De-Ja-Vu

Klein & MBO’s ’82 Italo-disco album is truly a prescient record, sonically predicting the sound of house and techno that would emerge in the 80s. It’s a transitional album, the sound of disco being reinterpreted via synths and sequencers, mixing guitars and vocals with the latest studio technology. You could take the aesthetic of this album, abstract it, turn down the whimsy and add some funk and you’ve pretty much got techno. It’s hypnotic, obsessively clear, clean and precise, like a more poppy Kraftwerk but with better drums and additional quaint female vocals. Including the seminal Italo track Dirty Talk, De-Ja-Vu is an important record in the history of electronic music and is still revered in dance music circles.