Giorgio Moroder | Monsieur Seb's House

Bon voyage, Monsieur Jones… by Monsieur Seb on Mixcloud

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Yes, it had to happen…

Was it a shock, despite all of our anticipation?

Of course.

Because: denial.

David Bowie is dead.

Actually, I saw something on the Web — a comic strip, I believe — that read:

— “Did you hear Bowie’s dead?”
— “Bowie’s not dead; he just went home.”

I think that is somewhat true. Not that I’m a particularly spiritual or superstitious person, but in Davey Jones’ case, one has to wonder if he really belonged with us, mere mortals.

Of course, he did, since he passed from a very mortal disease, and we all refuse to look a fact in the face: in the end, he was just as discombobulated by Life as we all are.

Yet, in the meantime, from his first conscious memories to his last, he left us with a legacy like the world seldom sees.

I don’t want to fall into the superlatives trap, so I’ll leave the word “genius” and its ilk out of this.

But a great artist he was. Musician. Writer. Composer. Producer. Actor. Et j’en passe… Oh! and what a singer!

Wait…

Inspiration.

There! That’s his TRUE legacy.

The number of human beings he inspired in one way or another is probably even more staggering than you (or you, or I) can even fathom. And, as you have guessed, I don’t mean just artistically.

The world bears beings of this grandeur and talent only every so often, and we should all feel lucky we weren’t dead before he was born…

I’m lucky enough to have parents that are about Bowie’s age (a tad younger, really), which means I literally grew up with the man.

Obviously, it’s only in my teens that I actually developed a true appreciation for his oeuvre, an appreciation that only grew as I grew older and, hopefully, wiser. Or smarter.

Meh. Maybe not.

But more equipped to understand his art, undoubtedly.

In that sense, I feel privileged, for I was best equipped to follow his every twist and turn. When, in the 90’s, for example, he explored Drum n’ Bass or asked to be remixed by this or that producer, I was already privy to their genres, so it did not sound foreign to me.

Bowie always had his ear to the underground, as all the best artists do: they know that’s where true innovation comes from.

The Trickle Down theory simply does not work in art; it’s a grassroots process.

Few, if any, artists have disregarded conventions as defiantly as Bowie did.

You’ve probably read, throughout this sad, sad week, that he constantly reinvented himself; I believe that it was much more than that — it was a passion for communicating what he sensed were creative wells that needed to be explored… or revisited.

Was he always successful?

Hell, no!

Not all of his output is stellar; far from it…

There are almost as many misses as there are hits in his amazingly fruitful repertoire.

But Oh! the hits…

Hence this selection: these are (some of) my favourites of them all, but this hommage mix could’ve been thrice as long and it wouldn’t even cover it all.

What I wanted to do here is graze on the many aspects of his intuition, inspiration, and multi-faceted talent.

There are songs of his, covers, most of which he produced, played or sang on, or inspired, and the common thread in all of them is the impact they/he on my life as a music lover…

I sincerely hope you’ll enjoy taking this trip with me, and Him.

Thank you. And Him.

1. Are You Sitting Comfortably? _ David Bowie Narrates Prokofiev’s Peter And The Wolf _ 1978
2. Black Star _ Elvis _ Flaming Star _ 1960

Read: Does a 1960s Elvis song hold the key to Bowie’s Blackstar, and 5 other theories behind his mysterious farewell

Love Is Lost _ Hello Steve Reich Mix _ The Next Day Extra _ 2013
Ashes To Ashes _ Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) _ 1979
Reflektor _ Arcade Fire _ 2013 (Bowie on additional vocals)
Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime) _ Blackstar _ 2016
I’m Deranged _ Outside _ 1995
Bring Me The Disco King _ Reality _ 2003
Life On Mars? _ Barbra Streisand _ Butterfly _ 1974
Cat People _ Soundtrack _ 1982
1984/Dodo Medley _ Recorded 1973, Released On Sound And Vision 1989
Stay _ Station To Station _ 1975
Walk On The Wild Side _ Transformer _ 1972 _ Acoustic Guitar and Produced by Bowie
Changes _ Hunky Dory _ 1971
It’s Gonna Be Me _ Young Americans _ Recorded 1975, Released 1991
Abdulmajid _ “Heroes” _ Recorded In 78 Or 79, Released In 1991
Seven (Beck Mix) _ Hours… _ 2000
A Better Future (Remix By Air) _ Limited Edition Bonus Disc For Heathen _ 2002
Blackstar _ Blackstar _ 2016
It’s No Game _ Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) _ 1979
Heroes _ “Heroes” _ 1977
Ziggy Stardust _ Bauhaus _ Single _ 1982
‘Tis A Pity She Was A Whore _ Blackstar _ 2016
The Dirty Song _ David Bowie In Bertolt Brecht’s Baal _ 1982
The Man Who Sold The World _ Lulu _ Single _ Vocals and Produced by Bowie _ 1974
DJ _ Lodger _ 1979
Somebody Up There Likes You _ Simple Minds _ New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) _ 1982 _ Simple Minds’ band name comes from the lyrics of Jean Genie and this song is a nod To Somebody Up There Like Me from Young Americans (1975)
This Is Not America _ The Falcon And The Snowman Soundtrack _ 1985
Lazarus _ Blackstar _ 2016
Space Oddity _ Demo Version _ 1969
Sense Of Doubt / Moss Garden / Neuköln _ “Heroes” _ 1977

D/L

gsoccio

…Gino Soccio! Mister Soccio, if ever you read this, please contact me, I’d love to talk with the purpose of writing an interview or simply to chew the fat on the state of the industry, I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts on that. Thank you!

The man composed some of the biggest classics of early electronic music and has been an influence on countless musicians, even Giorgio Moroder copied him!

But first and foremost, he was a visionnary (and a Montrealer!).

Just listen to these and read what follows.

War Dance (1977, under the name Kebekelektrik)
War Dance

The Visitors (Instrumental version) (1978)
The Visitors (Instrumental version)

Dancer (1979) – classic moments, oft-sampled at -3:15, pay attention!
Dancer

Breaking Artifical Barriers

by Gino Soccio

With the practical elimination of the word “disco” from the industry’s vocabulary, and the new-found recognition of dance music, new artists are being introduced to new audiences. Once specialty chart toppers such as the Dazz Band and the Gap Band are now seen at the top of pop, dance and black charts.

We are beginning to see new wave acts like Human League, Haircut 100 and Soft Cell achieve dance as well as pop recognition. And bands formerly pegged as “punk”, like the Clash, Gang Of Four and Bow Wow Wow, are scoring higher in dance circles than in pop chart numbers.

All this indicates a breaking down of the useless barriers that kept artists from getting maximum exposure, pigeonholing them into unnecessary classifications of music. Thanks to the trend toward de-categorization, whole new areas of musical crossovers are now being developed.

When disco first took off, we were living in a fantasy world. People were treating the music like it was the new Beatles, about to revolutionize a sleepy industry. This led to a serious backlash; artists were labeled with a tag that became inflexible.

Early disco artists like Giorgio Moroder and I predicted the current trend of Euro-techno-pop dance songs, and as early as 1979 incorporated it into our music.

I watched the scene change in my hometown of Quebec, and throughout Europe, where deejays have generally been more liberal in mixing r&b with dance, techno-pop, punk and rock.

But DJs in the States were more conservative in their tastes, and it has taken them longer to open up to this style of crossover.

Today, it is no longer unusual for a good song to go top 10 in pop, dance and r&b simultaneously. However, this change did not take place overnight. It took a year of persistence to get Soft Cell off the ground. It is a change that has been evolving. One of the first fusion hits was “Pop Musik” by M.

Most of these rock acts did their homework by watching the club movement grow. Their techniques for the use of drums and synthesizers were developed on the dance floor. It was a sound rock artists knew little about before.

The new rock-dance clubs are an extension of the disco experience. The ideal situation would be to get both markets to agree, and to get the consumer of black music to buy rock music acts like the Bus Boys, Soft Cell and Human League. In urban markets, these acts broke on black radio stations.

If you can get a record that crosses over all the charts, you have a real seller. Just as punk, when it began, was a musical style thought too abrasive and attractive to a marginal audience, so disco had to undergo a fusion before it could grow. Combining its sounds with rock and r&b influences pleased a more varied audience.

Some artists, initially short-changed by pigeonholing, could win recognition today if they had a second chance. After all, it is the industry that is more likely to put a label on the music and artist than the consumer. He has his say by buying or not buying the record.

It’s about time radio began picking up on more dance-oriented music. By eliminating the misleading disco label, the way has been opened for a Rick James, Patrice Rushen or Change to chart across the boards.

The acceptance earned by the first few hits is an indication that the barriers are falling. But the process is still too filtered, too slow. There’s still a lot of good music that needs to be played. At least it’s a start.

(Billboard, September 18, 1982)

Notice that date. Some things change very slowly apparently! Much of what he wrote is still valid today, 27 years later.

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