“This is going to be a hard choice since I’m an eclectic collector who owns more than 35,000 vinyl records…” Gianluca Pandullo talks us through his formative musical moments.
What’s the first record you ever bought?
When I was a kid I remember I had some 8-track tapes and some 7”s and LPs from my parents… I was really young when, in the late 70’s, I started to buy my own 7”s. I was around 10 years old. I was in love with Japanese anime so I bought all anthems related to the Go Nagai robotic series and similar, like Grendizer, Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, Getta Robot, Getter Robot, Daitarn 3, Groizer X, Jeeg Robot, Tekkaman, Zambot 3, Trider G, Hurricane Polymar, God Rydeen, Gundam, Baldios, Gakeen and more. The one that really fitted on a disco dancefloor is the epic Gaiking anthem ‘It Takes Me Higher’ produced by Ganymed, which is a classic space disco tune. Now I have the original transparent yellow 12” vinyl that I couldn’t find in 1978.
The first time you remember hearing electronic music?
I think that Jean-Michel Jarre‘s Oxygè ne album in 1976 was the first electronic artist who Italy really accepted. ‘Oxyg ène, Pt. 4′ changed my imagination as an eight-year-old kid. I remember that ‘Oxygène, Pt. 1’ was also the anthem of a furniture shop in my area; this shows you how popular he was here…
Giorgio Moroder upgraded my vision with his ‘From Here To Eternity’ in 1977 and introduced me to the real danceable electronic world:
Of course Kraftwerk in 1978 totally got me with their classic The Man Machine album… At that time all radio shows included them in the programmes but I never heard the German original version of ‘Die Roboter’ at that age… Now I’m proud to have all their original first press German albums in stunning mint condition.
Your favourite ever record?
This is going to be a hard choice since I’m an eclectic collector who owns more than 35,000 vinyl records and CDs… I’m afraid that I cannot choose only one record, I’m sorry, but I could say that I’ve never tired of Atmosfear – ‘Dancing In Outer Space’. Freestyle no-wave funk groove with an incredible jazzy-dubby-spacey mood:
The guaranteed floor-filler?
Also here there are many to suggest but I’m sure that Secession – ‘Touch’ – from Beggars Banquet 1984 could still do a great job on the dancefloor with his killer badass bassline and romantic atmospheres:
The last track of the night?
Depends on the night… But it was great in Guangzhou, China, when I closed my set at Suns with Deodato – ‘Skyscrapers’, really feeling the view of the city and the people around…
The best chillout record?
I personally do not feel this ‘chillout’ term, but anyway I want to suggest two records that touch and relax me and these albums also satisfy my ‘hungry’ brain that always needs to listen to interesting sounds: Eno, Moebius, Roedelius - ‘After The Heat’ – from Sky 1978.
Not really commercial chillout but much better… A couple of tracks from this album were also included in Daniele Baldelli’s mighty Cosmic tapes…
Various - ‘Musiques Pour Les Plantes Vertes’ – from F Communications 1996. Also this various artists album cannot be called chillout but it could give a better idea of this style:
The record you’re proudest of?
The collaboration with the Piatto Brothers, Donna McGhee, Virgo Four and Radio Slave to produce the remakes and the remixes of the proto-house, italo disco and classic tune ‘Dirty Talk’ by Klein & M.B.O. was an amazing experience.
The Piatto Brothers coming from the kult N.O.I.A. band were the ones who also produced the original 1982 version alongside to Mario Boncaldo, Tony Carrasco & Rossana Casale so we used exactly the same vintage equipment used at that time.
It was a project much bigger than my experience but the friendly attitude of everybody involved did help me to finalise it at the best level. With it, I had the chance to show part of my background and a little history of dance music.
The soundtrack to a lazy Sunday afternoon?
The ‘Flying Trip 1 & 2’ Daniele Baldelli vintage C90 tapes. There is nothing better to listen to to rediscover some essential old school tunes on a lazy Sunday afternoon, aperitif time maybe, eating special salami and cheese, drinking Prosecco wine!
The guilty pleasure?
During the years spent as a DJ, producer and record collector, I learned to give a different importance and position to each genre that I like and follow. For example, I have a rich soul jazz, soul funk/disco, jazz funk background but I also love italo disco that doesn’t reach the same musical level of jazz, but both of those genres are important for me and satisfy my ears and archive… I know perfectly well how weird some obscure
80s italo productions, with their ‘froggy’ vocals are, but I think that there are different aspects to consider when you are an eclectic record collector as I am.
Not everybody could understand that you could find interesting vibes from each genre. This is a strong characteristic for those who have a love for all the music styles.
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