Dionysus Virus
This album is so good! It perfectly captures that 80’s sound. There’s no way I can pick a favorite because every song is great. I really enjoyed the Rude 66 808 remix of I’ll be by Your Side. It reminds me of Freestyle music, which was really popular here in Chicago back in the 80’s and 90’s. Sally’s soft voice is a beautiful cool breeze and accompanied by Johan’s amazing production you can’t go wrong. I’ve listened to this twice all the way through without skipping a song. A timeless album.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Purchasable with gift card
€8EUR or more
Cassette + Digital Album
10-track professionally manufactured cassette on Johan's label Husmus Media, limited to 150 copies. (If you want it signed by Sally (& Johan) then please state so in the message field when you order!)
Includes unlimited streaming of Disco Romance
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 10 days
edition of 150
Purchasable with gift card
€14EURor more
Compact Disc
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
9-track CD on Sound Improvement Records (with the artwork of the release on Paper Bag Records).
Includes unlimited streaming of Disco Romance
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Sold Out
White Vinyl 2LP
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
White vinyl 2LP limited to 500 copies, including the North American 10-track tracklisting. Sold out on Bandcamp but available from Paper Bag shop: shop.paperbagrecords.com/products/disco-romance
Includes unlimited streaming of Disco Romance
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Back in 2006, we were inspired by melancholic italo disco like Valerie Dore and Savage, as well as French 80s disco artist Mylène Farmer. We thought this kind of music deserved to be made again, and set out to make Disco Romance. We had a zero budget and borrowed a microphone from Johan's brother to record the vocals. Johan wasn't allowed into the room when Sally was singing on his instrumentals, so he mowed the lawn outdoors during the recording sessions.
"One of the 2000s’ best electronic pop albums" Beats Per Minute
"Songwriter/producer Johan Agebjörn and his publicity-shy Swedish muse resurrect Italo disco as a vehicle for deeply nostalgic and sorrowful Swedish indie pop, resulting in a eloquent, auspicious debut album. Agebjörn's tracks build gradually, drop melodies that could melt whatever global warming leaves behind, and then hold on for dear life, while vocalist Sally Shapiro's guileless vocals put an angelic face on her producer's melancholy."
Pitchfork "Best New Music"
"This album pulls out all the right tricks to faithfully evoke Italo at its best -- vocoded vocals, spacey synth washes, squelchy electronic squiggles, octave-jumping ostinato basslines -- while also incorporating just enough variety in tempo and rhythm to avoid the genre's propensity for monotonous excess."
Allmusic
"The best Eurodisco is cotton candy for the ears, a sugar rush of sparkling synths, hypnobeat and delicate melody. This Swedish production hooks you before the vocals even start."
USA Today
"Anyone wondering what the heck happened to fellow Scandinavian electro-pop siren Annie can nuzzle up to Agebjörn's sparkling synthesizers and Shapiro's tales of lonely nights ice skating. "Romance" is nuanced enough to lend mystery to the image of a button-nosed Swede singing about her anorak."
Los Angeles Times
"While Shapiro's shy, adolescent coo and wounded heart are key - she supposedly demands solitude in the studio when laying down vocals - producer Johan Agebjörn's indulgent tracks make the record. His songs are a hazy, neon-colored synth-pop dream, keytar solos mixed with the cheesiest of escapist, electro-fueled '80s film soundtracks."
XLR8R
"She doesn't perform, give in-person interviews, or reveal her real name. Instead, she offers a love that can burn away the darkness of a lonely heart. Swedish producer Johan Agebjörn re-creates his childhood's soundtrack with uncanny precision, nailing not just the proper drum sounds, but also fluttering keyboard harmonies that weep with wintry joy."
Spin
"Recording under a pseudonym, she comes across almost as too perfect in these songs, closer to a male fantasy than a flesh-and-blood woman. Nevertheless, Agebjörn’s imaginative disco production makes an ideal backdrop for Shapiro’s introverted vocals, which infuse Disco Romance with the artist’s distinct personality."
Paste Magazine
credits
released December 5, 2006
All tracks written by Johan Agebjörn, except track 5 written by Roger Gunnarsson and music on track 9 composed by Erik van den Broek. Vocals by Sally Shapiro. Backing vocals by Johan Agebjörn, on track 5 and 7 also by Evelina Joëlson. Track 10 remixed by Rude 66. Mastered by Patrick Pulsinger, except track 5 pre-mastered by Q-Force, mastered by SLL and finally by Johan Agebjörn, and track 7 mastered by SLL. Photo by Frida Klingberg. Produced by Johan Agebjörn. Originally released on Diskokaine.
Sally Shapiro's music is heavily influenced by 80s italo disco. The project also includes the composer and producer Johan Agebjörn, both live in Lund, Sweden. Sally Shapiro's real name is something else. She does not perform live.
I called tech support on a large brown phone & he kindly installed this album on my Amiga Pro Desktop! I was so pleased I faxed him an enthusiastic thank you note.
JULIA ROBOTS ᵔᴥᵔ
Woozy, vocal-driven synthwave captures the spirit and feel of the ’80s, with tremendous choruses and neon-hot electronics. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 28, 2020
'80's style neon-lit future pop with big, warm analog synths and a sugared edge from members of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 22, 2018
I listened to this album three times already. I really enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed listening to Infinite Embrace while reading the 12th chapter of The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy and her friends were in the land of the Wicked Witch of the West and she sent armies of Wolves, Black Bees, her slaves and then the Flying Monkeys. The Tinman is chopping off wolf heads like a badass. The book is much darker and somehow this chapter worked really well with that track. I have quite a few favorites. Dionysus Virus