Giorgio Moroder: The Unknown Genius
The Father of Disco. The Munich Machine. The Lone Wolf. Giorgio Moroder.
Who is he?
If you’ve never heard of Giorgio Moroder, rest assured, you are not alone. You have probably heard of his work however. Moroder has produced countless hits for the likes of Donna Summer, Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, and Cher. Giorgio also has an impressive body of work in film soundtracks, including Top Gun, Scarface, The Never Ending Story, Superman III, and his own remaster of Metropolis.
Giorgio Moroder was born in Italy in 1940, and began working to become a musician at the age of 15. Giorgio’s early music was mostly bubblegum pop typical of the era. In 1969, Giorgio released his first gold record, “Looky Looky”.
In 1971, Moroder wrote “Son of My Father”, which became a U.K. number one hit when it was rerecorded by Chicory Tip. “Son of My Father” was Giorgio’s first song to use a synthesizer.
It was around this time that Giorgio Moroder met Donna Summer, and the duo would soon become disco royalty, with hits including “Hot Stuff” and “I Feel Love”.
“I Feel Love” became a huge hit in 1977, but it’s full impact would continue to be felt over a decade into the future. The song’s driving synths became the basis for the sound of the 80’s, inspiring artists like The Human League and Brian Eno. Giorgio’s methods of making good disco outlived disco itself. “I Feel Love” was a huge head-turner for Giorgio, and everybody wanted more. Giorgio was chosen to score Alan Parker’s 1978 film Midnight Express, and Parker asked Giorgio to write another composition like “I Feel Love” to be the film’s theme. Giorgio obliged, producing the iconic “Chase”, which combined his new synth-heavy sound with a bassline previously used in Giorgio’s “Knights in White Satin”.
Donna and Giorgio had parted ways in 1981 after Summer moved to a different record label, but Giorgio’s production style was now in high demand. Giorgio was called up to produce a soundtrack for Scarface, a challenge due to the film’s long length. The soundtrack made it clear that the sound of the 80’s was Giorgio’s sound, demonstrated by the rock-synth fusion of Paul Engemann’s “Push It To The Limit”.
That year also saw Giorgio contribute to Flashdance with Irene Cara’s “Flashdance… What a Feeling”.
The following year, Giorgio started his own film project: a remaster of Fritz Lang’s 1927 film Metropolis. For his new cut of the film, Giorgio brought in an all star team of collaborators to create a new soundtrack for the film, including Pat Benatar, Jon Anderson, Bonnie Tyler, Loverboy, Adam Ant, and Freddie Mercury.
That same year, Giorgio seized an opportunity to have his work featured on a global stage. He wrote “Reach Out”, the official theme for the 1984 Summer Olympics. Giorgio also composed the official themes for the Summer Olympics of ’88 and ‘08.
In 1986, Giorgio scored his biggest film yet, Top Gun, with “Axel F” producer Harold Faltermeyer. Faltermeyer produced most of the instrumental themes, leaving Giorgio to churn out two separate hits for the film: “Danger Zone” with Kenny Loggins and “Take My Breath Away” with Berlin.
After Top Gun, Giorgio released a few more soundtracks for some forgettable films, and few forgettable albums, and in 1992 entered a 2 decade hiatis from music. During this time, Giorgio instead dabbled in graphic design and architecture, designing the Cizeta V16T supercar (which is illegal to drive in the United States) with Lamborghini’s Marcello Gandini.
After being away from music for 2 decades, Moroder made a surprise return. On May 15th, 2013, Google Racer was released with music composed and performed by Giorgio Moroder.
2 days later, French electronic duo Daft Punk released Random Access Memories. Moroder himself spoke on the track “Giorgio by Moroder” , a track heavily inspired by Moroder’s work. Random Access Memories won five Grammys that year, and the success and popularity of the album brought the Giorgio sound to the ears of a new generation, and interest in Giorgio was revitalized.
Giorgio released a new album on his own on June 12th, 2015: Déjà Vu. The album combined Giorgio’s production style with the latest and greatest in electronic music hardware and software, as well as a new batch of star collaborators, including Kylie Minogue, Sia, Charli XCX, Foxes, and Brittany Spears. Giorgio Moroder was back, proudly exclaiming “74 is the new 24!”
Despite his achievements, very few recognize Giorgio Moroder. In a survey of 21 CMU students, not one of them had heard of Giorgio Moroder.
No one had heard of Giorgio, but many were familiar with his work. What makes a man like Giorgio so invisible? To start, most of the music he released under his own name was in the 60’s and 70’s, and was marketed more toward European listeners. Giorgio’s works from this era were disco heavy, and got swept under the rug when disco went out of style in the 80’s. By then, Giorgio was largely working behind the scenes as a writer and producer. Giorgio took a two-decade hiatus in the nineties and naughties, while the internet was making it easier to share new content as well as go back and access media and information from the past. When Giorgio made his comeback, however, he took full advantage of the internet, creating a personal website, a Soundcloud, and a number of social media accounts.
Giorgio Moroder is quite possibly the greatest living musician, and the fact so few people recognize him is a shame. Giorgio’s work was so ahead of his time, and even now at the age of 78, Giorgio still has what it takes to make relevant and fun music.
