Pitchfork

Sally Shapiro came into being one day when the pseudonymous Swedish singer and her soon-to-be producer, Johan Agebjörn, were singing Christmas songs at a piano for fun. "Johan said that I have a very Italo disco voice," Shapiro recalled to Pitchfork's Matthew Solarski in a recent interview. He was right, and the result, Disco Romance, caught our imagination as soon as we heard first single "I'll Be By Your Side" last winter. Now, Agebjörn has kindly put together a Christmas mix for Pitchfork. Called "Crying on the Dancefloor", it includes one of the Italo disco singers he was probably thinking of that fateful day (Valerie Dore), a little-known Swedish synth-pop artist (Fake), a Shapiro bonus track, the source for her Nixon cover "Anorak Christmas", and, why not, "Take on Me". The full track list is below the link:

MP3:> Crying on the Dancefloor (Xmas Mix)

1. Fake: "Empty Garden" (Sound of Scandinavia) 1984
2. Valerie Dore: "Get Closer" (Merak Music) 1984
3. Sally Shapiro: "Skating In The Moonshine" (Paper Bag / Permanent Vacation) 2007
4. Squash Gang: "I Want An Illusion" (Indalo Music) 1986
5. Sandra: "Around My Heart" (Virgin) 1989
6. Angie Care: "Your Mind" (Merak Music) 1984
7. Nicolas Makelberge: "Dying In Africa" (Rico) 2006
8. Nixon: "Anorak Christmas" (Benno) 2001
9. A-ha: "Take On Me" (WEA) 1984

[Disco Romance is out now on Paper Bag/Diskokaine; Paper Bag's 5th Anniversery sampler is available for download here]