- BY ISSIMO
- August 29, 2024
“When Italian disco music became a ‘phenomenon’ in the late 70s, it wasn’t just about the music. It was an entire cultural movement that swept through all aspects of life and society – from lifestyle, to fashion, to design, and most importantly, self-expression. It was a celebration of individuality, sensory pleasure, and it was a platform for a new wave of young people to express themselves. It changed the game completely in Italy,” says Beppe Savoni.
If we can count on anyone to immerse us in the addictive music, creative innovation and iconic glamour of Italy in the late 70s and early 80s, it’s Beppe. The founder of the multi-platform ‘universe’ Disco Bambino has dedicated his career to exploring, celebrating and sharing his extensive knowledge about Italian disco with his global community through music, videos, stories and live sets he curates and plays around the world.
Based in New York, the Italian-born and raised music curator, producer and creative director grew up with a first-hand experience of Italian disco music, which captivated him from a young age. Whether it’s an Instagram clip of Raffaella Carrà in one of her spectacular dance sequences, or a special setlist he plays to take a crowd dance floor on an authentic ‘journey’ through the Italian disco era, Beppe is like a walking Italian disco encyclopaedia. We were lucky to have a chat with him recently, and discover some of his deep insights into what calls this “complex and fascinating period.”
The ‘Disco Bambino’ universe
“I like to think of Disco Bambino as a little universe of its own. The project dives into the world of Italian disco at the end of the 70s and into the early 80s, exploring and celebrating the era’s music, songs and producers, as well as trends, fashion, and more. It captures my desire to recreate the world around me when I was young, both musically and artistically,” Beppe says.
The project name ‘Disco Bambino’ makes perfect sense when we discover that Italian disco music has been part of Beppe’s life since he was a kid. In fact, some of his earliest memories include spending hours listening to his older brothers’ Italian disco records when the genre first exploded in the late 70s, and spending Sunday afternoons immersed in a mesmerising whirlwind of music, lights and colourful characters at the disco in his hometown where he snuck in with his older cousins. The atmosphere and energy Beppe felt during these early experiences undoubtedly sparked his fascination with Italian disco music, which he says has been “in his veins” ever since.
“Growing up, I always collected records. As my interest and curiosity in Italian disco music grew, I went deeper into the genre, and even beyond it. Wherever I could find a trace of disco music made in Italy, by Italians, I would explore it,” he tells us. It’s no surprise then that Beppe has worked with a team of artists and creatives to produce a Disco Bambino track titled ‘A Te’, written with his partner and art director Giuseppe Giammetta which was released earlier this year. The song is a tribute to the role of music as a constant source of inspiration in his life since childhood, and to his mom Lucia.
Italian disco or Italo-disco?
From Heather Parisi’s sweet melodic vocals, to experimental hits by Pino D’Angiò, to the electronic innovations pioneered by Italian record labels like Baby Records, Beppe says it’s important to make a distinction between ‘Italian disco’ and ‘Italo disco’.
“What is commonly known as Italo disco, the ‘phenomenon’, started in 1982, and then the genre was coined as a style of music from ‘83 onwards. But before then, we had ‘Italian disco’ which was Italy’s reinterpretation of disco influences from the US. This grew on the soul and funk traditions of American disco music, and it was very much tied to live playing with musicians,” he says.
“It wasn’t until a few years later that we saw the advent of ‘machines’ in music-making, like synthesisers and computers. This is when we see the beginning of what we officially call ‘Italo disco.’ At this time we also saw a shift from music being made by musicians, to songs being made by DJs who knew exactly what people wanted to dance to in clubs and venues. There are some incredible tracks where you can hear and feel the turning point when one era ends and a new one begins, like the hit song ‘Ma Quale Idea’ by Pino D’Angiò released in 1981, for example.”
Beppe also explains how both the Italian and Italo disco genres evolved across different parts of Italy thanks to iconic nightclubs that had their glory days in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s like Baia degli Angeli (Gabicce Mare), Kinky (Bologna), Studio 54 (Milan) and Easygoing (Rome). Record labels like Disco Magic also put Italo disco music on the ‘world map’ thanks to revolutionary collaborations with artists, singers and producers in the US.
So what happened when the funk-soul origins of Italian disco, with its melodic and artistic legacy, met the new ‘electronic frontier’ of disco music that came from northern Europe? A new genre, a new sound and a new disco culture that still captivates people all over the world today.
Italian disco’s enduring legacy
Long live Italian disco! Hits by La Bionda brothers still cause a sensation, so do the epic outfits worn by Loredana Bertè and Amanda Lear’s ultra-chic hair and makeup. The legacy of Italian disco still endures today in many aspects of society – from fashion and style, to popular culture, and far beyond. It’s also part of our cultural history that people all over the world are discovering, and re-discovering, thanks to the likes of Disco Bambino. On that note, what are some of Beppe’s all-time favourite Italian disco songs and artists?
“I really love Donatella Rettore. She was a pioneer of disco music in Italy, especially with one album she made in 1979 called ‘Brivido Divino’. She sang this song called ‘Splendido Splendente’, which is still incredibly popular and powerful today. This would probably also have to be one of my favourite music videos too. Her outfit and her aesthetic, the dancers, the choreography…it’s a real expression of artistry ” he says. “I also love Raffaella Carrà, Ornella Vanoni and Pino D’Angiò; artists who really pushed the boundaries and weren’t afraid to experiment with new ways to express themselves creatively to the world.”
