Disco

Perhaps the most deeply entrenched in the ‘classic’ disco vibe of this selection, the Horse Meat Disco crew have come quite some way since their humble beginnings in the basement a south-east London pub back in 2003.

Their anything-goes Thursday night extravaganzas soon became legendary, and the place to be seen for any self-respecting Soho supasta, attracting a wide array of guest DJs from Maurice Fulton to Derrick Carter.

This inevitably caught the interest of labels, with respected imprint Strut grabbing first dibs on the collective’s debut compilation of hard-to-find disco gems.  Critical acclaim and a bumper world tour ensued, ensuring the Horse Meat Disco brand was at the forefront of clubland’s growing penchant for all things disco.

Watch this BBC News video about the rise of Horse Meat Disco from July 2009.

Mark E

Mark Evetts is not a man who likes to rush things, least of all tempo. He has spent the last few years cultivating a reputation for himself as the ‘Sultan of Slow’, with a rich catalogue of measured house bombs all imbibed with that unmistakable Mark E signature sound.

What Mark achieves in slashing the beat-minute ratio is a heightened, more concentrated awareness of groove and soul to which one can’t help nodding a head or tapping a foot.

Tracks such as ‘Slave 1’ or ‘Human’ on Gerd Janson’s Running Back label are testament to this mojo akin to our disco forefathers, with cheeky edits of Janet Jackson and Plastic People hammering the point home.

Without knowing any better, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the ‘E’ stood for emotion given its ubiquity in Mark’s work.

Why do you think that disco has made such a comeback stylistically?

I don’t think it ever went away to be honest, DJs have been playing disco as part of their sets for as long as I can remember.

When I started getting into house music in the early 90’s, DJs back then were playing disco, it has always been there, but why is it cool now?

I don’t know, perhaps the age group that go out and dance to ‘nu disco’ have matured musically and crave something a little more musical rather than four to the floor all night.

I know my tastes have changed as I’ve got older and I’ve learnt to appreciate what came before house music. Perhaps that’s the answer, an appreciation of the foundations of house music - and the music is shit hot!

How best would you personally describe the music that you make?

House music.

What do you think the future holds for this style?/Is musical nostalgia here to stay?

I don’t think nostalgia has anything to do with it, it’s just all about the music and how good it really is.

I hope it continues to be a mainstay in the clubs but think it will probably fragment and diversify as most genres do, but disco will always be a part of dance music and it isn’t going anywhere as far as I can see.

Name the record which for you most defines the label ‘nu-disco’.

Daniel Wang ‘Like Some Dream (I Can’t Stop Dreaming)’.

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