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Jun 12, 2015 Giorgio Moroder By Austin Trunick

Sometimes living legends re-emerge quietly; Giorgio Moroder‘s second coming arrived complete with a theme song on a record that hit #1 in more than 20 countries. Daft Punk’s latest, 2014 Album of the Year-winner Random Access Memories, featured a nine-minute tribute to the disco pioneer titled “Giorgio By Moroder,” where the septuagenarian modestly recounted his early years in his Italian accent. The track celebrates musical experimentation; Moroder’s oft-credited contributions—as the artist to popularize click tracks and synthesizers in dance music-not only revolutionized disco music as we think of it today, but can still be felt in modern EDM, pop, Italo, and soundtrack work.

The Daft Punk collaboration lit a wildfire, not only calling new, overdue attention to Moroder’s music and influence, but landing him DJ sets, festival appearances, and official remixes. It was little surprise, then, when Moroder announced his first new record following three relatively quiet decades. His biggest hits have always been collaborations with other artists; over the years he’s colluded with names as famous as Donna Summer, David Bowie, and Freddie Mercury. Déjà Vu features a smattering of today’s pop idols, including Sia, Kylie Minogue, Charli XCX, Kelis, Mikky Ekko, and Britney Spears. With its bouncing bass line and Sia-cooed opening over rapid dance beats, the album’s title track could easily have been one of Moroder’s hits for Summer in the late ‘70s. “Diamonds,” on the other hand, is a track that’s unmistakably contemporary: with lyrics and vocals by Charli XCX, it features an addictive chorus over battering synths and a vox sample that sounds like it was generated by an Intellivision voice module. Several of the album’s tracks might not hold up if not for Moroder’s brilliant production work tying it all together: “Don’t Let Go” (with Ekko) is slicker than the generic pop radio fodder it might otherwise be mistaken for, and Minogue’s had many better singles than “Right Here, Right Now.” Overall, though, the record’s a welcome return from one of dance music’s innovators; even such an odd choice as having Brittney Spears cover Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” is great fun in this master’s hands. (www.moroder.net)

Author rating: 6.5/10