If you had single-handedly changed the direction of electronic music, you’d probably take a bit of time off, too. Deja-vu is Giorgio Moroder’s first solo album since a collaboration with Phil Oakey in 1985. During that time, he’s been playing “a lot of golf”, while the sound he pioneered has stretched across almost all modern pop. The guest list for this comeback – spurred on by his 2013 collaboration with Daft Punk – is a reminder of his status: Sia, Charli XCX, Kylie and Britney all appear. It’s probably a bit much to expect Moroder, who recently turned 75, to reinvent pop all over again. Some moments here are unmistakably him, such as the icy synth intro to Back & Forth, which features a vocoder-addled Kelis. But for every decent chorus, there is a moment where Moroder falls victim to his own vast influence, and the likes of Don’t Let Go and Tempted feel like generic chart pop you’ve heard before – probably not the kind of deja vu he was after.
