If not "westernised" as such, disco came along at a time when countries like India were becoming more sexually liberal and others, like those in the Eastern bloc, were becoming more politically open and i think it capitalised on both. Disco was sometimes also seen as fairly safe and uncontroversial, in comparison to rock, which let it slip into markets where access might otherwise have been restricted.
Disco influences are quite easy for us to spot - rock or more general "pop" influences might be there but don't stand out so much. I think there's also probably an element of confirmation bias - disco has a crate-digging culture, nobody is really hunting down Belarussian songs that sound like Tony Bennett.
― Inte Regina Lund eller nån, mitt namn är (ShariVari), Monday, 5 August 2013 16:58 (twelve years ago)