Alexander Robotnick: smokin' disco don!

Maurizio Dami, aka Alexander Robotnick, is an Italo disco/new wave legend who is still pumping out new music, and videos like the one above. You have to hand it to Maurizio, because even though there’s a huge copy of “I Wanna Believe” by Gina and Flexix shpinning around in the background, prompting a bit of impromptu rug cuttin’ from yours truly, this does not — and I repeat does not — mean that he has to put down the cigarette and lighter that are in his left hand.

You know it, a lively get down session to some Italo classics makes you want to pull out the fags (slang on the isles for cigareets) and have a good, old puff or three. You might also notice that at 2 mins and 3 seconds the geezer with the Phantasm record has bent his cigarette, another significant risk that has been plaguing euro disco djs (and djs in other genres too) for years.

A good way to avoid this unsightly arching is to place the record on the turntable, get it in the mix, and then pull out the cancer shtick and inhale while enjoying the combined pleasure of a obscure, spinning record that you found at Community Thrift (a hallowed San Francisco used vinyl resource) for a quarter in 1994, the otherworldly sounds emanating from the aforementioned rekkid and the pleasure of the ciggy. If it’s a Newport, then it will be Newport Pleasure or it will alive with pleasure and so will you (for the moment anyways).

The previous para should in no way be construed as product placement for Newport and hi jinks aside, hats off to Mr. Robotnick. His records rule and if you’ve heard “Problemes D’Amour,” or “Dance Boy Dance” you can attest to that. He’s still making tunes and recent efforts on the Endless Flight label, which has put out records by Tensnake and the Betty Botox re-edit stuff, are worthy of further, detailed investigation. And he djs all over the shop, in Europe and in the U.S., in fact he’s playing in San Diego on October 9th I believe. So if you’re gonna make a quirky, fun and thoroughly entertaining video showing you and yer pals nerding out on yer fave tunes, l keep a box of ciggies handy, and midway into the action, get smoking,’ fuck it you could even burst into flames if you want. Does any of this make sense to anyone other than me?

Orr