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One label that is almost a
definition of Italo Disco is
Superradio Records. Superradio Records is far from
a household name when it comes to electronic music, but its
mystic only adds to its prowess. Superradio first came into
being in the early 1980s, a team of italo lovers by the names of
Venise (Laura Mic Mac, Barry Mason, Sandro “Soul Time” Zigfield,
Marinelli, Robin G, and Franco “Punk” Scopinich. The Italian
imprint was founded from a radio station set up by the pair and
some friends: Superradio. Like many great labels, such as B12,
nobody out there would release the Superradio sound; therefore
the ‘only option’ was to go it alone and start up a record label.
The imprint, on its inception, began to instantly release top
notch italo records, such as Sun La Shan’s hypnotically
addictive Catch or Barry Mason’s classic
Get Your Body. In 2000, the label began to reach a
larger audience after I-F’s groundbreaking mix CD
All Mixed Up In The Hague. The now infamous mix
contained two tracks from the label: Camero Gang’s "Ali Shuffle"
and Sun La Shan’s "Catch." Modern italo heads immediately began
to turn to the small record label.
In its twenty five years
of existence, Superradio has stuck to the principles of
Italo solidly. Franco Scopnich and Venise not only make
spaghetti dance, they live and breathe everything that is
italo. To them, their music is as much a ‘lifestyle’ as it
is a sound. From their clothes to their website, the team
that started Superradio are what Italo music is all about.
Tracks with amazingly up beat synth lines whilst having a
solid dancefloor feel coupled with catchy lyrics to create
tracks that are captivating, compelling and damn good.
Everything about Superradio screams 1980s electric disco.
The record sleeves with their fast cars, neon lights,
sunglasses and sunshine are the embodiment of what the 1980s
synth pop scene was. But, there is a distinct difference
between what Superradio Records are and what the electro pop
of the 80’s was. Superradio Records was not a commercial
endeavor. Superradio was never about the money or the fame,
it was about the sound. Superradio is emblematic of
everything fun in Italo, the chirpy love orientated lyrics
with a synthline to match.
The label began with Sun La Shan’s Catch,
the debut 12” of the Italian imprint. The partnership of
Franco and Venise got together to compile this outrageous
italo number. The track is a synthline laden electric disco
funk odyssey, as Venise’s melodic voice cascades across the
backdrop interjected by Franco robotising it up on the
vocoder; perhaps one of the best italo tracks ever made and
a definite favorite amongst the robots of the cybernetic
broadcasting system. Camaro’s Gang are another group that
are at the heart of the Superradio experience. The Gang is
Alex Novago and a host of other people such as Barry Mason
and sometimes even Franco. The Gang was named after Franco’s
car, a “metallic red” Chevy Camaro, and have been with the
label since the beginning. The team have produced an array
of amazing spaghetti dance numbers, such as the wonderfully
catchy toe tapping disco epic "Feurza Major." In this track
candy covered chords swing through English lyrics spliced
with shards of Italian, a synthesized discoball excursion
that will have any italo high tops charged.
What Superradio Records has is a love of
everything pop. It is a label that creates music that is
happy, catchy but extremely clever. The label is as much a
family as it is a bunch musicians. Superradio is a group of
people that embraced italo disco and made it their own. To
this day, Superradio records is a pioneer in synth pop and
italo disco. It is a label that made its records with a
love. A label that made its records not for money but for
the sheer pleasure of the sound, and making that sound for
people who loved it. Superradio is what labels should be
about, a deep focus on the music without the weights of
financial and capital concerns. Superradio is a label that
will go down in electronic history as a label that not only
created a pure gold synth sound, but a label lived that very
sound. It is an inspiration, both in its approach and music.
For more information
about Superradio Records, visit their website.
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Article from:
http://igloomag.com/doc.php?task=view&id=1374&category=profiles
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