Dancing to the Italian 4/4 in 2024

Introducing our newsletter about Italian disco culture in the late 70s and early 80s

Italian Disco Stories is a curatorial, journalistic, and educational project that aims to shine the spotlight on Italian disco music. It is helmed by music producer, scholar and vinyl collector Beppe Savoni (aka Disco Bambino) and visual-culture and music journalist Angelica Frey. Both Savoni and Frey are Italian-born and U.S. based. 

A thing Angelica always hated as a journalist was the constant need to answer the dreaded “why now?” question whenever she had ideas to pitch. Having to justify one’s interest feels like doing some groveling and asking for permission to do something. For the sake of transparency, though, here we go. 

It’s not hard to argue that nostalgia has been the main cultural currency for the past two decades, and, in the case of disco music, it provides solace from the ills and instability of contemporary society. Disco always celebrated freedom of expression and uniqueness, it encouraged hedonism and a festive mood irrespective of the comings and goings of one’s day-to-day life, and elevated marginalized demographics and voices. It doesn’t hurt that many current albums and hits, including Beyoncé’s Renaissance, Dua Lipa’s Hit “Dance The Night Away”, Jessie Ware’s “What’s Your Pleasure” and Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” all have clear disco inspirations. 

Opening night at the Studio 54 in Milan in 1979

Each country developed its own disco culture, but the Italian disco scene stands out as a bridge between the American and the Continental European sound, while also retaining its own individuality thanks to the strong melodic component courtesy of the longstanding tradition of musica leggera and more folksy tunes.  In addition, TV was the main vehicle through which masses became acquainted with the genre, as disco hits were neatly folded into variety shows. The reliance on a visual medium created a great emphasis on set designs and costumes, and the fashion designers who grew up watching disco singers on national tv ended up making those costumes a strong part of their visual and fashion vocabulary. Just look at the works of Alessandro Michele, Fausto Puglisi, and Nicola Formichetti among others. 

Variety show superstar Heather Parisi and dancing partner Enzo Avallone

There’s also some degree of national (and cultural) pride that emerges upon realizing that pioneers of the disco sound, including djs and era-defining tastemakers David Mancuso, Francis Grasso, Nick Di Martino, Steve D’Acquisto and Michael Cappello; France-based hitmakers Marc Cerrone and Patrick Hernandez; and, of course, Euro-disco pioneer and Academy-Award-winning composer Giorgio Moroder all have Italian heritage. Last but not least, Saturday Night Fever’s own Tony Manero is Italian-American as well. 

Italian born music producer Giorgio Moroder

And since people love anniversaries, we are also starting this project because 2024 marks the centennial of the foundation of what would, in 1954, become RAI, Italy’s state-controlled tv and radio network, aka the main conduit for the mainstream distribution of disco music. 1974 is also the year Italian artists first started experimenting with proto-disco sounds: the two most eminent examples are “Rumore” by Raffaella Carrà and “Nessuno Mai” by Marcella Bella. Fifty years ago, disco music started making inroads in Italy, and this era still has reverberations in contemporary music, fashion, and design. 

Raffaella Carrà

…and the beat goes on!