You can trust Strut to unearth a monster like this. Whilst most are keen to mine Italian disco, perhaps prog or even old Giallo and horror movie soundtracks, Strut uncovers a vibrant underground electronic music culture where no one outside (and possibly inside) Italy realised there was one. It’s the soundtrack to the instability and political turmoil that Italy had experienced from the 60′ thru the 70′ and finally ending in the mid 80′, that often spilled out onto the streets with bombings and political assassinations. It’s within this backdrop that much of this music comes, hard edged electro punk and new wave music which at times delves into almost industrial territory but retains its underground DIY feel – possibly because the tools they’re using are so rudimentary.
This is militant music from both the left and the right, the sounds intrinsically linked with the political message. With primal metronomic drum machine beats and basic synth work as well as the often treated vocals, it’s a dark, confronting seemingly austere world. You have to wonder what kinds of messages they were sending.
A two cd set, featuring 26 cuts, there’ some pretty weird and wonky stuff here, featuring some really off kilter at times even edgy experimental techniques, yet it’s usually all tied together with those repetitive beats, which gives the false impression of cohesion.
Much of the material here is extraordinarily rare, often only coming out on DIY cassette at the time (usually attached to fanzines) in really limited numbers. In fact the bands, the fanzines and political activism were It was compiled by Alessio Natalizia of Kompakt outfit Walls, whose aim was to bring this unexpected genre to a wider audience and demonstrate some of the innovative approaches at play. With names like Die Form, Suicide Dada, Rats, and Laxative Souls, the curious thing is that the majority of the names and titles, and even at times the vocals are in English. This might give some indication as where the influences lie. Yet like all transplanted music the Italians have made it very much their own, even occasionally applying some almost operatic bombastic flourishes.
This is a remarkable collection of music. It’s weird, dark, beautiful yet endlessly inventive and ridiculously obscure. It’s why labels like Strut were invented. There are links to experimental and underground new wave music from New York or London, but this very much has it’s own identity. It’s funky and bombastic at times it feels outlandish and atonal – more than likely an audio representation of the tension and uncertainty of the time. But it’s truly unique impassioned music, brimming with a punk infused DIY spirit and the possibilities are endless.
