 By
Sergio Messina
from the CD Da
Liverpool a San Siro: la leggenda continua (ShaKe Edizioni)
recorded at Ambaradan Studio, Milan, in 1998
© ShaKe/RadioGladio Records
The very first venue I've ever played in Milan (where I've lived
since 1992) is Conchetta, or as they call it Cox18.
It's one of the finest (and oldest) squats in town, but no one lives
there: it's a club, a cultural center, a fabulous bookshop (named
Calusca) and a meeting place for some of the most formidable restless
souls that inhabit this city. Among the groups that made Cox18 their
home there was Decoder/ShaKe,
the very first italian cyberpunk collective. Their magazine, Decoder,
was then on the cutting edge of the movement, and their underground
publishing company, ShaKe, printed some essential books to understand
the contemporary world.
In 1998 I got a call from one of them, Gomma,
asking me if I knew how to record a whole corner of the huge San
Siro Stadium in Milan, home of the very colorful (and often unruly)
Milan AC supporters groups, in order to make a CD of their songs
and calls. This was an unusual request as I'm not really a soccer
fan, but I soon discovered that the actual game is only a fraction
of what happens at the stadium, and that soccer fanatics were way
more interesting than the players. I had a great time recording
these adorable hooligans, and some of them became good friends.
The concept of the CD was more complex than merely publishing the
songs. Drawing a connection between the Milan and Liverpool fans,
they commissioned a few artists and bands, including me, to rework
the recordings and produce original music that featured the stadium
songs along with our beats. I've picked a call and response with
a very simple melody (lead by my man Chico) and synchronized it
with some samples from the amazing Burundi drummers. It seems to
convey pretty well the meaning of the call: Go Milan, Milan is champion,
Go Milan the South side (the supporter section of the stadium) is
with you! |
