Another Type of Dance

How Medieval and Renaissance-Inspired Rhythm Permeated Italian Music

If you tuned into Italian Disco Stories’ favorite show Stryx (which we discussed here, here, and here) you’d notice that, between high-femme, sensual disco acts and languid, slower numbers, there was a red-clad, violin-wielding creature known as “Il Folletto”, the Imp.You’d see him on a swing or serenaded by folk instruments known as launeddas, when he’d start singing songs that seemed to have originated a long time ago, which fit with the overall theme of the show.

That was Angelo Branduardi, Italy’s own menestrello, who invited people to another kind of dance. “Ballo in Fa Diesis Minore,” contained in the album La Pulce d’Acqua for instance, has death knock on a door, and only a dance can distract her and temporarily stop her, as she has to put down her glaive to join others.

Between the 1970s and 1980s, The 4/4 beat (or 2/4 for the Schlager-inspired tracks) was not the only dancing rhythm in Italy. While many producers and performers looked to the glitzy surfaces of discothèques and …