JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Giorgio Moroder’s 86th birthday.
Tag: Red Bull Music Academy
Throwback: Happy 83rd Birthday, Giorgio Moroder!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Giorgio Moroder’s 83rd birthday.
Back in 2013, Red Bull Music Academy invited the legendary electronic music artist ad producer Giorgio Moroder to speak in front of a small group of music students about music, his creative process and more — and to what was then-billed as his first ever live DJ set at the now-defunct Williamsburg, Brooklyn nightclub Output.
Along with his long-time collaborator and musical director Chris Cox, the electronic music legend played a 75 minute set of re-arranged and exclusive remixes of some of his massive hits, medleys of other big songs, an exclusive song commissioned by Google — and famously, his collaboration with Daft Punk, “Giorgio by Moroder,” which appeared on the French electronic outfit’s last album, Random Access Memories.
Moroder’s DJ set is an encompassing and thoughtful primer on his pioneering work and sound, as well as roughly 50 years of disco and electronic music. Importantly, the set is a bold and swaggering reminder that along with Kraftwerk and a handful of others, Moroder is part of a Mount Rushmore of electronic music, who helped create an enduring “sound of the future” while popularizing the use of synthesizers in just about anything and everything since.
Personally, Moroder’s Red Bull Music Academy set brings back fond and very dear memories during the most formative periods of my life: I can vividly picture myself as a small boy and watching my mother cleaning and singing along — incredibly off key, I should add! — to Donna Summer‘s “Bad Girls,” “I Feel Love” “Hot Stuff,’ and “Love to Love You, Baby” as though it were yesterday.
Moroder turns 82 today and we should give the legendary man, his flowers because his work is that important — for all of us. Happy birthday, Giorgio! May there many, many more!
Several years ago Red Bull Music Academy invited the legendary electronic music artist ad producer Giorgio Moroder to speak in front of a small group of music students about music, his creative process and more — and to what was then-billed as his first ever live DJ set at the now-defunct Williamsburg, Brooklyn nightclub Output. Along with his long-time collaborator and musical director Chris Cox, Moroder played a 75-minute set of re-arranged and exclusive remixes of some of his massive hits, as well as a Google-commissioned song (because of course, Google would do that) and his collaboration with Daft Punk.
Moroder’s DJ set manages to be an encompassing and thoughtful primer on his work and imitable sound, as well as about 45 years of disco and electronic music that boldly reminds the listener that the Italian-born, Beverly Hills-based legend would be on the proverbial Mount Rushmore of all things electronic music — and that without his work and his fellow electronic music pioneers, that 3/4s of the things you’ve listened to since about 1976 or so wouldn’t be possible. Personally though, the Red Bull Music Academy set brings back a flood of memories of one of the most formative periods of my entire life: I can picture myself as a small boy watching my mother cleaning and signing along (terribly off-key) to Donna Summer‘s “Bad Girls,” “I Feel Love” “Hot Stuff,’ and “Love to Love You, Baby” as though it were yesterday.
Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site throughout the years, you may recall that I’ve posted this DJ set, which in some way makes this sort of a re-post; but this is necessary because the electronic music pioneer celebrates his 79th birthday today and we should be dancing the day and night away in his honor.
Live Footage: Eddie Palmieri Performs Songs from Harlem River Drive
Eddie Palmieri is a legendary, Grammy-winning New York born and -based pianist, composer and bandleader who has released a number of beloved and highly-regarded Latin funk albums that have pushed the boundaries of what the genre should sound like and concern itself thematically, through renowned labels including Fania Records, Alegre Records, Tico Records, RMM and Concord Picante. Back in 1971, Palmieri along with a new backing band Harlem River Drive wrote and recorded Harlem River Drive, a sociopolitically charged album inspired by the inequality that his fellow Puerto Ricans faced in the New York of the early 1970s — and as a result, the album was a fiery and much-needed protest that featured novelistic lyrics that immersed you into its creators world. Interestingly, the album wasn’t a major commercial success but over the years, it became a cult-favorite album, while being as powerful and relevant today as it was when the album was originally released.
Earlier this year, Red Bull Music Academy invited Palmieri and his backing band to perform the material off Harlem River Drive live for the first time in several decades on what turned out to be a rainy afternoon and evening at Harem’s Marcus Garvey Park — and the folks at NPR’s Jazz Night in America shot some great live footage that includes album title track “Harlem River Drive,” “Seeds of Life” and “Comparasa.” Check it out by clicking on the link above and it’ll lead you to a full-screen embed.
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During the Red Bull Music Academy’s recent stint here in New York, a variety of musical genres and artists were celebrated – and they managed to get a ton of beloved luminaries and musically important […]
The folks at Red Bull Music Academy recently had Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein in for an interview session, and it was apparently sometime after Giorgio Moroder was in to talk about his life […]
As some of you may know, Red Bull Music Academy recently hosted a series of amazing music events across town including Giogrio Moroder’s live DJ set at Club Output in Williamsburg; a night with the […]
Red Bull Music Academy Presents: The DFA Records 12th Anniversary Event at Grand Prospect Hall 5/25/13
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Earlier this week, the folks at Red Bull Music Academy invited electronic music legend (and forefather) Giorgio Moroder to stop by for an interview/lecture before what was billed as his first live DJ set at […]
Electronic music can trace it’s origin back to the Germany and Italy of the early 70s. And two of the genre’s earliest (and most beloved) champions were Kraftwerk and Giorio Moroder. In fact, their influence […]
Domino Records will be releasing a re-issue of Four Tet’s seminal album, Rounds to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the album’s release on May 13th. The re-issue will include the original release’s 10 tracks and a recording […]