“This is it, look no further. This single is going to change the sound of club music for the next 15 years.” Brian Eno to David Bowie -1977
I Feel Love is a disco song written by Donna Summer and composed by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. Released in 1977 it is a seminal record for the development of electronic dance music being composed entirely with a Modular Moog synthesizer.
The Song begins with heavenly synth strings crescendoing a C chord. A 4/4 beat kicks at 126bpm with the iconic stoccato synth bass riff:
Mood: High energy, heavenly, euphoric, pulsing and tense.
Texture: Homophonic. Vocals accompanied by synthesized melodies.
Dynamics/Articulation: Dynamically consistent throughout, crescendos in the chorus.
Instrumentation/use of Technology: Modular Moog synthesizer panning left and right. Lots of reverb on vocals and delay on the synthesizer.
Vocals: Female mezzo soprano.
Key: Ebmaj and Cmaj
Structure: The musical idea is strophic but the vocals are in binary form. There’s a 16 bar intro before vocal verse begins. First verse lyrics are sung solo, the arpeggiated bass line ascends through four notes on a G blues scale; I – iii – iv – V for 26 bars. This ascension through the scale is also used in the chorus but over four bars. The chorus is only eight bars and features a second vocal singing in harmony. There is then an eight bar instrumental interlude. The next verse is a repeat of the first but keeps the harmonized vocals. The second chorus is punctuated with a volume increase in the hi-hat. After the second chorus, the percussion drops out to pronounce the bass line only then to be brought back for the fade out outro.
Song Analysis 