Hall of Famer Ken Laszlo

Clandestinity was the principal point for my name...I didn't attend any music school. People say that but it's just a legend

Ken Laszlo, born Gianni Coraini, is a native of Montova, Italy. He started singing around 15 years old with friends in a band called I Giovani di Montova (The Young People of Montova) and began performing in clubs and discos in Italy. His first hit, Hey Hey Guy, is a dance floor monster that was produced by Sandro Oliva for Scorpio Records. I have known these songs for a while without seeing the vids and I can't believe how much Laszlo's style is everything I strive to be. Its like Ken Laszlo is inside my brain.

Don't miss a worry baby
Everything has gotta be great
Why didn't you try to know it
You don't have things to forget

Ken Laszlo's Tonight is one of my all time favorites. And one of the great things about him is he is great with the children. This was one of the first Italo tracks I got into and he will sure have you saying oh oh oh oh if you give this a good listen. So you can imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw the video. Its a cool adventure so I won't spoil it but definitely check out the aristocrat girls doing the robot. It features my favorite shot of all time, the turn to the camera and a fencing match.

He has a myspace page and a website if you want to keep tabs on him. Check out this great discography complete with album covers. And please use it wisely, to explore his evolution.

Ken Laszlo - Hey Hey Guy (download)

Mr. Moroder

No conversation about Disco or Italo Disco could be complete without paying tribute to super producer Giorgio Moroder. Known primarily for his work with Donna Summer, Moroder also made a killing at the box office producing unforgettable soundtracks for films in the 80s such as Flashdance, Top Gun, American Gigolo, Midnight Express, Never Ending Story, and many more. His mastery of the synthesizer has inspired countless electronic musicians and his sound left an imprint on a generation, even if it may have been subconscious to many. He released a few solo albums in the 70s and 80s but I think his track From Here to Eternity is the pinnacle of his solo achievements.

He also has a pretty extensive website detailing many of his accomplishments. But the most impressive has to be his custom designed super car. Touted as "The Super-Performance Sports Car the Rich Daydream About," the Cizeta-Moroder V16T is definitely out of my price range. And don't worry, he still keeps busy with music. He recently won a competition by the Chinese Government to compose the theme song, "Forever Friends," for the closing ceremonies at the Beijing Summer Olympics 2008 (yikes!).

If you want to get into the head of this synthesizer mastermind Italfree.com has an extensive collection of Moroder interviews from 1978 to 1996. This video is an amazing documercial (?) for his album E=MC2.

Italo Dance Dance Dance

ItaloBot, home to the cosmic disco Euro. I have been all about Italo Disco for the past few years. Every now and then I put it down only to pick it up again with a new artist or new song that keeps the neon in my blood stream.


Our maiden voyage takes us to one of my personal favorites, Gary Low. The Spanish born Luis Romero Perez Belmonte (aka Gary Low) is best known for his hits You Are a Danger (1982), I Want You (1983), Forever Together and All My Life (1984), How Much (1985), La Colegiala (1987). His English wasn't great and some of the lyrics to his songs are lost in translation, but that is the charm and appeal of Gary Low and almost all Italo Dance. He has an air of mystery to me considering it is so difficult to find info on him. Check out Arawa for a free download of the You Are a Danger instrumental and complete song.



The most info I've found on him turns up when I search google in Spanish, and even then its tough to find details. Hopefully his website is up and running soon (am I thinking comeback tour?). Anyone with more biography information please send it to me.