Disco Bambino and the enduring appeal of Italian disco

0:12Hello and welcome to the Monaco Weekly. For today's show, I speak with producer and scholar Beppe Savone, also founder of Disco Bambino, a project celebrating Italian disco. It seems the genre is back full force, thanks to people like Beppe and a young generation celebrating those Italian artists from the 70s. Here is Beppe with more about his Disco Bambino.

1:11Beppe Savoni, what a pleasure having you here on Monaco Radio because I am a huge fan, you know, of everything you do. Basically, you're a DJ, you're a scholar, you're an Italian disco enthusiast, and your Instagram account is probably one of the best I've seen out there. Thank you. Beppe, I just want to ask you a little bit more about your background. I mean, you are based in New York, but of course you are from Italy, right? Were you always, from a very young age, interested in that period of Italian music? And I wonder if you can tell us more about this period that you focus in particular. Yes.

1:49As you said, I live in New York now, but I was born and raised in Italy, in a small town in southern Italy, in a region called Puglia. And this whole interest in disco music, it's been really since the very beginning of my life. Sometimes I think that I'm the reincarnation of somebody, I don't know, of a DJ or something, because the earliest memory, really, it's when I was three years old, four years old, dancing on the table for my family, dancing, you know, in front of a mirror. So there's always been this incredible connection to music since the very early years of my life. And, you know, my mom always says that since I was a kid, I never asked for toys.

2:32I would always ask for records, records, records. And I also had the luck to have my cousin who was my babysitter. I was like four or five. Both my parents were working. And my older cousin, she was 16, 17. So we're talking about the end of the 70s. That really is the period when disco music was really strong and discotheques. So instead of taking me to the park, you know, taking me to see other kids, she would take me with her to these disco clubs. And I would just love it. I would just be there dancing on the dance floor, being surrounded by this incredible energy of these kids being themselves.

3:13Because, you know, discotheques were these incredible places where people could liberate themselves. And so I was part of that. And the reason why I call this whole project Disco Bambino, it's really because it connects so much to my inner Bambino. You were the disco bambino when you were a kid. I am the disco bambino since I was really a kid. So, yes, it's always been there. It's never been an interest that I developed later. It's very primitive to me. One thing that strikes me, you know, even looking at your page, but let's talk about someone that is perhaps our, you know, a lot of our listeners will recognize her, the wonderful Rafaela Carat.

3:55Even if you look at the older videos, I mean, it's strange. It feels very current, you know, so many of the pop stars we see today, you know, very young. I mean, my God, Kara was doing and sometimes the outfit didn't change very much. Yeah, if you think about it. So it is a very influential period, if you think about it, right?

4:39It is, it is. And there are a couple of really interesting things about this. The first is that, you know, if we think of the 70s in Italy, the social political background was very rough. You know, there were like kidnappings, bombings, terrorist attacks. there was like really strong conflicts between the extreme left and the extreme right so out of this tension you know the first interesting thing is that there's all this art coming out right people need needed to escape to be creative and then the other interesting fact is that everything was experimentation that's what i really love about that period there was really no reference there was no playbook nobody was saying oh let's try this because someone else has done it you know maybe there were like some references that would come from here from there from the UK from you know from America but they would be very faint you know there was no internet so everything that was going on at the time was just okay let's try it and let's see if it works So it was pure experimentation.

5:48And that experimentation kind of set the tone for a lot of other decades that came after. Those were the years where a lot of designers, you know, kind of created and formed their aesthetics, Italian designers, of course. So it was a great fountain of inspiration that then obviously developed, you know, also kind of being contaminated with a lot of other influences. And so it developed this kind of really unique universe, you know, that I love and a lot of people still love today. They do. And I see, I mean, it's interesting, even on social media platforms, like even younger than Instagram, like TikTok, for example, there's so many kind of Italo disco or Italian songs from that period being played.

6:38And the people are posting, they're practically teenagers. that's right a lot of them are very young to them it feels really out there you know today we like to think of us as evolved uh you know under many aspects of free but um you know we get so many kind of rules from the outside world right and so many parameters that whenever we see a video or a song from that era, to us it feels completely free and, you know, and completely really out there. And I think a lot of people connect with that, their desire to be free, to think out of the box, it's reflected in those images and in that music. And I felt that in one of your latest posts about someone that I did not know, which is Nadia Cassini and for me it was sexy, hypnotic I mean, I don't know, maybe transcendental even, you know I was in love with that video and thank you for showing us something that, you know, Rafaela Cara, a lot of people know she's amazing, but Nadia Cassini perhaps, at least I didn't know

8:01Just floating on. Floating on. Floating on. Floating on. Floating on in front of the night. Yeah, Nadia Cassini, it's a very, very interesting figure, you know, from that era that I love. I keep posting her videos because I, me too, even though I used to see her on TV when I was a kid. And still today, when I see her performances, the costumes, I really find it truly, truly incredible. And she's a very interesting character because she she kind of came from the world of the erotic comedy, like kind of B-movie world from, you know, the Italian culture and entertainment world of those years. And then she started becoming kind of, you know, a vedette for this Italian variety show.

8:54She was extremely beautiful. She was the dream of, you know, many Italians. And then she also recorded music. And actually, she has one album that her first album that it's musically, it's incredible. I mean, because obviously they would put together these great producers, great arrangers, studios to create, obviously, that, you know, business entertainment machine around her. but you know what it's seen as a one-shot kind of thing you know skip 40 years 50 years it sounds innovative it sounds new like nothing else out there so it's really wonderful that people are interested in Nadia Cassini who passed away a couple of years ago so to me it's uh this is really really wonderful yeah we're missing all the divas you know with Ornella recently as well yes yes pepe i was you know i was going to ask you as well because you're not just a scholar besides showcasing all this beautiful work you are a musician i mean you play you play you've released a few singles and a few compilations as well so it's nice so you're actually taking some action because some of those tracks they're not so easy to find actually so i think there's a lot of hard work i'm sure you have to talk about the rights and i mean you tell me yeah yeah i mean i start as a musician producer that's what brought me to new york in 1997 you know i came to new york to work in music and and and i did i you know i signed uh back then i was signed to a label i was doing a very different kind of music i was doing house music and then it kind of evolved into other things but there is one constant since i was a kid and that was the one of collecting records, you know, vinyl records.

10:41So imagine since the beginning of my life and my childhood still today, I just love the physical medium, you know, records themselves for the way they sound, also the artwork and the way they're put together. Everything about it really intrigues me. So that to me was the base to kind of also start digging into these unknown producers, unknown singers, you know, people that, I don't know, put some money together and released a single in 1979, 1980, and then it's completely forgotten because nobody cared about it. So I love to kind of dig deep and then bring it back, whether it's through a DJ set, whether it's through a rework or, or even like, you know, composing new music, but getting inspiration from, you know, those melodies, those drums, those synths, those voices.

11:35So in a way, what I do, it's kind of rediscovering things that have happened in the past so that they're not forgotten, but at the same also showing the world out there that this is inspiration that can generate new things. It's not museum stuff that kind of stays on a pedestal. You watch it, you see it, you hear it. And people are getting inspiration, even contemporary musicians, whether they're recording, they're singing, they're making a music video, they're designing a cover for their music. It's a constant fountain of inspiration. And I try to kind of reflect it in everything I do, whether it's DJ set, making music, Instagram, mixtapes, you name it.

12:21But I love it because it's such a complex universe that cannot be expressed through one single thing. So that's what I try to do. I want it all. And it's funny, we're talking about influences. I mean, even the Queen, Madonna. I mean, this is a rumor, by the way, I have to tell our listeners. But apparently there might be a cover of Patti Bravo, Pensiero Estupendo. I hope so. But that's interesting. So I think even someone like Madonna probably took some inspiration from that period, right? Yes, absolutely. I mean, and she's not the only one. There's a lot of people, you know, that whether it's music, whether it's style, it's look, you know, are either, you know, it's a coincidence or they're, you know, directly take inspiration from that era.

13:12Those artists from, you know, the Italian late 70s, early 80s. I think there was a few years ago that I didn't even think about it until somebody pointed it out. I posted a video of this Italian singer. She's very active still now. She's wonderful. Joe Squillo. And she was performing in 1985, you know, a song on TV with the white hair and kind of a cape dress, the round glasses. And then somebody wrote to me, it's like, isn't this Lady Gaga from the fame period? And then I said, you are totally right. You know, it's, but is it inspiration? Is it coincidence? Is it, you know, it's all very fluid today, of course, as we know.

13:58Everything inspires everybody. But it's very, you know, much, it's, like I said, it's something that is still very much alive 40, 50 years later that inspired artists in many different ways. Pepe, if somebody, let's say, who is not, who perhaps don't know much about Italian disco, I wonder if you can give us perhaps three recommendations of someone that is like, okay, this is, you know, you need to learn this before you come to my account and have a look at someone like Nadia Cassini. Yeah, I mean, the interesting thing about Italian disco is that as soon as it started developing, it really went almost straight into mainstream culture.

14:38There was a moment that it was kind of underground, that only people going out to gay clubs or certain places would be exposed to. But it entered TV right away. If you see some of the TV shows from the late 70s, you'd be surprised for what they perform, what they sing, what they dance, etc. So I'll give you kind of like three levels, right? Perfect. This starter pack. you know for the main level let's say the mainstream level i would start really with you know people like popular artist characters like donatella rettore you know her early albums like 1979 splendid o splendente you know that's like a good start yeah ornella vanoni ti voglio raffaella carra you know there are some things that she did that are kind of pretty disco especially her album from 1978-79.

15:36So let's say if you dig into like the divas, you know, of the mainstream culture of Italy, you'll find something.

16:13Then, you know, you're going to like a B-level, well, level two, let's just say, that it's a little bit more obscure. And there are, you know, characters like Nadia Cassini I highly recommend. I think it's called Close Encounters, her first album. I think it's Close Encounters of the Loving Kind, something like that, which is incredible.

17:01And you should see also the artwork and the inner sleeve. It's really gorgeous, beautiful. And, you know, there's her, there's another band called Le Streghe, which, again, kind of, you know, almost an unknown band that got together to do a disco album. So that's that. But then if you keep digging, there are producers. You start focusing on certain producers that did music. and then, you know, they were releasing singles here and there, naming it always differently with a different band. And so if you look for Celso Valli, which is another incredible producer that passed away a few months ago, he has an incredible, obscure disco production.

18:04And also Mauro Malavassi, you know, which is also an Italian producer, I believe is from Bologna, who produced incredible tracks that a lot of people even think it's American disco, but it's Italian disco. These are more or less the three levels. Maybe, you know, I speak very quickly, so I don't know if you have the time to take notes, but maybe you can replay the interview if you're listening to this and note it down. I think people should do that. And a very random question, just so people don't get confused, but they are similar and different. I don't know, you tell me, what's the difference of Italian disco and Italo disco?

18:41They live sometimes in the same world, but what do you think? well you you know the general perception is that anything that is produced in italy or it sounds italian or is sung in italian um it's it's labeled as italo disco so i've wanted to make this this the distinction between italian disco and italo disco since the very beginning when i started doing this disco bambino and the reason why is that it's really two different genres two different styles that belong to two different eras. So let's say Italian disco starts from, let's say 1970s, like really early 70s. And some people even claim that there are things even in the late 60s.

19:25And it kind of goes up to 1980, while the Italo disco starts from 1981, 82, and kind of goes on until 1987, 88. There are many differences between the two of them, but I would say that Italian disco is a genre that is mainly played by acoustic instruments. And so real bass, real piano, real guitar, et cetera. And it was a style of music that was performed by real musicians. I mean, if we think of Italy, early 70s, it was musicians coming from orchestras, you know, from, you know, like had a classical background. So they were, you know, they knew how to play these instruments. While Italo disco is more the era of the synthesizers, right?

20:09So it's when synthesizers started becoming commercially available and affordable. So a lot of DJs, non-musicians or music enthusiasts, that's when they start producing music. And also an interesting thing that I thought about lately, even the experience of how the people live the experience of dancing to Italian disco versus dancing Italo disco. Italian disco, as a genre, it's a very collective kind of experience. So people would go to the clubs in the early mid-70s, late-70s, to be together, to be with other people and share their passion for music, passion for fun. While later in the 80s, the disco scene kind of starts becoming fragmented.

20:55And the experience of going to a club, it's very individualistic. It's also the year, the years when the club scene, club culture starts becoming very fragmented, right? There were clubs that played disco, but there were clubs that play New Wave. There were clubs playing other styles of music. So there are very, very strong differences. And when I talk about this, I always play some, you know, music, some examples to tell people. It's two different worlds in many different ways. Thank you for the lesson. I'm a fan of both, but I wanted to clarify that. So I think you explained it perfectly. And Beppe, a question.

21:392026, are you excited? You know, as a fan here, I want to know if you have any projects or, you know, whatever you can tell us. You know, I'm sure there'll be a more amazing post to Disco Bambino, but I wonder if there are upcoming releases or gigs. I don't know. Yes. I mean, there will be gigs for sure, as always. you know the gigs thing it's it's so funny because i was never a real dj but i kind of had to reinvent myself because people wanted to listen to this music in a club you know context so for sure there will be plenty of gigs especially in in europe but also in u.s there are some really interesting things going on i've been kind of basically i locked myself up in the studio for the past two months so we've been i've been collaborating with a lot of really interesting artists it's still a little bit confidential right now but you know some of them really young some of them are really known trying to again bring that type of universe sonic universe into the studio to create something new so look for you know some new music from disco bambino uh and then always you know there's always this newsletter that i curate with my dear friend angelica frey it's called italian disco stories where we kind of talk about the literature of Italian disco.

22:57You know, when you hear disco, it's always like kind of a listening experience. But we love to tell the stories of the producers that, you know, were behind this world, the artists that sometimes we go deep into arrangements and, you know, certain songs, certain albums. So, yeah, I will do my best to, you know, collect the energy to keep doing this even into 2026.

23:26Sendo l 'anima mia Non hai l 'anima Que o que mais contenta é Vista de mim Quando cero Eu me sento Morire De piacere Mas por quê? Thank you, Beppe. You can follow him on Instagram at disco underscore bambino. Stay tuned for new music from Renazuel coming out this spring. DJ gigs in February and March in Europe and the US, and a university tour to talk about Italian disco culture to students in the US and Europe. This show was edited by Steph Tchungu, and I am Fernando Augusto Pacheco. Thank you for listening.