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| Italian popular music | |
|---|---|
 Italian music icon | |
| Native name | Musica popolare italiana |
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Italy |
Italian popular music ismusical output which is not usually considered academic orclassical music but rather has its roots in the popular traditions, and it may be defined in two ways: it can either be defined in terms of the current geographical location of theItalian Republic with the exceptions of the GermanicSouth Tyrol and the eastern portion ofFriuli-Venezia Giulia; alternatively, it can be defined as the music produced by all those people who consider themselves asItalians and openly or implicitly refer to this belief. Both these two definitions are very loose: due to the complexpolitical history of theItalian Peninsula and the different independent political states, cultural and linguistic traditions which sprang within them, it is rather difficult to define what may be considered to be trulyItalian. Since before the formation of a unified educational system and the spread of information through the radio and the press during the 1920s, all the different cultural and linguistic groups within the country were independent of one another, and a unified Italian country was still only a political or ideological concept far from the daily life.
Music and the artistic production of this period reflected the need of the political class to affirm its ideological statement of a united and strong Italian identity on both the political as well as cultural basis.
Regional languages and independent cultural inheritances began to be slowly eradicated through the school system and the advent of themass media which, at the time, were entirely controlled by the Italian government. The slow process of the industrialization which begun during the fascist period had strong effects on the lower classes; it helped in forming the contemporary Italian society, in particular in the economical separation between the north and the south, which is reflected in the different references to the traditional background in the contemporary popular music. Emigration contributed to the exportation of the Italian musical background to other countries such as Argentina, Australia, and the United States.
During the second half of the twentieth century, Italian popular music has seen a strong shift as a result of the influences foreign music had on the Italian musicians brought by the technological advances such as television, tapes vinyl. In particular, the protests of 1968 helped to form a new group of musicians in contrast with the stereotypes of themusica leggera (light music) and opened to new musical forms.
Italian pop and rock has produced many stars including:Laura Pausini,Eros Ramazzotti,Mango,Max Pezzali,Biagio Antonacci,Antonello Venditti,Lucio Dalla,Lara Fabian,Tiziano Ferro,Anna Tatangelo, partiallySalvatore Adamo andPooh,Adriano Celentano,Mina,Andrea Bocelli andElisa. Additionally, a popular singer isViola Valentino. The modern style ofpop music tends toward sentimental ballads with acrooning vocal style, although it previously had a blend of Mediterranean folk rhythms fused with pop forms. These folkier pop artists includedLucio Battisti,Vasco Rossi andPino Daniele. Modern and young emerging artists falling within this genre who have acquired public success for their voices includeAlessandra Amoroso,Malika Ayane,Emma,Arisa andNoemi to name a few.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Italian popular music changed by incorporating Latin American and Anglo musical traditions, especiallyBrazilianbossa nova, American and Britishrock and roll and evenjazz. The same period saw diversification in thecinema of Italy, andCinecittà films included complex scores by composers includingEnnio Morricone,Armando Trovaioli,Piero Piccioni andPiero Umiliani. This film music remained popular in the 1970s, and then underwent a revival in the 1990s.
Italy was one of the leading nations of the progressive rock movement of the 1970s (the others beingGermany and theUnited Kingdom), and its progressive scene was big, united and lively. The main Italian style of progressive rock wassymphonic rock mixed with Italianfolk music influences, e.g.Banco del Mutuo Soccorso,Le Orme,Premiata Forneria Marconi,Pooh,Il Balletto di Bronzo. There were also someexperimental rock bands around, such asArea. Progressive rock concerts were usually political events with an energetic atmosphere: Area's songs had mainlyleft-wing political lyrics.
Beginning in the 1980s, pop grew more heterogeneous and more in line with international sounds. Italianhouse music spawnedBlack Box, whose first single "Ride on Time" was an international hit, making the Top 10 in many countries and no 1 in the UK, becoming the UK's best-selling single of 1989.Zucchero is a leading Italian rock musician along withLuciano Ligabue andVasco Rossi, whilstJovanotti is a widely popular singer mixing elements ofdance music with Italian popular music andrap. Other prominent rock bands includeLitfiba.
In the 2000s,dance music groupDB Boulevard with vocalistMoony, charted at number 3 on theUK Singles Chart in 2001, with their song "Point of View".[1] The video accompanying the song featured a computer-animated cardboard woman driving a cardboard car through a cardboard city. The song earned DB Boulevard the distinction of being the first Italian music group to be nominated at theMTV Europe Music Awards.
Techno,trance, andelectronica are all popular forms ofelectronic dance music in Italy. The country is home to genres such asItalodance,Italo house andItalo disco, and the Swiss-born but Italy-raisedRobert Miles was one of the seminal artists of thedream trance genre.
The Italian hip hop scene began in the early 1990s withArticolo 31 fromMilan. Their style was mainly influenced by theEast Coast rap. Other early rap groups are typically politically oriented acts, such as99 Posse (who later became influenced by Britishtrip hop). More recent artists of the genre includeFabri Fibra andClub Dogo.
Following De André, many artists are rediscovering the forms of traditional music abandoned since the fascist period as a sort of traditional revival, includingTazenda andTeresa De Sio. There are bands in Italy that play patchanka music, characterized by a mixture of traditional music, punk, reggae, rock, and political lyrics.Modena City Ramblers are one of the more popular bands; they mix Irish, Italian, punk, reggae and many other forms of music. Other bands includeCasa del Vento,Mau Mau,Banda Bassotti andTalco.
The most importantjazz scenes are inRome andMilan, however many Italian jazz musicians are resident inParis. Italian instrumentalists include: saxophonistsStefano di Battista andFrancesco Cafiso, pianistsDanilo Rea andStefano Bollani, trumpet playersPaolo Fresu andEnrico Rava.Palermo also has a lively jazz scene, includingEnzo Rao, who have added nativeSicilian influences toAmerican jazz.
