Remember how in the Papa Don't Preach video Madonna wore a t-shirt that stated "Italians Do It Better"? Well, this tenet will be tested on Thursday night when international festival Club To Club's Italian New Wave showcase hits Shoreditch hotspot, Village Underground.
Giving Londoners a preview of Club To Club's Alfa Romeo MiTo fest, which takes place in Torino next month, there's plenty to exclaim "che fico!" about, with a line-up representing a wide spectrum of Italian music creativity (80s pop strumpet Sabrina Salerno is conspicuously missing from the bill but, as life often demonstrates, readers: to want everything is to be greedy!).
Special guest Kuedo, who headlines the night, will be joined by some of the pioneers of Italy's contemporary electronic sound, including the inventor of ‘cosmic disco’, Daniele Baldelli. Back in the late 70s, Baldelli was resident at Italian club Cosmic, where he is said to have created the genre by mixing pitched-down rock, synth-pop and world music. Other acts featured on the night will be techno producer, Lory D, as well as Lucy, a producer and DJ who is also the founder of Stroboscopic Artefacts. If you can pronounce that without stumbling on your own tongue then you probably already know that Stroboscopic Artefacts' debut album, Wordplay For Working Bees, blends experimental techno with ambient, industrial and dub influences and has had quite a bit of critical acclaim for doing so.
Kuedo himself may be familiar to you as Jamie Teasdale, one half of Dubsteppers Vex'd. His set promises to toss together Hard Atlanta rap instruments and fervent footwork with 80's synth soundtracks, quasi disco and other dance-salad ingredients from the post-dubstep musical sphere. Throw in some "relevant" visual shows and fashion design and you may be forgiven for thinking you are actually in Italy for the night.
With doors clicking open at 7pm, you get 7 hours of fun before the bouncers become grouchy and, yes, it's a school night but the weekend is just around the corner so quit chatting negatives and start planning your outfit.
Club To Club's London Showcase takes place at Village Underground this Thursday, 18 October. Tickets are available here.
