Alec R. Costandinos

Alec R. Costandinos’ documenting career might have been short-lived, however the Euro-disco manufacturer dominated the disco globe during his past due-’70s reign. After having produced a name for himself after co-writing Cerrone’s “Like in C Small” in 1977, Costandinos agreed upon to the French label Barclay where he released his first record as Like and Kisses. This self-titled 1977 LP highlighted the classic disco strike “THERE IS Love (GIVEN THAT THERE IS You).” Shortly he was launching hit information on America’s best disco label, Casablanca. Probably moreover, though, he presented the concept record to dancefloor music along with his well-regarded Romeo & Juliet record in 1977, accompanied by several other less effective conceptual initiatives. He became most widely known for “THERE IS Like,” “Romeo and Juliet,” and “Give thanks to God It’s Fri” (the theme melody to the film from the same name), but actually vanished after a prolific 1977 to 1979 operate. Before Costandinos became among the world’s best Euro-disco makers, though, he started his career creating tracks by French pop performers such as for example Dalida and Claude Francoise. Created Alexandre Kouyoumdjiam in Cairo, Egypt, in 1944 for an Armenian dad and a Greek mom, he transferred to Paris at age group 22 over time spent in Australia. It had been his use Cerrone there that finally became his big break, and with the acclaim he garnered from “Appreciate in C Small,” he create store in London’s Trident Studios and started working non-stop for another three years. Initial emerged the 1977 self-titled debut by Like and Kisses on Barclay. This debut verified Costandinos’ present for epic disco anthems, which frequently clocked over a quarter-hour and spanned the complete aspect of the LP. Next emerged his first discharge for Neil Bogart’s Casablanca label, a conceptual disco LP released beneath the moniker Sphinx. The record wasn’t a big success, nonetheless it was amazing using its ambitious range. Another conceptual discharge beneath the moniker Sumeria, Golden Tears, was likewise ambitious, nonetheless it was Costandinos’ landmark Romeo & Juliet record, released under his very own name, that solidified his legacy. Shortly Costandinos was composing the strike theme song towards the Casablanca-affiliated disco film Give thanks to God It’s Fri and adding another hit melody, “You’re one of the most Precious Part of MY ENTIRE LIFE,” towards the film’s soundtrack. Concurrently, he continued liberating albums as Like and Kisses — JUST HOW MUCH, How Much I REALLY LIKE You (1978) and YOU NEED TO Be Like (1979) — and in addition released two soundtrack albums: Trocadero Bleu Citron (1978) and Winds of Modification (1979). As though this wasn’t plenty of music for his enthusiasts to take, the prolific maker also released another idea recording, Hunchback of Notre Dame (1978), and collaborated with Raymond Knehnetsky inside a part project known as Paris Connection, liberating a self-titled recording on Casablanca in 1978. By nowadays, Costandinos got his personal orchestra, which he prominently presented within the 1979 recording The Synchophonic Orchestra Featuring Alirol and Jacquet, and in addition had his personal vocalist group known as the Parrots of Paris. Following a successes of 1977 and 1978, Costandinos’ profession began spiraling inside a unusual path as 1979 advanced. His YOU NEED TO Be Love recording as Like and Kisses was a reasonable yet formulaic providing, streamlined a little with regards to song size for commercial approval. It had been The Synchophonic Orchestra recording, though, that became the omen. To begin with, the record featured another aspect of down-tempo music that had small regarding the dancefloor. Besides this out-of-character move, Costandinos just composed two from the album’s music, allowing his orchestra deal with a lot of the songwriting. As the record did have got the producer’s brand audio, it signaled his waning passion after the many albums he released during 1978 and 1979. Furthermore, an ill-fated record with Tina Turner, Like Explosion, certainly didn’t help. Costandinos shortly parted ways using the attempting Casablanca and dropped into oblivion just like disco was nearing its last days being a mass motion. In 1991, his Greatest Strikes record surfaced, which highlighted some of his early dancefloor anthems within their epic glory, but also for the most component, his work continued to be out of printing, obscuring his relevance among the disco era’s leading producers.