ROMA RIOT

A little bit of splendour and inauspicious history.

“People asked me questions about tomatos robbing the vine and rotting on the vine and I had no idea what I was thinking about and abided in blank ecstasy”.
“The only cure for morphine poisoning is more morphine”.
[Jack Kerouac – Mexico City Blues 1959]

The ROMAN context doesn’t breathe quite well. It’s blocked up by the habit of a routine which offers almost the same, approximate, superficial stuff.
In spite of the indefatigable activity of a small part, we have to notice that Rome lived other periods, even short, distinguished by a deep, rebel, stired up spirit. In those periods all the people involved did the best to lead their attitudes and behaviours, honestly inclined to the transformation and the global mutation of everything around our existence and “resistance”.
The social control in its most marked issues (see the fortunately faulted attempts of police to stop the raves) has been able to refrain the intentions of many, but at the same time made harsher the intentions of the few, as us, which never gave up the fight to claim actions, facts and events filled with emancipation and freedom.

Politcs not always has been the cause of this claim. Sometimes the will of believe in something to escape from the tainted vicious circle of a usual, insipid life (which grinds the consciences inside the authoritarian mechanism), used to make the difference. The production of creativity and eccentricity is certainly recognized by the ones who run slices of the market and absolutely valid fields of production planned to gain, but those works are often insignificant for what concerned aim and contents.
It is “honeyed” reassured that someone of us decided to express disregard against all this system in different ways: by the conscious use of psychotropic substances (see the flyers of “underground information” about “use and abuse” divulged during our enterprises between 1995 and 1996; the fight against nuclear bombs in Mururoa; the campaign for the abstention to vote); by the intention to exeed the bonds forced by too restrictive musical kinds (see many attempts to contaminate the sound from the desk at the last two years parties); by the divulgation of discographic stuff outside the business of music shops (see musical self-production and records resell struggle against SIAE and the rest of Establishment).

These “attempted attempts” clearly haven’t been working yet, because of the uncontrollable increase of synthetic rubbish (pills and powders) that most of us go on with, just for boredom or habit, forgetting that the control and the output of this business definitely isn’t our matter, but remind to someone else’s dirty hands inclined to manipulate other most dangerous (even if different in effects and implications) substances (cocaine and heroine); and also forgetting that anything has been really done to stop the trade of the big narcodealers. Lots of people is still thinking that buying some pastiglia or a gramme of Ketamine by our friendly pusher means to have precious goods of high quality. Bullshits.

By the way, without any moralistic parable (let’s say it sincerely: we like drugs and we are for the free statal tax circulation), we have to notice the obvious lack of good raw materials to prepare what we generically call DRUG. Let’s meditate on it, guys, let’s meditate on all the creep available in this period!!

Driving the attention on the music, the “daily bread” for many of us, the chance to improve the quality of the production had an half success. Even boundig around the remark of the intentions to change sounds and rhythmics, we have to say that those intentions haven’t always been appreciated or appreciable.
Not appreciated because, except for the essential production at the beginning of the decade [we hold in high regard Leo Anibaldi, Lory D, D’Arcangelo, Passarani, Benedetti, Micheli, Rizzo, Renghi, Galli and little fews], the rest of the production hasn’t been taken into the same consideration. First because, as suitable, the enjoyment of the musicians changes towards most mature sounds, and then because the flat taste of “the people of the night” has been submitted to the absolute tyranny of a spiral sound made in raves parties of various tribes (among other things I heard a rumor that in the clubs progressive is selling well: this is a reality that we don’t know and we don’t want to know!).

Not appreciable because, in spite of the excellent ADC’s industrial, Amptek-Entropia’s experimentations (Eclectic rec.), Syncretic’s brave beginning (not always convincing), Mat 101’s ironic electro and many others, self production seems to be, in our context, still a sort of mirage. Something too much announced but never really carried out, maybe because we are italian, and we’ve got lots of problems with money, and moreover we still pay the addiction from the across the Channel’s foreigners, not always positive and interesting (let’s specify: they aren’t better than us, but surely faster and most prepared in make up their music).

Without any provincial attitude, it’s always right to promote the cross contamination of sounds, complex but needfull. A pale try has been “The Celebrac.action in SpaZioKamino” (a squat in Ostia) on 10/11/12 december 1999, for the 10th anniversary of occupation. Many roman record labels get involved in (Nature, Plasmek, Eclectic, Syncretic), and also many new levers of urban self production (Roma Sud Tracker, Mecanic Willow alias Thomas & Emilio [see their good track on Evil Rec.], San Pedro, Fire Workers, FUB), John Healey of Somatic Responses, Dan/Mwarf of HEKATE, Ostia Rioters, Dj Shakty and the undersigned Anna Bolena, which accompanied the PANZARASA’s performance (Ostia’s contemporary dance group), all joined with VHS by CARTA ZERO[Roma] and TITUS from France/Marseille, also HI-TEC installations by BRADIPO MORPH.

The appointment saw the presence of 3.000 people (considering that for 3 years till now the number of rave’s fonds decreased, maybe because the work of the newspapers on the police clear of Fintek), but we have to say that we can do more. We have to find better ways to promote this contamination, better strategies to modify the way to involve all the people.
Too many times I disagree with the mental attitude of some of us, the ones who think that the work of a few near us is most important and interesting than the others’work. Sometime when our effort finds low gratification we use to blame on external causes, rather then make a right internal analysis of the feedback. Often we play other’s work down, just because they have the “fault” to deal mainly with a “so unimportant” activity as MUSIC.
It’s rare to find attitudes inclined to develop everyone’s diligence.

For what concerned us PETI NUDI, after few numbers of our magazine we decided to do something different. Now we are contributing to TELECANDIDA (a local broadcasting’s TV program) for music and editing. Besides, we’re working on a project for a self maneged record label, called IDROSCALO DISCHI: a place to give voice to everyone interested in experimental and industrial music, our old passion; and also an tribute to Pasolini, Ostia, and the subterranean culture.

Coming to an end, we specify that other realities are operating in Rome, as FORTE PRENESTINO’s ones (a squat occupied for 14 years): ZERO ZERO NOWHERE (now ended), and Kernell Panic. Even if we don’t always like every musical choice of them, we admit the coherence and the perseverance in their plans. Moreover we remind to Retinal Fremen, the happenings called BLUE CHEESE at the ex Mattatoio of Testaccio, Lab 0028 at Spinaceto suburbia and Brancaleone’s (an ex-squat) fridays called Agatha.

Anna Bolena (PETI NUDI HYPERMEDIA)
translated by iefaiebio

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