Disco Video Mix #20: Imagination by Romanelli

From his 1982 album "Connecting Flight" comes "Imagination" - written by Dave Jeffries and produced by The Metropolis Team. 

Roland Romanelli (of the "Carry On, Turn Me On" fame), known for his synthesized ambient compositions. In fact, he and Didier Marouani formed "Space" which spawned albums such as "Magic Fly", "Deliverance" and "Deeper Zone".

The track "Imagination" is synonymous with creativity, so it was paired with "My Neighbor Totoro", a 1988 animated fantasy flick from Studio Ghibli, with Totoro as the studio mascot; which helped brought Japanese animation into spotlight. The director for this film is Hayao Miyazaki, who wrote and directed several animated films.

Featuring scenes from "My Neighbor Totoro"

Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Produced by Disco-matic Express

Disco Video Mix #19: Forces Of The Night by D.C. LaRue

D.C. LaRue's fourth album "Forces Of The Night" brought out the disco magic in everyone who lived through this period. The eerily-sounding but fantastic title track, which also has a reprise, has been one of his classic hits that takes everyone to the dance floor, with Bob Esty working on "Hot Jungle Drums And Voodoo Rhythm" and other tracks.

I have brought to this disco arena D.C. LaRue's title cut and paired it with the 2001 Studio Ghibli fantasy flick "Spirited Away", which gave much semblance to the Wonderland; but with the spirit world that gets into the disco spirit, this gets 'spirited away' by the colorful and magical 'forces of the night'. This special Halloween edit is dedicated to D.C. LaRue.

The film was directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

Featuring scenes from Spirited Away

Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Produced by Disco-matic Express

Disco Video Mix #18: On The Air by Space

"On The Air" by Space - Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Didier Marouani and Roland Romanelli are Space, a French electronic group. Their hits "Tango In Space" and "Carry Me, Turn Me On" are the usual space disco tracks which sound upbeat and exciting; thus with the use of synthesizers.

Visuals from the 1989 Studio Ghibli film "Kiki's Delivery Service" was placed into this Disco Video Mix with "On The Air", which is from Space's 1980 album "Deeper Zone". The film tells about Kiki as the flying witch using her broom for deliveries. This song has some groovy and dreamy synthesizer touch to the disco track whereas it adds some action to Kiki's adventures.

The film was directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

Featuring scenes from "Kiki's Delivery Service"

Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Produced by Disco-matic Express

Disco Video Mix #17: Hard Times by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band

Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band was composed of Stony Browder, August Darnell, Coati Mundi, and Mickey Sevilla; with Darnell and Cory Daye as vocals. The band itself reincarnated the big band jazz-style and incorporated it into their disco tracks.

Their first album in 1976 of the same name consists of "We Got It Made", "Cherchez La Femme", "I'll Play The Fool" and "Hard Times".

The Disney short film "Paperman" became the medium for this Disco Video Mix, paired with "Hard Times". The story behind the film is about George, who made paper planes; and met Meg while they were at the train station. The song gives these scenes a classic disco-jazz feel throughout this video.

The short film was directed by John Kahrs.

Featuring scenes from "Paperman"

Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Produced by Disco-matic Express

Disco Video Mix #16: Trouble In Paradise by Sylvester

The combination of Sylvester's track "Trouble In Paradise" with snippets from "Mommie Dearest" appears as a good Disco Video Mix. Additional clips from William Castle's "Strait-jacket" is thrown into this mix to create some action to this tribute to Joan Crawford.

Featuring scenes from "Mommie Dearest"

Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Produced by Disco-matic Express

Disco Video Mix #15: Arena by Soccer

A disco project named after a competitive sport which involves kicking the ball into a goalkeeper's net, Soccer was created by Tony Valor of TVI Records (the musician behind the Tony Valor Sounds Orchestra and Fantasy). It was composed of the Venuto brothers, with Valor as the main conductor and producer. The track "Arena" was from its only album of the same name which included "Come On Get It On" (first recorded on Salsoul Records), "Give Me Your Love" and "Dancin' Game".

The track is embedded with scenes from the 2001 martial arts-comedy flick "Shaolin Soccer", starring Stephen Chow. "Kicks" and "free goals", and a lot of humor has been added to this edit when combined with the passion in this track.

The film was directed by Stephen Chow.

Check out music produced by Tony Valor on the TVI Records website: www.tvirecords.com

Featuring scenes from Shaolin Soccer

Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Produced by Disco-matic Express Productions

Disco Video Mix #14: Hey You by Divine

Harris Glenn Milstead, a.k.a. Divine, is best known for movies such as "Polyester" and "Hairspray". He also performs songs such as "Shoot Your Shot", "You Think You're A Man", "Native Love (Step By Step)" and others.

The track "Hey You", a 1987 hit from Divine's album "Maid In England", gets parodied with scenes from the Frank Perry film "Mommie Dearest" - based on Christina Crawford's non-fiction book of the same title, starring Fay Dunaway. Imagine Divine's angry tone planted into the Joan Crawford character as it goes through this high energy track.

(Note: There is a problem with the Movie Maker, when this mix was played, it was automatically paused; causing technical difficulties with this one.)

Featuring scenes from "Mommie Dearest"

Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Produced by Disco-matic Express

Disco Video Mix #13: The Boss by Diana Ross

"The Boss" was one of the classic disco hits performed by Diana Ross in 1979, along with "It's My House" and "I Ain't Being Licked". It was written and produced by the musical duo Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, who provided backing vocals for the track, and whose song "Found A Cure" had taken over the dance chart after Ross'. It has been one of the classic disco floor-fillers, and has been remixed by David Morales in the album "Diana Extended: The Remixes".

The track "The Boss" was paired up with the Hasbro film "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls", which was based on the TV series "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic". The focus of this disco opera is on Twilight Sparkle and her rival Sunset Shimmer, who are out to find ways to become the 'boss', or the princess. Their challenges in high school life, and the former's 'crush on Flash Sentry, add to the drama. The film was directed by Jaysson Thiessen, and starred Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle and Rebecca Shoichet as Sunset Shimmer. This Disco Video Mix is dedicated to restructuremix6.

Featuring scenes from "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls"

Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Produced by Disco-matic Express

Disco Video Mix #12: I'm Ready by Kano

Kano is a Milan-based disco project composed of Luciano Ninzatti, Stefano Pulga, and Matteo Bonsanto. Their track "I'm Ready" was their debut single from their self-titled album which was released in 1980. It reached #21 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart the following year, and was sampled by many artists, including Tag Team's "Whoomp! (There It Is)".

The creation of this Disco Video Mix was made possible by taking the track "I'm Ready" and the film "Phineas And Ferb The Movie: Across The 2nd Dimension" - the first feature-length film of the PnF series, which revolves around two brothers ending up in another dimension and saving the city from an invasion of robots. This disco adventure gets spiced up with some robots, and a platyborg., and some epic scenes from that movie.

Featuring scenes from "Phineas And Ferb The Movie: Across The 2nd Dimension"

Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Produced by Disco-matic Express

Disco Video Mix #11: Harmony by Suzi Lane

Suzi Lane's song "Harmony" was one of her 'one-hit wonder' tracks; along with her follow-up single "Ooh La La". Both were released from her only album "Ooh La La". Her musical career ended with a vehicular accident, but she eventually started out her career as a fashion model.

The track, produced by Giorgio Moroder (who produced tracks for Donna Summer), was a top disco hit in 1979. It reached the music charts for a week, and it remained for six months.

Thrown into this Disco Video Mix were the scenes from the Blue Sky animated film "Epic", and Suzi Lane's disco track in order to put some energy into the movie itself, which tells about M.K.'s quest at the heart of the forest.

The film was directed by Chris Wedge.

Featuring scenes from "Epic"

Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Produced by Disco-matic Express

(NOTE: This Disco Video Mix was made with Windows Live Movie Maker, and because this original track is seven minutes; the video is 6:55 in length.)

Disco Video Mix #10: Everybody Dance by Chic

Chic is a 70's disco group which is composed of Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, with vocals from Norma Jean Wright and Luther Vandross. They contributed to the disco genre with their songs "Everybody Dance", "Good Times", and "Dance Dance Dance (Yowsah Yowsah Yowsah)".

"Everybody Dance" was one of Chic's best hits. It was from their first album of the same name in 1977. The theme combines with scenes from the movie, "Dance, Fools, Dance". Starring the legendary actress Joan Crawford as a reporter looking for the truth behind the liquor smuggling in Chicago. The dance scenes were added to make the song more lively.

The film was directed by Harry Beaumont.

Featuring scenes from "Dance, Fools, Dance"

Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Produced by Disco-matic Express

Disco Video Mix #9: Green Light by Cory Daye

Cory Daye was one of the notable vocalists for the group "Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band" until she left in 1979 to pursue her solo career. Her songs "Green Light" and "Pow Wow" were one of her contributions to the disco scene. She collaborated with August Darnell and Coati Mundi on two of the albums for the band Kid Creole And The Coconuts.

"Green Light" is Cory Daye's single, with "Pow Wow" as her follow-up single from the album "Cory And Me". The track becomes a musical opera for this Disco Video Mix, with scenes from the movie "Frozen". Well, this edit retells a story of love, betrayal, and a bit of a happy ending; and gives life to this successful box office hit. This also proves that "love is an open door", or as Cory Daye puts it, "green light".


The film was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee.

Featuring scenes from "Frozen"
Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan
Produced by Disco-matic Express

More Disco Video Mixes Coming Soon

More of the disco video mixes coming soon (I'm working on Cory Daye's "Green Light", with "Frozen").

• Shanghaied (Kung Fu Panda)
• I'm Ready (PnF Across The 2nd Dimension)
• Everlasting Love (Tangled)
• You Think You're A Man (The Hot Chick)
• Disc Mussorgsky (The Lorax)

Disco Video Mix #8: Try It Out by Gino Soccio

Gino Soccio has hit the dance floors with the song "Try It Out". Aside from his stint as a keyboardist in the band "Bombers", he composed numerous disco hits. The track "Try It Out" is from his third album "Closer" in 1981, which contains several dance floor-fillers (including that mentioned song).

Making a montage out of clips from the Hasbro movie "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls", which has been based on the TV series "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic", the Gino Soccio track makes it a soundtrack to this movie. This Disco Video Mix takes bites out of this flick, which takes Twilight Sparkle and her friends to the disco beat.

This film was directed by Jayson Thiessen.

Featuring scenes from "My Little Pony: Equestria Girls"

Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Produced by Disco-matic Express

Disco Video Mix #7: Walk The Night by Skatt Brothers

The Skatt Brothers was a disco band based in Los Angeles, California; known for their campy disco-rock style found in the song "Walk The Night", which is from their 1979 album "Strange Spirits".

The song "Walk The Night" sounds like it's horror-themed, a unique combination for this edit, utilizing scenes from the horror-comedy flick "Scary Movie 3" (the third installment in the "Scary Movie" series), in which it parodied scary flicks such as "The Ring".

The film was directed by David Zucker.

Featuring scenes from "Scary Movie 3"
Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan
Produced by Disco-matic Express

Disco Video Mix #6: Frisco Disco by Eastside Connection

Eastside Connection is a Los Angeles-based disco group which made five of their singles on the record label Rampart Records.

Frisco Disco is the one of the tracks which appeared in the Ultimate Breaks And Beats series, that takes me to this Disco Video Mix.

By utilizing scenes from the movie "Soul Plane" and putting it to the track, this makes it a very big in-flight adventure. The comedy flick; starring Kevin Hart, Tom Arnold, Mo'Nique, Snoop Dogg, Method Man and D.L. Hughley; tells about the misadventures of the Nashawn Wade Express, which is on its maiden voyage to New York. Though it's not set in San Francisco, the song gives an exciting treat to this disco video mix.

The film was directed by Jessy Terrero.

Featuring scenes from "Soul Plane"

Disco video mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Produced by Disco-matic Express

Disco Video Mix #5: Do The Bus Stop by Blackbuster

Orly Ilacad, who produced tracks for VST & Company, created the studio group called Blackbuster. Is members were composed of members of notable bands such as VST & Company (Spanky Rigor and Celso Llarina) and Cinderella (Snaffu Rigor, Gig and Sunny Ilacad, and Celso Llarina). Their songs have contributed to the Manila Sound.

The movie "Hairspray" has been given a twist with the Blackbuster cover of Fatback Band's "Do The Bus Stop", which makes them dance to the groovy beats. The film, however, stars Ricki Lake, Divine, Jerry Stiller, and Debbie Harry; and is directed by John Waters.

Featuring scenes from "Hairspray"

Disco video mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Produced by Disco-matic Express

Upcoming Disco Video Mixes

I'll be making some of my own disco video mixes, utilizing some of the scenes from the movies. The following of these I'll be working on:

• "Walk The Night" by Skatt Brothers (Scary Movie 3)
• "Frisco Disco" by Eastside Connection (Soul Plane)
• "The Groove Line" by Heatwave (Pulp Fiction)
• "Walk The Dinosaur" by Was Not Was (Phineas And Ferb)
• "Get Up And Boogie" by Blackbuster (Saturday Night Fever)
• "Do The Bus Stop" by Fatback Band (Hairspray)
• "Let's Do The Latin Hustle" by Blackbuster (planning on which movie fits the song)
• "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Santa Esmeralda (Puss In Boots)

Disco Video Mix #4: Remember by Gino Soccio

Gino Soccio is a Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and arranger behind the hits "Dancer", "Try It Out", and "Remember", in which he contributed to the disco music.
He also formed his project, "Witch Queen", which made "Bang A Gong" and "All Right Now", in 1978 (a year before he released his first album "Outline"), and also Kebelektrik, which performed the hit "Magic Fly".

Taking the futuristic track "Remember" from the 1982 album "Face To Face", I've placed it in the Disco Video arena along with the movie "Mr. Peabody & Sherman", which is based on the characters from the segment "Peabody's Improbable History", which appeared on the Jay Ward animated show "The Rocky And Bullwinkle Show" in the 1960's. The movie is about the time-travelling adventures of Mr. Peabody (a talking dog) and Sherman (his adopted son). This Disco Video Mix re-imagines a sci-fi story about travelling through time and space. I'd like to dedicate this one to restructuremix6.

The film is directed by Rob Minkoff.

Featuring scenes from "Mr. Peabody & Sherman"
Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan
Produced by Disco-matic Express

Coming soon on Rick's Disco Video Mix: Remember by Gino Soccio

Gino Soccio is a Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and arranger behind the hits "Dancer", "Try It Out", and "Remember", in which he contributed to the disco music.

He also formed his project, "Witch Queen", which made "Bang A Gong" and "All Right Now", in 1978 (a year before he released his first album "Outline"), and also Kebelektrik, which performed the hit "Magic Fly".

This disco video mix will feature scenes from the movie "Mr. Peabody And Sherman", which is based on the characters from the segment "Peabody's Improbable History", which appeared on the Jay Ward animated show "The Rocky And Bullwinkle Show" in the 1960's.  It tells about the time-travelling adventures of Mr. Peabody, a talking dog who happens to be the smartest creature in the world, and Sherman, a young kid. These adventures were to be highlighted along with the futuristic sound of Soccio's track from the album "Face To Face".

The film is directed by Rob Minkoff.

Coming soon on Rick's Disco Video Mix: The Greatest Show On Earth by Metropolis

Tom Moulton and Thor Baldurrson created their disco project called "Metropolis", which was responsible for the album "The Greatest Show On Earth", which featured tracks such as "I Love New York", "The Greatest Show On Earth", and "New York Is My Kind Of Town". It was produced in collaboration with the Munich Land Studios in Germany and Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, U.S.A.

The scenes taken from the Disney film "Frozen" gives the Disco Video mix a whole new level, which outlines the magic of Hans Christian Andersen classic "The Snow Queen" being transformed with a touch of Disney.

The film is directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee.

Disco Video Mix #3: I'm Mad As Hell by El Coco

Laurin Rinder and W. Michael Lewis were the musical duo behind every disco project such as the Tuxedo Junction, In Search Of Orchestra, Le Pamplemousse, El Coco, Discognosis and Saint Tropez. The song "I'm Mad As Hell" was from the 1977 album "Cocomotion", in which the track was inspired by the Howard Beale epic quote "i'm as mad as hell" from the 1976 movie "Network".

Using the 12" version of the El Coco track, I've created the Disco Video Mix along with a triple-threat combination of movie scenes from William Castle's 1964 film "Strait-Jacket", and Disney films such as "Wreck-it Ralph" and "Frozen", which would create an all-out comedy (and a bit of action and suspense) in this mix. Strait-jacket features Joan Crawford as Lucy Harbin who was out of mental hospital after twenty years. Wreck-it Ralph tells the story about a guy named Wreck-it Ralph (from the game "Fix-it Felix"), who was tired of being the bad guy. And lastly, Frozen is a film which is based on the Hans Christian Andersen story "The Snow Queen".

Strait-Jacket was directed by William Castle, while Wreck-it Ralph was directed by Rich Moore, and Frozen was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee.

Featuring scenes from "Strait-jacket", "Wreck-it Ralph", and "Frozen"

Disco Video Mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Disco Video Mix #2: The Greatest Performance Of My Life by Loleatta Holloway

Loleatta Holloway, the voice of Salsoul, has been one of the greatest disco singers of all time. She's known to have been behind the song "Love Sensation", which became popular in disco clubs and hit the charts. The 1979 cover version of Shirley Bassey's big hit "The Greatest Performance Of My Life", has been undoubtedly one of the best.

Taking the Larry Levan mix of this track from the album "Loleatta Holloway", I've paired it with the Disney movie "Frozen" for this disco video mix. Frozen is a 2013 animated film which is loosely based on the Hans Christian Andersen story "The Snow Queen". It tells about Queen Elsa, who has the ability to create ice; and Anna, who went out to search for her  sister and save Arendelle from perpetual winter. In this climactic montage, the song will tell about Queen Elsa's "greatest performance of her life" when she accidentally discovered her powers during the coronation party and thereafter.

This Disco Video Mix may have been a homage to Idina Menzel's "Let It Go", and most of all, Loleatta Holloway. That idea was inspired by some of the disco video mixes made by restructuremix6 (Glenn Rivera), if my memory serves correctly.

This film was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee.

FEATURING SCENES FROM "FROZEN"

Disco video mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan

Disco Video Mix #1: Dancin' Dancin by The Vamps

The Brazilian disco band "The Vamps" had their first album "Disco Blood", in which these songs were inspired by vampires. It was released in 1977.

One of the songs "Dancin' Dancin'" had been paired with scenes from the movie "Hotel Transylvania", a 2012 3D animated comedy film that tells about Dracula, who owns the Hotel Transylvania, where some scary creatures come here for a stay. It also revolves around his daughter, Mavis, who is already grown-up and wants to go anywhere.

The film was directed by Genndy Tartakovsky

Featuring scenes from "Hotel Transylvania"
Disco video mix by Ric Robin Cagnaan