Mystery Disco: Max Berlin's?

[Videoskooter]

Max Berlin('s): the man/group has already been covered on this board but the mystery still isn't solved. Some say he's Cerrone's brother (maybe Stephen L. Freeman knows this???), others claim that he's a very reclusive friend of the group Telex. Fact is that he's a French speaking artist, most probably Belgian or maybe from France.

I can't find anything more detailed on him.

Secondly and that's why I open a thread on him: yesterday I finally found my copy of "Dream Disco", a record that I was not familiar with and it struck me twice:

1.The theme of this track: if you understand the French lyrics you'll be touched by what is said here. A very unusual theme for a Disco record!

Just like a Cerrone record it starts with a spoken part where a young boy asks his dad if his mom is still in heaven. Like I said very direct, a little bit like the intro on Prince's "Do U lie?" (Les enfants qui mentent vont pas au paradis > children who lie won't go to heaven)

2.This is indeed Dream Disco, IMO you can not play this on the dancefloor at all! Maybe in a lounge bar where the musical voyage can be enjoyed to the maxx or at home. Was it more arty (like the track "Elle et moi").

Is there somebody here who has gained more info on this man????

Max Berlin Dream Disco (LP) Disco Music.com
Max Berlin Elle Et Moi (Belgian 12") Disco Music.com
Max Berlin Max Berlin's World Wide Party (LP) Disco Music.com

[STEPHEN L FREEMAN]

Originally Posted by Videoskooter

Max Berlin('s): the man/group has already been covered on this board but the mystery still isn't solved. Some say he's Cerrone's brother (maybe Stephen L. Freeman knows this???), others claim that he's a very reclusive friend of the group Telex. Fact is that he's a French speaking artist, most probably Belgian or maybe from France.

I can't find anything more detailed on him.

Secondly and that's why I open a thread on him: yesterday I finally found my copy of "Dream Disco", a record that I was not familiar with and it struck me twice:

1.The theme of this track: if you understand the French lyrics you'll be touched by what is said here. A very unusual theme for a Disco record!

Just like a Cerrone record it starts with a spoken part where a young boy asks his dad if his mom is still in heaven. Like I said very direct, a little bit like the intro on Prince's "Do U lie?" (Les enfants qui mentent vont pas au paradis > children who lie won't go to heaven)

2.This is indeed Dream Disco, IMO you can not play this on the dancefloor at all! Maybe in a lounge bar where the musical voyage can be enjoyed to the maxx or at home. Was it more arty (like the track "Elle et moi").

Is there somebody here who has gained more info on this man????

First of all, let me say congratulations on acquiring "Dream Disco". It's a phenominal LP! I have 2 copies. And we DID play it in NY. It was not common club-fare. But those of us that did, used 2 copies to cut it down in length.

Okay... So here's what I know about Max, tho' it ain't much. (But you've got my curiosity up. So, I'm gonna do some deep diggin' for info.)

I've too, heard the "Cerrone's brother" thing. And from more than one reputable source. There is a very strong facial resemblance. And they are about the same height, weight and build. (Tho' that could be a more ethnic resemblance, than a familial one.) But, I'd imagine that, if he was related to Cerrone, he'd have had more than just the one LP on Malligator. And/or been involved in, at least some of the many Cerrone-related projects. But, where Cerrone is concerned, I guess any truth is possible.

Interestingly, the first photo you have up is the cover of his 2nd LP, simply titled "Max Berlin's". (I have no idea why the apostrophe is in his name. But it's on all his records.) "Dream Disco" was his 1st release. Recorded in June of '78 and released on Malligator. The blue sepia-toned cover LP was his 2nd release. Recorded in October of '78 for Melodi's Records (Notice the wayward apostrophe again? 'Melodi's' was Max's label.) Maybe he wanted to be Cerrone? Because (and here, it gets funny) His 2nd LP has a track called "Dance For My" (misspelled from "Dance For Me") that is meant to be a total knock-off on the "Love In C Minor" theme of a bunch of girls talking about and wanting to be with, Max. It's meant to be serious, but is done so horribly bad, that it's friggin' hysterical!!! I'm talkin' laugh-out-loud bad! Here's a small piece of the inane dialogue from the intro:

"(the girls:) Ohhh Max! Check him out. Yeah. I want that. Ooooh, he' so hot! Oh yeah. Wait! Shhh. What? Why? He's going to say something. Oooh yeah... Let's listen. (Max, in a very, VERY deep voice) My name is Max. Max Berlin's. Dance for me. (the girls:) We will dance for you... (Max:) Play for me. (the girls:) We will play for you..." And it just goes straight downhill from there. (But I found it on blue vinyl, so I keep it in the collection.)

Anyway, the LP almost sounds like "Dream Disco", but the arrangements are really sloppy and none of the 4 tracks ever manage to have any direction. Whereas, "Dream Disco" was arranged tight-as-a-drum. The writers are all the same, but the LPs had different arrangers. (So far, we have two LPs with 7 songs, and only 1 playable track: "Dream Disco" side 1.)

Then came "Worldwide Party". I only know that Max Berlin's wrote it, but I've never seen any credits about it. I received the Emergency Records release in the record pool, with a plain white label. BUT... If you can get the DiscoNet copy (Vol. 3 Number 1, Bonus side 1) GRAB IT! It blows the doors off the crap US remix. Emergency Records managed to water-down this track as badly as it did with D.D.Sound's "Cafe". The DiscoNet is done from the original french release. And, from what I've heard from one who has the french pressing, the DiscoNet cut all the filler out of the 2 sides, and left all the best parts, edited down to 18'40". "Worlwide Party" (the DiscoNet mix) is one of my fave Disco Records of all time. Now if I can just get ahold of the credits and find out why???

Oh yeah... And "Elle Et Moi"? Someone sent me an MP3 of it and I didn't even make it to the end before I deleted it.

[Videoskooter]

Originally Posted by STEPHEN L FREEMAN

And "Elle Et Moi"? Someone sent me an MP3 of it and I didn't even make it to the end before I deleted it.

Stephen, first of all, thank you for your highly detailed info, appreciated!

As for "Elle et moi": funny! All the Max Berlin stuff is hardly known in Belgium , nobody knows who he is and his Disco days are long forgotten...except for "Elle et moi" which has reached the absolute cult-classic status here. It became a hit during the late 80's Belgian New Beat era, stayed on and got big again since it was used on the soundtrack for "Anyway the wind blows", a Belgian art movie that was pretty successful a few years ago.

Every trendy club or venue still plays that track and some people relate it to Serge Gainsbourg, because of it's poetic lyrics, deep hypnotic voice and enchanting sound.

EDIT: just got some confirmation on the credits of "Elle et moi"! The track is written by Pascal Valadon, Daniel Russo et......JEAN-PIERRE CERRONE (OMG) and what about this link on another member of Max Berlin (so it was a group):

Frederic Galfo - Other works


Strange but true! A jewel like "Worldwide party" is hardly played here.

Some things in life or just unfair

and beautifully covered by Cicada:

[STEPHEN L FREEMAN]

Originally Posted by Videoskooter

except for "Elle et moi" which has reached the absolute cult-classic status here.

I listened to both versions with an open mind. But, personally, I don't get it. Or should I say I don't "hear" it. The track would've cleared the floors, here on the east coast US. (Then again, I thought "Disco Choo Choo" was sheer genious! So, what the hell do I know???)

But thank God it's a big world. Full of different people, dancing to different drummers. Or we'd all be groovin' to the same tune. And that would truly suck.

Gimme a little time and I'll find out who Max Berlin's is.

[Videoskooter]

Stephen, I guess he really is Marc's brother. Or the writer's name has to be a gimmick (Jean-Pierre Cerrone).
And the backing vocals on "WW Party" are from Madeline Bell and Vicky Brown (another connection)

If you find more, please let me know.

And there's a 3rd album:

[STEPHEN L FREEMAN]

Originally Posted by Videoskooter

EDIT: just got some confirmation on the credits of "Elle et moi"! The track is written by Pascal Valadon, Daniel Russo et......JEAN-PIERRE CERRONE (OMG) and what about this link on another member of Max Berlin (so it was a group):

Frederic Galfo - Other works

The little kid from "Dream Disco" has an IMDb page????

Valadon & Russo are the writers on the other Max Berlin's LPs as well. And Max Berlin's was a pseudo-nym for Jean-Pierre Cerrone? I guess the resemblance WAS familial. Now I'm more intrigued. Since the quality and style varied from release to release...I want to find out who was actually doing what. I can't imaqine that the same person who wrote "Dance For My", also wrote "Worldwide Party".

"Is plagarism genetic?"

[JussiK]

Check out the two great 12-inchers Max did under the names Cyclades: Fire To Desire and Wichita: Hamburger / W Love - the latter's b-side is especially good. I've always got a great reaction for "Dance For My", pitch it down slightly and blow it thru big speakers in a packed club and rumps will grind. It incorporates exactly the right kind of sleazy aesthetic that is needed at 5.30 in the morning. "Elle Et Moi" used to go well with Gainsbourg's borderline illegal "Lemon Incest" but now of course, it would be unthinkable to purposefully create sound imagery like that.

[Videoskooter]

Originally Posted by JussiK

Cyclades: Fire To Desire

Yep, that's a great one (sorry for the bad sound quality)