Whilst Turin may not be the first city that springs to mind when Italy is mentioned, those familiar with it know that it possesses a charm entirely of its own. A mixture of relaxed vibes and effortless Italian chic, Turin’s unique atmosphere, driven by sophisticated popular culture and underground art and music, is perfectly captured in the experimental yet irresistible punk of Disco Drive.
One of the few cities to have actually benefited from hosting an Olympic event, Turin (made the first capital of Italy during the nineteenth century) has witnessed a series of positive changes in recent times, as Disco Drive explain: “The city improved a lot through the years, partly thanks to the (Winter) Olympics in 2006 and reinvestment to vitalise its economy from a dark and uninteresting industrial capital to a vital and active cultural capital.” Indeed, it seems impossible to exist in Turin without soaking up at least some of the mass of culture on offer. The city is host to the Torino Film Festival, Traffic (a free music festival), Spaziale festival (alternative/indie event that pulls in big names), the biggest book fair in Italy, and an array of galleries and museums. Some of this eclectic highbrowism also seems to have seeped through to the city’s musicians themselves, embodied in the art/pop stylings of Disco Drive, whose unique take on punk-funk has already won them huge acclaim from Italian audiences, as well as those lucky enough to have encountered them elsewhere.
Formed from the ashes of two other bands, Jacopo Borazzo, Alessio Natalizia and Andrea Pomini – to be replaced by Matteo Lavagna in 2006 – started Disco Drive as an energetic new-wave outfit, gradually refining their sound over two albums to create an avant-garde approach to punk songwriting, but one that never forsakes the value of a memorable vocal or catchy melody. Part of the band’s appeal, however, lies in their willingness to innovate and experiment far beyond the boundaries of traditional pop songs, as displayed by the ever-changing nature of their equipment setup: “We were evolving our sound, and we introduced a second drum kit, a moog synth, a sampler and a computer to the original bass/guitar/drums setup.” This tech-happy approach, and an array of effects pedals, allows the band to flow from riff-heavy punk numbers into spacey Krautrock jam sessions. Sounds weird; totally works.
Combining intelligent songwriting with experimental electronics and some catchy-as-fuck hooks just for good measure, the band offer a frequently fascinating and highly rhythmical take on the most interesting aspects of punk, using layered percussion and quirky beats as counterpoints to fuzzy guitar riffs and punchy bass parts – a formula that evolves into a heady wall-of-sound in a live context, but is also perfectly captured on second album ‘Things To Do Today’, which cuts a fine figure of new-wave disco-punk genius, slotting heavier, distorted riffs in amongst sublime pop melodies, such as on anthemic singles ‘It’s A Long Way To The Top’ and ‘Gonna Love This’.
“We’re all punk rockers,” says Jacopo. “I’d say grown-up punk rockers, but we hate the conservative approach of so-called punk-rock bands that try their best to play exactly like someone else did thirty years ago. It makes no sense to us.” The DIY punk ethic was also crucial to Disco Drive’s initial success, which found the band organising their own European tour, finding a record label, releasing debut album ‘What’s Wrong With You People?’ and touring again, all in quick succession. Slackers these people are not: “We booked our own shows, we started playing gigs with no one backing us, drove thousands of kilometres, did everything ourselves.”
This kind of dedication is often necessary in a climate that isn’t always sympathetic to the mechanisms of popular music. Despite Italy’s cultural impact on the world in numerous areas (art, architecture, food, fashion etc), it’s fair to say that popular music of any kind hasn’t quite broken through from the country just yet, as the band themselves admit: “Music isn’t seen as such a cultural thing in Italy. We lack the perception of rock music having its own value.”
The band also explain how coming from this environment makes it more difficult to create an impact outside of the country. “It’s definitely harder. A lot of people in the UK and US are quite shocked when they find out we’re from Italy. An American singer of a band I won’t name came to us after we supported them in Berlin and asked the usual question; were we from New York? Having learned we were Italian he went, ‘Are there rock bands in Italy?!’, really surprised, like someone who found out that they had wireless connection in Malawi in 1990!”
A common mistake though, is to presume that Italy’s music scene is simply too thin on the ground or nonexistent. The truth is that a scene is very much in place, but is often kept within the confines of the country, with Disco Drive being a rare example of a band to breach international markets and audiences. Turin itself plays birth to both mainstream and underground bands.
“Some of the biggest Italian acts are based here. Subsonica and Linea 77 are among the most famous bands and they’re both from Torino [Turin], as well as Africa Unite and Mau Mau, but I find the underground to be much more interesting, on a musical level.”
It is this underground scene, on which Disco Drive cut their teeth, where Turin’s musical identity really comes into its own, with a solid selection of garage-rock and punk outfits, such as Movie Star Junkies (“Their live shows at [Turin gig venue] Velvet give you the feeling of being at CBGBs [seminal New York live venue] in 1976 or something.”) and Drink To Me playing at a variety of intimate venues across the city. “The best place for live music is definitely Spazio 211, the first venue to concentrate on underground rock. It’s quite established now, and they do most of the British/ American bands on tour plus some Italian independent acts. Velvet is a small and smoky club in downtown with a nice program, and United is more about punk/ hardcore and noise but still a good place.”
With ‘Things To Do Today’, Disco Drive have created a record that recalls the hugely appealing alt.pop weirdness of past decades, but with the energy and drive of a fiercely creative twenty-first century punk band. And it is this desire to keep creating, within a framework of intelligence and innovation, which will undoubtedly see Disco Drive continuing to evolve their sound and challenge themselves at every opportunity. “We like the idea of betraying yourself, which is in the punk DNA . The feeling of disorientation, of doing new things every day, never walking the same path twice, the idea of doing our things our way.”
Words by Tristan Parker
Film And Cinema
“Turin is known as the film capital of Italy, as historically it’s the first place where the film industry came to from France in the early years of the 1900s. So at the turn of the century they decided to make a profit out of it. There was a Museo Nazionale del Cinema [National Museum of Cinema] already, but it was much smaller. They expanded it massively and moved it to Mole Antonelliana, which is such an extraordinary location. We also have one of the nicest underground film festivals, Torino Film Festival, which takes place every year around November.”
San Salvario
“The old town in the city centre is really nice. It used to be a really poor area until the early ’90s when they started to update it, and now it’s really fresh and vital: lots of cafés, restaurants and nightclubs, and on Fridays/Saturdays the streets are filled with people going from one place to the other. I also really like San Salvario, which is the borough I grew up in that became the multi-ethnic part of downtown, with lots of immigrants, kebabs, African and Chinese markets and all that. There’s lots of young people around and I like the way it’s changing because of its opening-up to people from around the world.”
Nightlife
“After 350 or so Disco Drive shows, I personally got really bored of the usual indie/disco night, but Xanax Party (held every Thursday at Puddhu Bar/Murazzi) is definitely one of the best around in Italy and possibly even Europe. I do enjoy Soulful, which is a soul/funk/ boogaloo-oriented night, always packed with people in various places across town. And there’s plenty of very different nights: Taboo is the regular indie/ disco at Spazio 211, Xplosiva does big DJs from all over the world in several venues, Do It is a brand new eclectic disco night, Un Atomic Dubside is a new night for dubstep lovers, and The Dreamers is the night to love if you like ndrum ‘n’ bass, and there’s still lots more!”
Clash’s A to Zof Turin
BACK DOOR
The best record shop for vinyl junkies and record collectors.
BALÔN
Traditional flea market in Porta Palazzo.
CAFFÉ TORINO
Probably the oldest of the famous old cafés in the downtown area. Others include Baratti, Mulassano and Fiorio – famous for its ice cream.
CHOCOLATE
Turin is the birthplace of solid chocolate, thanks to a Mr. Doret, who invented a revolutionary machine that could solidify the good stuff.
FETTA DI POLENTA
Weird, polenta-slice shaped building by Antonelli.
LES HYPER SOUND
Another really nice record store in the downtown area.
LINGOTTO
Once the biggest car factory in the world, now an auditorium, a shopping mall, a high capacity cinema and a five-star hotel. It hosts numerous large-scale events in Turin.
MOLE ANTONELLIANA
Major landmark of the city – built as a huge Jewish synagogue, now home to the Museo Nazionale del Cinema.
MOVIE STAR JUNKIES
Excellent raw blues/garage combo from Turin.
MURAZZI
Area beneath the Po River, the vibrating heart of Torino’s intense nightlife.
PALAVELA
Sports arena built by Gae Aulenti with a unique vaulted ceiling.
PIAZZA VITTORIO, PIAZZA CASTELLO, PIAZZA SAN CARLO, PIAZZA CARIGNANO
Beautiful squares in downtown Turin.
SAMAMBAIA
Old-fashioned bistro/café in San Salvario, where you can get a cup of tea, have lunch or buy amazing chocolate in amongst Art Deco surroundings.
SPAZIO 211
Turin’s best venue for independent/underground live shows. Also a recording studio, rehearsal space and host to a summer festival, Spaziale.
VIA PO
The most charming street of downtown Turin.
XANAX PARTY
Most popular indie/disco night in town, at Puddhu Bar/Murazzi.
