Giorgio Moroder ♫ Chase (theme from Midnight Express)

The Italian music maestro Giorgio Moroder turns 72 today. He was way ahead of his time, set a standard of excellence and was full of mad change. He was one of the first people using such quality production and electronics to make post-disco electronic dance music (though I think he was approaching it as pushing disco forward). All this piss poor electro that is coming out today must make him want to cry.

In a career that spans well over forty years, Moroder has a strong claim to being one of the most influential producers ever. His ground-breaking work with Donna Summer brought electronic music to the masses with the smash “I Feel Love” in 1977, while the duo’s earlier collaboration on “Love To Love You Baby” set in stone the template for the extended, orgasmic disco mix.

Then there are his seminal pop productions for the likes of Blondie, David Bowie, Sparks and the Human League’s Phil Oakey, plus his revolutionary synthesiser scores for Scarface, American Gigolo and Midnight Express (which bagged Moroder an Oscar for Best Score in 1978.)

Often written out of “serious” musical history because of his poppy tendencies, Moroder’s incredible legacy speaks for itself and has defiantly stood the test of time.

Here’s one of my favourite Moroder tracks, The Chase.