2 MusicWeek 25.05.12


DANCE SPECIALNEWS EDITORIAL


Evolution of Donna’s Music


FOR A SCENE THAT’S TYPIFIED by thumping speakers and rowdy fans, there may be a slightly muted air at the International Music Summit in Ibiza this week. During the day, at least. The death of two very different icons of the disco scene have


shocked the wider world; but to those who owe their living and their passion to people getting on a dancefloor and getting carried away with bass, there is a particular poignancy to the passing of both Robin Gibb and Donna Summer. An obvious direct line can be drawn from the latter’s


experimental, raunchy output with the likes of Giorgio Moroder to the club-filling ‘EDM’ fare of today – something which will no doubt go under the microscope at ISM this week. (The booking of Moroder at the event and the timing of


Summer’s passing is downright spooky – but there is more than enough love and respect for the singer’s ability and output to ensure things stay deferential and celebratory, rather than intrusive or mawkish.) Summer’s I Feel Love set the scene and the standard for the


sort of sultry, synthesised rhythms that would later underpin early dance classics from New Order’s Blue Monday to Heaven 17’s Temptation - and a whole host of oestrogen-seasoned house music from the ‘90s. Anything with a captivating beat that could make a whole room of people feel sexy, basically.


“Donna Summer’s I Feel Love set the scene and the standard for oestrogen-seasoned house music”


On Moroder’s part, the sort of free-thinking, disruptive


attitude he termed “post-disco” emanates in droves from the likes of DeadMau5 and Swedish House Mafia– as does his knack for writing something ultra-computerised that still pricks up mainstream radio’s ears. But perhaps the biggest influence of Summer’s classic output –


and that mega-single – on dance music was its almost challenging inclusiveness. This was music at its most enchantingly infectious. It made everyone want to dance – gay or straight; punk or diva – even if they struggled to admit it to themselves. Some people, it turned out, couldn’t handle it; dismissing her


classic tunes as “too gay” or “not proper music”. (An infuriating criticism many dance-heads will know all too well.) The ‘disco sucks’ movement in the States did the rest. But in the clubs of the big cities of America, heroically lofted


high on gay culture, Summer and Moroder’s experiment became the backbone for an entire electronic music movement. It has taken until now for it to reach the mainstream – and there will be plenty of deserved high-fiving and “conquering the USA” chat at IMS. I just hope that when the Ibiza party’s over; when the heads


are throbbing and the memory of David Guetta’s beaming grin and booming late night DJ set are but a fading memory, some Robin Gibb-led early Bee Gees might just sneak onto one or two delegates’ iPods on the journey home. EDM can bend your head. But Robin’s vulnerable voice is great for mending your mind. Tim Ingham, Editor


Do you have views on this column? Feel free to comment by emailing tim.ingham@intentmedia.co.uk


www.musicweek.com


PRODUCER MAY REMIX LOVE TO LOVE YOU, BABY • SAYS HE’S BEEN FOLLOWING TIESTO AND GUETTA


Moroder praises ‘great person’ Donna Summer


TALENT  BY TIM INGHAM


E


lectronic music legend Giorgio Moroder has paid tribute to collaborator and


much-loved singer Donna Summer, who died aged 63 last week following a battle with cancer. The disco star’s tie-ups with


Moroder, which included classic single I Feel Love, are widely looked upon as seminal releases in the electronic scene. “First of all, she was a great


singer and a great human being,” said Moroder. “Very funny, always ready for a joke. I must say, especially with Love To Love You, Baby, we did something which after more than 30 years you still hear in almost every dance song - some parts, the bass line and some of the instruments used particularly. I think we established a sound or a genre which still lives on.” Tributes to Summer have


poured in from the likes of President Obama, Barbara Streisand, sir Elton John, Dolly Parton and Dionne Warwick. Moroder will speak at IMS in


Ibiza this week on the evolution of electronic music. He was booked for the event before Summer’s death. Speaking before the event, he


said he was considering a modern remix of Summer’s Love


Donna Summer: Singer made classic hits with Giorgio Moroder (below)


To Love You, Baby – and that he liked the idea of working with Rihanna or Nicki Minaj. “It’s really funny


because dance music now is pop music,” he added. “In LA, I would only listen to Kiss FM, which only plays pop music. Now dance music is pop. Out of 10 songs, seven or eight are dance/pop. “I listen quite a lot and I


know some of the artists, of course David Guetta and Tiesto


GIORGIO MORODER ON...


...RECORDING I FEEL LOVE “I wanted to do something futuristic and I used to know the Moog quite well because I'd


done several recordings before - not in that style, but using it as an instrument. I thought, 'let's try to do a song without, let's say any ‘human hands’. Just the computer. So I took down a bass line. I kind of played the chords but without a melody and followed with all the


instruments. I tried to imitate the snare drum and high-hat and all the stuff with the computer. The only thing that I was not able to do was the drum kick with the synthesizer. That was the only live recording on that song.”


...RECORDING LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY “Actually when my publisher brought it to Cannes [for the MIDEM conference], I


didn't think it would work because it was too kind of outrageous. But to my surprise, I got a phone call and the lady told me that it was a big success - big interest! We were just happy that somebody was releasing it, but we never thought it would become a hit. I think we became a little closer then and "OK, let's do it. We have a good chance of a #1 worldwide and we have to see what's next, se we started to work on the next project together.”


are huge. Those guys I followed a little more lately and I think it's a great community. “I never DJ’d,


but I did some


remixes. I think I'm going to like it and in Ibiza at the IMS I'm going to be part of the panel and I'm probably going to meet some of the guys there. “I've met Danny Tenaglia


already. I’ve met some of the guys before, so it’s going to be interesting to see them again.”


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