Arabesque (group)
Encyclopedia
Arabesque started as an all-girl trio at the height of the european disco
era in 1977 in Frankfurt, Germany
.
After the first album, the band lineup was changed by keeping only the original member Michaela Rose and replacing the two other girls with new members Jasmin Vetter and Sandra Lauer. After they split up in 1984, Jasmin and Michaela continued on as the duo "Rouge", while Sandra Lauer started her own career as a solo artist in collaboration with Michael Cretu
as Sandra
and later Enigma
.
Arabesque became extremely popular in Japan
, and also had a great deal of success in the USSR
. In 1980, the single "Take Me Don't Break Me" became a hit, which only scraped the German Top 40. Their next single, "Marigot Bay", would become their only Top Ten hit a few weeks later. Their last singles "Ecstasy" and "Time to Say Goodbye", became hits only after their split, in various Europe
an countries, as they sounded very close to the Italo-disco sound, a very popular music genre on the European dance scene at that time. Those songs spread and gained success through LP compilations of dance/pop music, and bootleg tapes, so, the band could never take advantage of this success, as neither those songs could properly appear on any music charts as "singles" anyway. (That was a common problem for many '80s European dance artists.)
These last Arabesque singles also introduced the "Italo-disco" sound to Japan, under the term "eurobeat", previously used in the UK
for the Stock Aitken Waterman
productions. That soon lead to Japan's Super Eurobeat
music style.
Euro disco
Euro disco is an all encompassing colloquial term used to describe a variety of European electronic dance music that first originated from disco in the 1970s; incorporating elements of pop, New Wave and rock into disco-like continuous dance atmosphere...
era in 1977 in Frankfurt, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
After the first album, the band lineup was changed by keeping only the original member Michaela Rose and replacing the two other girls with new members Jasmin Vetter and Sandra Lauer. After they split up in 1984, Jasmin and Michaela continued on as the duo "Rouge", while Sandra Lauer started her own career as a solo artist in collaboration with Michael Cretu
Michael Cretu
Michael Cretu is a Romanian musician. He is known also as Curly, MC or Curly M.C. because of his fair curled hair . His peak musical activity was with the Enigma project, which was mainly based in Germany....
as Sandra
Sandra
Sandra may refer to:*Sandra *Sandra , popular 1980s European singer–songwriter*Margaretha Sandra , Dutch woman soldier*Şandra, a commune in Timiş County, Romania*Şandra, a village in Beltiug Commune, Satu Mare County, Romania...
and later Enigma
Enigma
An enigma is a type of riddle generally expressed in radical or allegorical language that requires ingenuity and careful thought for its solution.Enigma, aenigma, or enigmatic may also refer to:-Music:...
.
Arabesque became extremely popular in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and also had a great deal of success in the USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. In 1980, the single "Take Me Don't Break Me" became a hit, which only scraped the German Top 40. Their next single, "Marigot Bay", would become their only Top Ten hit a few weeks later. Their last singles "Ecstasy" and "Time to Say Goodbye", became hits only after their split, in various Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an countries, as they sounded very close to the Italo-disco sound, a very popular music genre on the European dance scene at that time. Those songs spread and gained success through LP compilations of dance/pop music, and bootleg tapes, so, the band could never take advantage of this success, as neither those songs could properly appear on any music charts as "singles" anyway. (That was a common problem for many '80s European dance artists.)
These last Arabesque singles also introduced the "Italo-disco" sound to Japan, under the term "eurobeat", previously used in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for the Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman, sometimes known as SAW, were a UK songwriting and record producing trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. They had great success during the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s...
productions. That soon lead to Japan's Super Eurobeat
Super Eurobeat
Super Eurobeat is a CD compilation series of Eurobeat music in Japan. The series itself is one of the longest running in the entire world. It has been running for over twenty years and consists of 214 volumes as of May 2011...
music style.
Trivia
- On 16 December 2006, Arabesque (featuring Michaela Rose and two new members, Sabine Kaemper and Silke Brauner) headlined the second Retro FM festival in Moscow. According to RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n press they are planning a tour in Japan and possibly releasing a new album.
- In 2009 Fake BloodTheo KeatingTheo Keating, also known as Touché and Fake Blood, is a British DJ, musician and music producer who made his name as one half of The Wiseguys, a British hip hop/big beat band, together with Paul Eve...
released the dance single "I Think I Like ItI Think I Like It"I Think I Like It" is the second single by Fake Blood and first single from the Fix Your Accent EP.-Composition:"I Think I Like It" samples the song "In The Heat Of A Disco Night" by Arabesque.-Chart performance:...
" in which he used a sample of the 1979 Arabesque song "In the Heat of the Disco-night".
Albums
- 1978 Friday Night (also called Arabesque-I)
- 1979 City Cats (also called Arabesque-II)
- 1980 Marigot Bay (also called Arabesque-III)
- 1980 Midnight Dancer (also called Arabesque-IV)
- 1981 In for a Penny (also called Arabesque-V)
- 1981 Caballero (also called Arabesque-VI)
- 1982 Why No Reply (also called Arabesque-VII)
- 1983 Dance Dance Dance (also called Arabesque-VIII)
- 1984 Time to Say Good Bye (also called Arabesque-IX)
- 1994 Twin Best (2-CD compilation)
Singles
- 1977 "Hello Mr. Monkey"
- 1978 "Friday Night"
- 1979 "Fly High Little Butterfly" (Japan only)
- 1979 "Rock Me After Midnight" (Japan only)
- 1979 "City Cats" (Germany only)
- 1979 "Peppermint Jack"
- 1980 "High Life" (Japan only)
- 1980 "Parties in a Penthouse" (Japan only)
- 1980 "Make Love Whenever You Can" (Japan only)
- 1980 "Take Me Don't Break Me" (Germany only)
- 1980 "Marigot Bay" (Germany only)
- 1981 "Midnight Dancer" (Japan only)
- 1981 "In for a Penny, in for a Pound"
- 1981 "Billy's Barbeque" (Japan only)
- 1981 "Hit the Jackpot" (Japan only)
- 1982 "Caballero" (Japan only)
- 1982 "Young Fingers Get Burnt" (Japan only)
- 1982 "Indio Boy" (Germany only)
- 1982 "Tall Story Teller" (Germany only)
- 1983 "Why No Reply"
- 1983 "Pick It Up" (Japan only)
- 1983 "Dance, Dance, Dance" (Japan only)
- 1983 "Loser Pays the Piper" (Japan only)
- 1983 "Sunrise in Your Eyes" (Germany only)
- 1984 "Hearts on Fire" (Japan only)
- 1985 "Time to Say Goodbye"
- 1986 "Ecstasy" (Germany only)
- 1998 "Hello Mr. Monkey '98" (Remix)
Singles
- 1986 "Hold On" / "Perfect Timing"
- 1987 "Einer Von Uns" / "Nobody Knows" (Entry in the German Eurovision selections 1987)
- 1987 "The Leader of the Pack" / "So Close"
- 1988 "Love Line Operator" / "Love Line Operator" (Instrumental)
- 1988 "Love Line Operator" (Extended version) / "Love Line Operator" (Real Life Mix)
- 1988 "Koi Wa No Time" (Japan only)
- 1989 "Koi Wa No Time ~Loving Me Totally~" (Japan only) (English version of above, performed in the Tokyo Music Festival 1989)
External links
- Arabesque feat. Michaela Rose
- http://www.arabesque-music.de
- http://www6.plala.or.jp/arabesque/index.htm
- big section about Arabesque band