Archive for the sequins and spandex Category

Sequins and Spandex Part VIII

Posted in 1980s, disco, hi nrg, italian, italo, italo disco, mixes, new wave, sequins and spandex, space disco, synth, wave on September 18, 2013 by Frankie Teardrop

I meant to post this at the beginning of summer 2012, and put it off for some reason or another. Though the season is coming to a close here in New York, I figured the longer I waited, the more I’d keep pushing it back, so better late than never…

For those unfamiliar with this series, I have a semi-closeted love of Italo disco- a cult Italian-centric genre of music (though the influence can be heard all over Europe in the mid-1980s) with shameless hooks, catchy vocal lines, and drum machines/synths that push the gear to their robotic limits. As with any dance craze (see also: new beat & freestyle) the same law of diminishing returns holds true: for every truly great italo gem there’s a ton of terrible or overblown ones that flooded the market, so with these compilations, I attempt to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. I generally steer towards the darker italo, things that sound right at home in a John Carpenter flick or alongside the more club-friendly minimal synth tracks (and file right in line with some of the things I post here), and obviously, the less overtly corny the songs are, the better, though that’s not to say I don’t like a little sprinkle of cheese here and there.

So this is my eight installment of the series, the rest which can be found HERE. Some major favorites in this installment, including another Sensitive track, the Disaster’s KILLER “Oh My God This Sound,” Ein-St-Ein’s mid-tempo romp through sleazy Italian streets, and Moskow’s epic “Come Back.”   I may say this every time, but this may be my favorite installment of the series…

Sequins and Spandex Part VIII
1. Nineteen Ninety Three- Lama
2. Pendulum- Smiles
3. Oh My God This Sound- Disasters
4. Varsavia- Ein-st-ein
5. Don’t Be Afraid- Some Bizarre
6. Give Me- Sensitive
7. Red For Love- Grant Miller
8. A Love Again- Savage
9. Rise Up (For My Love) (Club Mix)- Yvonne Kay
10. Dreamland (Extended Vocal Version)- Mark
11. She’s Gone Away- Jimy K
12. Come Back- Moskow
13. Grace- Three Of You

*download it here* (updated 6.12.18)

I have a special 7” to post next that somewhat duplicates one of the artists on this compilation, so if this is your bag, stay tuned for more sleazy, sweaty nightmusic next week…

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Sequins and Spandex Parts VI & VII

Posted in 1980s, italian, italo, italo disco, mixes, sequins and spandex on May 18, 2011 by Frankie Teardrop

So, it’s been just under a year since the last two installments of the Sequins and Spandex series, and since summer is just around the corner, I figure it’s due time to unveil the next two. Italo is very much summer music for me (and curiously, new beat gets the job done in wintertime, as far as the big beats are concerned), and though it’s raining here in New York, I figure everyone could use a little summer cheer. As always, I’ve had a hard time whittling down my choices, so you get two mixes for the price of one!

Before unveiling the tracklisting, I’d like to thank Shawn of Led Er Est/Further Reductions for the continuous crash course in italo, as well as Nick of Crispy Nuggets for lending me a handful of jams from his back pages. I’ve also re-included the 12” mix of Mad Matrix’s “Men Alone,” a Belgian track in the same vein, since it just works so well here. There’s also a UK artist in the mix, but the track was too good to pass on. Anyway, here’s the tracklisting, and I do hope you enjoy!

Sequins and Spandex Part VI
1. Fires In the Night- K-A-T-A
2. Dancing In the Dark- Mike Mareen
3. Queen of Discoteque- Sissy
4. Blue Room (Extended)- Kirlian Camera
5. Witch- Helen
6. I’d Like To Know- Randy Wiper
7. Girl of the 80s- Go To
8. Sing With Me Tonight- Fresh Color
9. You See- Helicon
10. Follow Me- Karl Olivas
11. Over and Over- Fantasy Life
12. Men Alone (Special 12” Club Mix)- Mad Matrix
13. Darkness- Aquarius

*download it here*

Sequins and Spandex Part VII
1. Don’t Be Cold (In the Summer of Love)- The Stupid Set
2. Black and White (Extended)- Bandeaux
3. Hesitation- Mya & The Mirror
4. Just a Story- Mike Rodgers
5. Hookey- Sylvi Foster
6. A Raving Night- Neurox
7. Right- Fake
8. You’ve Got the Night- Lame’
9. Boogie Tonight- M & G
10. Lucifer’s Friend- Vision
11. Waiting For Heaven- Diviacchi
12. Shoot Me (Extended)- Malcolm & the Bad Girls
13. Happy World (Extended)- Ranko

*download it here* (updated 6.12.18)

PS- I have a good chunk of leftovers for this one. However, in fear of it being overkill, I’ll wait for you kids to digest these one for a bit. Keep your eyes peeled for the next one!

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Sequins and Spandex Parts IV and V

Posted in 1980s, disco, hi nrg, italo disco, mixes, new wave, sequins and spandex, space disco, synth, wave on June 16, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

Struck with the disco bug again, ladies and gentlemen, and what better way to celebrate the onslaught of summer than with a handful of killer jams. I know a lot of you enjoy this series of mixes, so to make up for its absence, I’ve constructed TWO full discs worth of classic space disco/italo/hi nrg etc. cuts for your listening pleasure. These are some of my all time favorite tracks these days, so I do hope you enjoy! Here’s the breakdown:

Sequins and Spandex: Part IV
1. Fog- Riccardo Cioni
2. Dark Silence- Art Fine
3. Domination- Flexi Cowboys
4. Spanish Run- Jaco
5. Valerie- Modem
6. My Love Won’t Let You Down- Nathalie
7. A Flash in the Night- Secret Service
8. N. 1,4/Magnetic Dance- Smiles
9. Driving- Sensitive
10. New Dream- Clay Pedrini
11. Eagles In the Night- Dario Dell’Aere
12. Heroes- Big Ben Tribe
13. Some Other Place, Some Other Time- Rockets

*download it here*

Sequins and Spandex: Part V
1. Let’s Dance Tonight- David Gray
2. I’m Looking For You- Ghibli
3. Escape From New York- John Carpenter
4. An English ’93- International Music System
5. Breakdown- Ray Cooper
6. Love’s Harmony- Paciscopi
7. Love & Magic (Dub Version)- Kristal
8. Secret Life- Clock On 5
9. Silent Smiles- Anthony’s Game
10. Future State- Future State
11. Main Theme (Remix)- Fabio Frizzi
12. Burn On the Flames- Paul Paul
13. Avventurieri- Jo Squillo Eletrix

*download it here*

Hope you kids enjoy! To download the previous installments, click here.

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Sequins and Spandex: Parte Tre

Posted in 1980s, disco, hi nrg, italo disco, mixes, new wave, sequins and spandex, space disco, synth, wave on August 18, 2009 by Frankie Teardrop

Since it’s been a regrettably long time since I’ve made one of these, I am pleased to unveil the latest addition to the Sequins and Spandex series. Unlike the previous installments, which featured a few modern cuts inspired by the original classics, the third in this series of italo, space disco, and hi-nrg dance traxx contains fourteen original tracks, dating from 1980-1987.

I had enough leftovers to make part four (and hell, maybe even a part five) in a few weeks time, so stay tuned! Otherwise, without any further ado, here’s the tracklisting:

Sequins and Spandex: Parte Tre
1. Cybernetic Love- Casco
2. The World at Your Disposal- La Grotta
3. When I Let You Down- M & G
4. Bad Passion- Steel Mind
5. Telephone Computer- Crazy Gang
6. Never Ever- Peppermint Lounge
7. Love is Like a Game- Hot Cold
8. ‘Cause I Need You, ‘Cause I Love You- De De Mo
9. Voyage, Voyage- Desireless
10. Disco Band (Vocal)- Scotch
11. Young Men (Special Radio Version)- Nite Lite
12. Body Heat- Fockewulf 190
13. My Frames- Amin Peck
14. I Wanna Fly Away- Blue Russell

*download it here*

If you’re new to the blog or missed the first two editions of Sequins and Spandex, click HERE to nab ’em!

NOTE: If you downloaded this earlier today (10am or so, EST), redownload this version, with a corrected version of the Amin Peck track, courtesy of Veronica!

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Sequins and Spandex (parts 1 & 2)

Posted in 1980s, 2000s, disco, italo disco, mixes, new wave, sequins and spandex, synth on January 30, 2009 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s a slight deviation from the standard Systems of Romance fare to end the weekend. Though it’s a mere stone’s throw away from minimal wave as it is, my interest in Italo and Space Disco has been on the rise over the past six or seven months, and has culminated in two mixes of classic tracks both old and new. I created the first Sequins and Spandex collection in November of ’08 (and forgot to post it here during the blog’s forced downtime). Otherwise, I just finished the second mix last night, and am pleased to offer them both for your listening pleasure. The first is a little more glitzy, polished, and modern, while the second is a little more gritty and of-the-era. Here’s all the info:

Sequins and Spandex: An Introductory Disco Compilation
1. Friday Nights- Diamond Vampires
2. Hands in the Dark- Chromatics
3. Destiny- Vivien Vee
4. Veronica’s Veil- Fan Death
5. Digitally- Plastic Mode
6. Esc Hatch- Mount Sims
7. Pillow Talk- Lustt
8. Lady Operator- Mirage
9. 1991- Crystal Castles
10. Beatific- Glass Candy
11. No Regrets- Black Devil
12. Automatic Amore- Patriza Pellegrino
13. I’m an Indian Too- Don Armando’s 2nd ave. Rhumba Band
14. How Do You Dance?- Telex
15. Speakerphone- Kylie Minogue
16. Movie Star- Roisin Murphy
17. The Night (Original Mix)- Valerie Dore
18. Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (Mirage Mix)- Indeep

*download it here*

Sequins and Spandex 2: Electric Boogaloo
1. Spacer Woman- Charlie
2. Chase (Dub Version)- Sun La Shan
3. What Did He Say- Nite Jewel
4. Hide It- The Golden Filter
5. Somewhere in the Night (Extended)- Stereo
6. Main Theme From ‘Christine’- John Carpenter
7. Moscow Discow (Single Version)- Telex
8. Ikeya Seki- Kano
9. Magic Fly- Ecama
10. You- Boytronic
11. Into the Night- Tobias Bernstrup
12. Pulstar- Hipnosis
13. Baseball Furies Chase- Barry de Vorzon
14. Polaris- Cyber People
15. La Nuite Blanche- Munich Machine
16. Don’t Lose Control- Material
17. Flashing- Goblin

*download it here*

I hope to make a habit of these, so if you dig ’em, please speak up! Happy Friday, ladies and gents!

27 Comments »