Italo-Disco is a style of dance music originating in Europe in the late 1970s. Following the decline of Disco, it reached its peak level of popularity in the early to mid-1980s. Despite the name, Italo-Disco was not exclusively confined to Italy. Germany and other European countries also produced music in this style. Its name is derived from The Best of Italo Disco series of compilations.
The sound is characterized by the use of synthesizers, drum machines, and sometimes vocoders to create a more mechanical, purely electronic version of Disco. Italo-Disco has a spacy, "futuristic" atmosphere in comparison to Euro-Disco's lightweight, bouncy and more pop-oriented style. Lyrics were sung in English, which, due to its secondary nature in the European countries where Italo-Disco was produced, led to simplistic lyrics sung with thick accents and therefore more emphasis on melody. Italo-Disco's popularity had declined by the late 1980s, giving way to dance genres such as Italo House and Eurodance.