Italo disco, German disco, HI NRG. What’s the difference?

[bazac]

Italo disco, German disco, HI NRG. What’s the difference?

Personally, I make a CLEAR distinction between these musical styles.

For example in my opinion:

Albert One: For Your Love, is Italo disco.

C.C. Catch: Heaven and Hell, is German disco

Roger Meno: I Find The Way, is (Euro) HI NRG

The Flirts: Helpless is (US) HI NRG

I’m saying that because many times artists such as Bad Boys Blue, Joy or even Modern Talking are considered by some… Italo disco. And others consider Italo EVERYTHING that was made in Europe in the 80s.

I wouldn’t say that

Trans X: Living On Video

is Italo disco, but Synthesizer dance music. IMO, both musical styles - Italo disco and Synthesizer dance music - are two sub-genres in the Electronic music genre.

It’s pretty difficult for me even to categorize:

Valerie Dore: The Night or
Gazebo: I Like Chopin

But I hardly accept that these two songs are… Italo disco.

I know everyboy says so, but...

What do you people think?

Daniel from New York.

[Noman]

This is a dilemma for me when it comes to all classic dance music.
I don't have the deep knowledge to classify every single song of mine so I've taken a short cut.

I only categorise:
Disco (pre 1980 or pure disco after 1980),
Club (Electro funk, discofunk, Garage, some eurodisco etc after 1980),
Funk (pure funk),
JazzFunk (mainly from the british scene 1979 to 1984),
Italo Disco (Some eurodisco and german disco fall under this category too)
Hi Nrg (US and some european)

(This is my personal way of keeping track of my music)

I wish I could be more specific, but there will be so many faults so I prefer to keep it "simple"

I see examples every day, as you point out, where people talk about Hi Nrg that for me is Pure Italo Disco, and vice verca.

I would like to see a Database with "correct" gengres to every single track out there. Would make life easier

[bazac]

Noman wrote:

>I would like to see a Database with "correct" gengres to every single track out there.

You can see one in the Hurricane FM Internet radio station Website.

Select DATABASE from the top menu.

http://www.hurricanefm.nl/

I’d like you people to categorize the following songs:

Dirty Boyz: Spaghetti
Alexander Robotnick: Problemes D'amour
Klein & MBO: Dirty Talk
Patrick Cowley: Menergy
Taffy: I Love My Radio
Sandra: In The Heat Of The Night
Milou: Sentimental Lover
Gazebo: I Like Chopin

C’mon guys, don’t be afraid.

I see 30 people saw the thread, but only... 1 answered...

C'mon, say what you think, that's how we all learn new things.

Daniel from New York

[Bernie]

Alexander Robotnick: Problemes D'amour >>> Italo
Klein & MBO: Dirty Talk >>> Italo
Patrick Cowley: Menergy >>> I still classify this as good old Disco, but proto Hi-NRG
Taffy: I Love My Radio >>> Italo
Gazebo: I Like Chopin >>> Don't recall this one, but "Masterpiece" was definitely Italo to me

[georgeb]

I always consider that there are ndistinguishable differences or similarities among these kinds of music.The sound of hi energy emanated from the evolution of disco black culture,and from Ian levine s productions(this is my opinion).Hi ENERGY was connected with the early 80 s gay UK and US musical scene.
Ι always find the sound of german disco more underground and experimentall ,but music of artists like "Modern Talking","C.C Catch","Bad Boys Blue" e.t.c is typical 80 s europop.My opinion is that "I like shopin" by Gazebo and "In the heat of the night" by Sandra are also 80 s europop tracks.(Masterpiece is italodisco)

What about "I am a man" by Macho,Is it a eurodisco ,an early hi energy?And "meteor man"?Is it a 70 s german disco,an early new wave synth pop or a pure eurodisco.How many of you think that "let the music play" by Shannon was an early house track?

[shootyourshot]

I would classify “Living On Video” as Eurobeat, because it has that very hard reverberating bass loop that I see as characteristic of Eurobeat. I feel that Italo, such as “Get Closer”, is much lighter and upbeat. I see Bad Boys Blue, C.C. Catch, and Modern Talking as more Italo than Eurobeat.

I never use the term Hi-NRG to describe any music made in Continental Europe, with artists like Jacques Fred Petrus and Easy Going more American disco than anything else. With that said, IMHO Italo disco and Eurobeat didn’t start until 1982 or so. I’ve always wondered what the first Italo song was. “Dirty Talk” is Italo, but still has elements of the American sound. Did anything similar come before it?

[Davicillo]

The Record Mirror, a good old music paper sadly missed along with the late James Hamilton, had a top 20 that specified music played in gay clubs. It was forst called 'Gay top 20',
then 'Boystown' then 'Hinrg' and finally 'Eurobeat'. It constantly contained tracks made in Europe and more than usual, Italy.
Now, as far as i'm concerned, the difference is as follows;

Eurodance and Italo are virtually the same, but as the name states, Italo derives from Italy. Eurodance derives from the whole of Europe but normally everything other than Italy. I do agree that there are many compilations that are called 'The best of Italo' and they feature non-Italian artists singing non- Italian produced songs. Normally, but not all the time, both of the above go up to 123Bpm. Hinrg, on the other hand, usually ran at 125bpm and above (but there were exceptions) and had its sources from the UK, USA, Canada etc and with everything that went with that genre; melodies, swirling strings and lyrics that explained of loves gained and lost.

now to Daniel's list (not all I know);

Klein & MBO - Disco/Hinrg/Euro (depends on mix and like 'Shoot' said 'has US elements in it')
Patrick Cowley - Hinrg
Taffy - Italo
Sandra - Pop
Gazebo - Italo

[Energyguy]

In my opinion - Europop (i.e. tracks from Germany/Holland Italy) were far more synth/electro driven than say, the UK produced HINRG from producers like Ian levine & Ian Anthony Stephens - Which was more melodic and a "fusion" of northern soul type music with an electronic backing.

[bazac]

Just found:

Hi-NRG Top 200 – Hits of the 80's

http://www.hotdiscomix.de/charts/hinrg_top200.htm

Daniel from New York

[SandraDee]

Originally Posted by georgeb

What about "I am a man" by Macho,Is it a eurodisco ,an early hi energy?How many of you think that "let the music play" by Shannon was an early house track?

IMO, Macho was definitely too early to be hi energy but it was definitely a fore-runner (or 'proto hi-energy' as Bernie might say! ) with its 4/4 fast beat & general 'zingyness'.

'Let The Music Play' by Shannon I would never consider to be house as it has no hi-hat rhythm & is quite slow with more of a plodding 'latin hip-hop' beat & feel.

[nrgbeat]

Originally Posted by SandraDee

IMO, Macho was definitely too early to be hi energy but it was definitely a fore-runner (or 'proto hi-energy' as Bernie might say! ) with its 4/4 fast beat & general 'zingyness'.

'Let The Music Play' by Shannon I would never consider to be house as it has no hi-hat rhythm & is quite slow with more of a plodding 'latin hip-hop' beat & feel.

I agree "Let The Music Play" is an early example of what later became Freestyle.