Dirty Talk
“Madonna used to say, “Italians do it better.” I know she only wanted to draw attention to her Italian-American heritage, but she was right. The Italian sound was and still is something different. Italians are prominent innovators in music then and now. ”
During the 80s, they even created a whole new genre called Italo Disco that influenced musicians worldwide. From Chicago house pioneers to British electro-pop and new wave acts like Pet Shop Boys and New Order. They also indirectly helped shape a new genre called Electro Clash!
"Dirty Talk" is an electro-disco master cut produced in Italy in the 80s. It was very influential in helping shape House and Techno music from Chicago and Detroit. Its innovative sound was very influential among American DJs in the early 80s.
Disco faded out in the early 80s, and this new experimental sound created by Italians was a breath of fresh air for all the American DJs. The Italo disco sound was completely different from American disco. It was more melodic and electronic but also cheesier than the American counterpart, thanks to the new drum machines available. Italo tracks were either completely instrumentals or had vocals often sang with a strong Italian accent, although you could sometimes hear American singers like Tom Hooker.
American DJs were spinning all these new Italo tracks and bands like Doctor's Cat, Dharma, Kano, Claudio Simonetti, Cybernetic Love, Body Get to Body. Among all those tunes, "Dirty Talk" in particular had this steady beat created with the then newly released Roland TR 808 drum machine, a cool TB-303 sounding square wave bassline, a funky guitar, luscious synth arpeggios, and catchy vocals.
Klein & MBO was a studio band composed by producer Mario Boncaldo, legendary New York DJ Tony Carrasco, Italian music composer Davide Piatto, with singers Rossana Casale and Italian-American Naimy Hackett. The song was released on the small dance label Zanza Records from Milan, owned by Salvatore Annunziata.
Legendary American DJ and producer Tony Carrasco started his career in New York in the late 70s alongside many pioneers of that era like Larry Levan, Jellybean Benitez, and Frankie Knuckles (RIP). He was a well-known sought-after DJ in the big apple, but he took a risk and went to Italy for that DJ set, which changed his life.
One day Judy Weinstein, a businesswoman who runs legendary DJ David Mancus's record pool, offered him a gig at Milan's Studio 54. He stayed in Italy, becoming a renowned dance producer. One of the originators of this new and exciting Italo Disco sound released many timeless Italo dance anthems.
While in Italy, one of Carrasco's producer friends, Davide Piatto, had a lot of analog gear and brought some newly purchased synths and drum machines to the studio. Davide took this new Roland 808 drum machine with him, showing Tony how to program it.
Carrasco got very excited about this new music tool and started programming rhythms with it. He loved the percussions included in the machine, like the hi-hats and toms, finding them some fascinating elements on the 808, including the classic kick and snare that you can hear in countless tracks from the '80s. These 808 sounds are still super popular today and are the critical elements of Trap, Uk Drill, and Juke/Footwork drumset.
Mario Boncaldo then came to the studio in the following days and played Tony some demos he was working on. Mario wanted to produce something that sounded a bit like "Human League," and they ended up working on what will become "Dirty Talk." While working on this track, he felt a magic vibe around it, feeling this would be a significant record. When they finished mixing the track, Tony played this in the club he was supposed to play that night, and people were dancing their ass off, really vibing with this then-unknown timeless banger.
A couple of months after its release, Carrasco sent the promo single to his DJ friend Jellybean Benitez to the States. He loved it so much and made it a massive hit in New York. Also, other DJs like Chip E or the Hot Mix 5 started playing this song on radios and clubs in Chicago.
““Dirty Talk” became very influential in developing the first Chicago House music in the middle of the 80s. With their synthesized sound and drum machine beats, these Italo tunes were easier to match by DJs compared to 70s disco records played by real drummers. ”
According to Bernard Summer, the arrangement for New Order's best-known song "Blue Monday" was borrowed from "Dirty Talk," while the song was also covered by Miss Kittin and The Hacker in 2002.
It's incredible how a song can influence people from different parts of the world, and "Dirty Talk" was one of those very influential tracks. Crated by music lovers in Italy and adopted by musicians worldwide, still being remixed and played in clubs to this day!
