Chic
Jackson 5
The Bee Gees
KC & the Sunshine Band
The Village People
ABBA
Disco Fingerprints
Influences
R&B
Gospel
Soul (Philadelphia soul)
Funk
Latin
Instrumentation
Vocals and BVs, drums, percussion, bass, electric guitar, piano or clavinet, electric piano, organ, horn section (trumpet sax and trombone), string section.
Performance and Arrangement
- 120 bpm – for DANCING
- Kick drum playing 4 to the floor, back beat and offbeat open hihat
- Latino, syncopated percussion
- Bass lines melodic and syncopated often playing ocatves.
- Keyboards and guitar playing very rhythmic short choppy
- Horns doing soul-like stabs
- Vocal melodies just like soul
- Simple chord progressions, but with added notes (7ths and 9ths)
Technology and Production
- Multi-track tape machines (4 or 8 track recorders).
- Rich sound with lots of reverb
- Use of the Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and Hohner Clavinet
- Use of Wah Wah padal for guitar
- Electronic handclaps
- Kick drum triggered to low synth to give extra
- Released on 12” records so would last for 7 minutes
- The re-mix binvented as instrumental extended version were created for clubs.
- DJs would beat match between them.
- Complex techniques showed producers having more creative input.
Main Artists
Chic
The Bee Gees
The Jackson 5
KC and the sunshine Band
Barry White
Village People (YMCA)
ABBA