The term svengali is used loosely, of course.
For me, though, there is NO better term to describe the all powerful influence of music producer/songwriter types like Giorgio Moroder, Frank Farian or Robert John “Mutt” Lange.
My pops told me about Mutt Lange in the 90′s when he catapullted Eileen Twain into megastardom. Frank Farian I discovered years later via Wiki. Giorgio Moroder was someone I’d only associated with late 70′s euro-disco pop: Donna Summer and his own electronic pop adventures. It wasn’t until some recent discogs and wiki digging I discovered that he’d written a ton of 80′s pop tunes that I loved.
I tried to include as many as possible in this 42 minute Ableton mix. Ableton is both a crutch and a boon when it comes to creating mixes @ home. I had already used it for my MEME 2012 submission, and it helped with the genre busting of techno and D&B, and precise sample placement. Though, I found I was spending a LOT more time than planned. Unlike a DJ mix where it’s recorded real-time, in Ableton you can go back and tweak filter rolls, FX, and your transitions over and over (and over) again :-)
My challenge with the Moroder mix was being able to have the songs harmonically keyed, while maintaining a steadily increasing tempo. That meant whittling down the list of possible tunes from about 30, to 12.
The advantage of Ableton vs using CD decks, vinyl TT’s or a DVS app like itch/traktor or serato, is that you can mix in songs that couldn’t normally be mixed for longer than a few seconds due to the fallibility of the human drummer or a poor recording/transfer that has created a song with a wandering tempo. However, it also means you’ve got a much larger pool of tunes to choose from. I was able to use rock tunes, disco, and other tunes with wandering tempos. That meant it took longer to pick all the tunes.
I’m really happy with the results. As are the pop/Giorgio fans who’ve listened thus far.
Give ‘er a listen :D
Tracklist:
1 – Video interview spot intro edit
2 – Berlin – Take my breath away
3 – Giorgio Moroder – Tony’s theme (Scarface)
4 – Irene Cara – Flash dance (what a feeling)
5 – Debbie Harry – Rush, rush
6 – Giorgio Moroder – The Chase
7 – Freddie Mercury – Love kills
8 – Donna Summer – I feel love
9 – Sparks – Beat the clock
10 – Giorgio Moroder f. Paul Engemann – Push it to the limit
11 – Mr. Big – Strike Like Lightning
12 – Kenny Loggins – Danger Zone (From Top Gun)
13 – Kenny Loggins – Meet Me Half Way (theme from Over the top)
