Euro and Space disco
Written by modern-day producers and DJs!
or immerse yourself with the origins of Space Disco while you listen to our playlist…
An Earthling's Guide to the history of Euro and Space Disco
When you think about the music culture of the late 20th-century, your mind probably wanders to images of disco balls, big hair, and roller skates. While traditional disco made up a large part of the music scene of the 60s, 70s, and even 80s, it wasn't the only popular genre. Thus, we're introduced to disco's sci-fi-enthusiast child: Space Disco.
Are you looking to learn more about Space Disco? From its origin to its characteristics to its top hits, we've included it all. So, break out your disco bottoms and prepare to dive into this article on Space Disco's history so detailed it's out of this world.
What Is Space Disco?
Space Disco is a subgenre of roaringly popular disco music. It features sounds and themes associated with sci-fi movies and media usually created from synthesizers and a dance-worthy bpm that allowed it to worm(hole) its way into the hearts of the population in the late 20th century.
Space Disco can cite its origins in many places and from a variety of cultures. On the one hand, the sound emerged in the northern United States club scene, where the Black, Latino, and LGBT communities helped it grow into the sound we all know and love. On the other hand, it also flourished in Europe, where it drew inspiration from Italo disco.
Due to its association with space and the unknown, Space Disco grew and thrived in the environment of the 70s and 80s, where space exploration, aliens, and the cosmos appeared almost ubiquitously in pop culture. This first wave of Space Disco was ruled by musicians such as Zodiac, Black Devil, Meco, Tantra, and Automat.
The second wave of Space Disco, which appeared in northern Europe in the early 2000s, reinvented the sound and introduced a new European-inspired layer to an already culture-rich genre. Musicians like Lindstrøm, Todd Terje, and Prins Thomas can be cited for Space Disco's reemergence in the 21st century.
While a subgenre of disco, Space Disco has also led to several other genres and subgenres' birth and popularity, one of the most notable would be French House's emergence in the 1990s and spacesynth, which drew from similar roots as Space Disco.
The Characteristics of a Typical Space Disco Song
Space Disco has long been considered the crossroad of several musical genres, including Italo disco, electro, and synthpop. It has drawn inspiration and characteristics from several other genres, including Brazilian music, funk, and jazz, in more recent years.
As a form of disco music emerging in Europe during the 1970s, Space Disco takes on several characteristics of its predecessor. It is one of the earliest forms of electro-disco, a fact that shows through its distinct shape. This music genre is typified by its groovy use of futuristic sounds (think time-machine turned music) and vocoders. You'll also find plenty of characteristics that make it feel like something straight out of a sci-fi film: oscillating synth played with an arpeggiator, space-themed sound effects such as spaceships and laser guns (we can thank the rising popularity of Star Wars at the time for this), and an electro-disco framework that draws decades of different forms of music together.
Taking from its disco parentage, Space Disco is usually played between 120 and 140 beats per minute, a medium-fast tempo perfect for the popular dances during the decade.
The Space Disco Culture and Scene
As mentioned further below, in "The Popularity of Space Disco," Space Disco was a genre that brought cultures and communities together. It flourished among minorities at the time, ringing real to the idea of straying away from societal norms and facing what some may consider alien or unknown. This comes as no surprise when we think that Space Disco's parent genre, disco, rose to popularity among these communities, thriving with the blended sounds of soul and salsa and pop.
Space Disco was more than just a genre - it became a way for people to express themselves through art and dance, and fashion. It was a celebration of a blend of cultures coming together into one groovy beat that everyone could enjoy, and it flourished in the space-nerd communities that began to pop up in the following years’ thanks to the rapid success of space-themes and aliens in pop culture.
In terms of fashion, Space Disco didn't stray too far from disco. Clothes were used as a form of self-expression and personal art, and anything went for the most part. Of course, Space Disco's purpose was to dance, and so clothes needed to fit the physical requirements for everyone to have a (disco)ball. As a result, clothes that allowed movement and were comfortable reigned supreme. Here are some of the most popular fashion choices for the era of Space Disco:
Holographic
Disco pants
Crop tops
Jumpsuits
Platform shoes
Strappy heels
Androgenous fashion
Bright makeup
The Popularity of Space Disco
Now it's time for some history that, unlike your high school textbooks, won't put you to sleep.
Space Disco's parent, disco, rose to popularity in the early 70s. Born in underground dance clubs of major cities in the northern United States, disco can be traced back to our minority communities who infused the sound with blends of soul, funk, salsa, and pop.
The sound continued to shift and morph until 1976, which we can cite as Space Disco's birth. In an era where aliens ruled the planet thanks to the booming success of Star Wars and different space-related video games and America became a living and breathing E.T. live-action, Space Disco quickly rose to popularity (or, if we dare say, stardom)...
And in a world overwhelmed with the concept of straying away from societal norms and exploring the alien, for minorities communities - whether it was African-American musicians fighting racism through symbolism such as Chic, LGBT+ members such as Sylvester, or sexually empowered women like Donna Summer - Space Disco became the anthem of the nation.
However, by the time the early 80s rock-and-rolled around, Space Disco faced a decline in popularity. Space Disco persisted, but it didn't garner the same amount of attention or enthusiasm in previous years, thanks to the popularity of grunge that came with the 80s.
Space Disco reemerged in the early 200s with musicians such as Lindstrøm, Todd Terje, and Prins Thomas, who reintroduced the genre back into popularity with overtones of Scandinavian culture and sound. This Norwegian revival refueled the love for the genre, which had since inspired other French House and Space Synth genres.
What is EuroDisco music all about?
This detailed, comprehensive history article will get a general overview of everything you need to know about Eurodisco.
Since the beginning of time, regardless of the place, culture, and language, music has always brought people together. The mid-70s to the 80s is known to be a revolutionary time in the history of music. During this era, different music genres and styles were explored, with Disco music being one of the most notable music genres to dominate the dance floors. Disco music had a massive influence on other music genres and paved the way for contemporary dance music culture. Among the many genres that emerged, post-disco comes Eurodisco, a global phenomenon that dominated many nightclubs in Europe.
So…
What is EuroDisco?
Eurodisco is a variant of the European style of electronic dance music that emerged from disco in the late 70s; its sound combines rock and pop elements into a disco-like continuous dance ambiance. Although most Eurodisco singers share a different mother tongue, most of the records are sung in English lyrics. Eurodisco draws heavily from disco songs, yet it still explores other music styles; the genre was less gritty than typical disco songs and more pop-friendly, as it is influenced by pop, rock, and New Wave music. Eurodisco composition often includes synthesizers. (Synthesizers contributed to creating cutting-edge music genres.)
The History and Origin Of EuroDisco
EuroDisco is predominantly a sub-genre of modern American music style that goes far back to the early times of disco, rock, jazz, funk, and soul. In the 50s and 60s, aside from the significant American influence, the French and Italian also developed pop music sub-genre with a danceable sound, which became popular in Europe. In the fifties and sixties, Europop became popular in Germany, Italy, and France due to the Italian Coilorama /Cinebox and French Scopitone Video jukebox machines. Additionally, Eurodisco was also influenced by the 1970s Eurovision Song Contest.
An archetype of 70s Eurodisco (European pop/disco) music with a dance-oriented sound is the Swedish pop group ABBA's "waterloo," which won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974. Due to the massive success, many European producers jumped on the trend and produced several hit records, which did not necessarily sound alike but retained the dance-oriented sound. Giorgio Moroder, Italian record producer, composer, and songwriter, whose work with synthesizers had a significant influence on different genres such as Italo disco, new wave, Hi-NRG, techno, and house music, is credited as the pioneer of Eurodisco.
EuroDisco In the Mid-70s
In the mid-70s, the term Euro-disco was first used to define non-UK based disco records and music artists/ groups like the Dutch groups, Teach-In, and Luv'; The German groups’ Boney M., Silver Convention, Arabesque, and Dschinghis Khan; DD Sound; the Italian singer Gino Soccio, the Munich-based production trio Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, and Pete Bellotte; Swedish group ABBA; French artists Cerrone, Ottawan, Hot Blood, Dalida, Banzai (single "Viva America") and Amanda Lear. In Spain, after the death of Francisco Franco, disco took off in 1975, with the music duo Baccara.
Eurodisco songs came to prominence in Europe, which was its birthplace, and gained popularity in the US through the disco Queen Donna Summer. German group Kraftwerk, who has contributed to dance music in many more ways than one, is considered by many to be the first Eurodisco group.
Later in the 70s, different variations and sub-genres of Eurodisco emerged, with the most popular one being Space Disco, a mix between US hi-NRG(Pronounced as high energy) disco and Eurodisco. Another notable variation of Eurodisco is one with a Latinesque sound. However, this variation has no specific name, and it emerged in the late 70s. It can be heard in songs of France's Gibson Brothers and Italy's D. D. Sound, Raffaella Carrà, La Bionda, Hermanas Goggi, and Easy Going.
In 1983 Eurodisco's influence had penetrated pop and dance in the US, as a new generation of American performers were inspired by European songwriters and producers. Disco had been declared "dead" due to the disco sucks movement and Disco Demolition Night in 1979 but, subsequent Euro-flavored successes crossed the boundaries of dance, pop, and rock. Blondie's "Call Me and Laura Branigan's "Gloria" started a new American-fronted dance music era.
Branigan (produced by Jack White, a German producer) leaned towards the Eurodisco genre for further hits, alongside Irene and Cara Berlin. They worked with Giorgio Moroder, the pioneer of Eurodisco.
Later in 1984, artists from different countries started producing Eurodisco songs. In Germany, notable artists and music groups of the Eurodisco genre Include CC Catch, Sandra, Arabesque, Alphaville, Modern Talking, and Austrian Falco, who were also influenced by rock music and rap.
Eurodisco’s decline in popularity
Although the British group Imagination had several Eurodisco hits from 1981 to 1982, the genre declined in popularity in the late 80s. It was replaced by other music genres such as the Italo disco, HI-NRG, and electronic rock.
Following the decline in popularity, Eurodisco's sub-genre 'Italo Disco' dominated the music scene from the 80s; thus, all other Eurodisco sub-genre were considered to Italo Disco.
Italo disco emerged in Italy in the late 70s and early 80s; the genre was similar to disco with a fast-paced, futuristic and lively rhythm. One of the most notable projects from this genre is the 1982 song "You are danger" by Gary low (Good songs like this are hard to come by these days...)
Later in the 1980s, different Eurodisco genres soon emerged in Germany, Greece, Spain, and France.
The German and Italian Eurodisco records were the most popular. Modern Talking, a German pop duo, was an icon of Eurodisco from 1985 to 1987 and considered Germany's most successful Eurodisco duo ever. Another notable group in the Eurodisco music scene was Bad Boys Blue, who gained massive popularity in the late 80s with a series of Eurodisco hit songs.
Eurodisco in the 2000s
Almost after two decades, the Eurodisco genre was revived by music bands like Berlin and artists the late Laura Branigan and Irene Cara in the mid-2000s and saw a rise in popularity in and South America where it had previously not achieve commercial success after 84.
The revival of the music genre was also influenced by northern European record labels such as Flashback Records and I venti D'azzurro. Recording artists like Diva, George Aaron Mark Fruttero, Fred Ventura Karl Otto, and Joey Mauro have recently released new albums.