From disco king to Hollywood guru. This time on frametrax, we’ll listen to works from the man who pioneered the art of electronic scores, Giorgio Moroder.

He began to compose film soundtracks and scores, including Midnight Express, American Gigolo, Superman III, Scarface, The NeverEnding Story, and the 1984 restoration of Metropolis. Moroder’s work on the film Midnight Express (1978), which contained the international hit “Chase”, won him the Academy Award for Best Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. He also produced a number of electronic disco songs for the Three Degrees, two albums for Sparks, and a handful of songs on Bonnie Tyler’s album Bitterblue as well as her 1985 single “Here She Comes”. In 1990, he composed “Un’estate italiana”, the official theme song of the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Moroder has created songs for many performers including David Bowie, Falco, Kylie Minogue, Irene Cara, Janet Jackson, Madleen Kane, Melissa Manchester, Blondie, Japan and France Joli. Moroder has stated that the work of which he is most proud is Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away”, which earned him the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song after appearing in the film Top Gun in 1986; he had earned the same awards in 1983 for “Flashdance… What a Feeling” (as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for all of his work on Flashdance). In addition to the three Academy Awards and four Golden Globes, Moroder has also received four Grammy Awards, two People’s Choice Awards, and more than 100 Golden and Platinum discs. In 2004, he was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame.

Track Listings

Chase

Cat People

Duet

Ivory Tower

Giorgio’s New Dancing Shoes

Blood from a Stone

Swamps of Sadness

The Fight

Madeline’s Theme

Giorgio by Moroder

Take My Breath Away

Scarface