The Robotnick Dance

Well, if Derrick May is the Godfather Of Techno, then Alexander Robotnick must be the Grandfather Of Italo Disco. We were fortunate enough to be graced with his presence last saturday at Embryo for what I believe was his virgin appearance in the city. He played a nostalgic set of italo classics and some more upfront reinterpritations of the sound he championed in the pre-house days of the mid to late eighties. The tag 'Grandfather' comes not from the fact he is getting on a bit, but from the way he danced behind his laptop: swaying from side to side like a fragile puppet whose strings had just been cut, intererupted sporadically with funky air-guitar poses, the ash continually falling from his cigarette.

Someone else who is rapidly reaching that age is Mr John Riley, whose birthday we were celebrating. Happy birthday John, hope you enjoyed it!! A mention must be also given to "The Model" from the International Gigolo records camp, whose birthday it was too.