Va Fa Napoli Italian Tour & Subculture Localities Vienna 12.03.2024, Francisco Valenca Vaz. Va Fa Napoli | Photo: Davide Miniussi @davideminiussi | Astro Club, Pordenone, 2023. In March 2023 the Viennese band Va Fa Napoli published their first and self-released EP, including five songs with references to Mid-west Emo, Punk, Hardcore, and other genres. The EP has characteristics related to freshness, solace and nostalgia, comparable to the things I used to hear as a teenager. Some songs supported a feeling of belonging; while hearing four vocals at the same time, I felt as if I could be part of the group. Other arrangements remembered me of Modern Baseball, The Hotelier or American Football. For a moment, their music reinforces my insecurities of getting old, remembering sensations I used to have, opening possibilities to rethink new and older aesthetics in the present. Also, growing up in Brazil only allowed me to relate to these music genres through television, internet, sounds and videoclips. In October 2023 I accompanied three performances by Va Fa Napoli, while playing together with my band Trauma Glow. Promoting their new EP, the band played eight concerts in Italy. Conflicted with my impressions driving back from Pordenone to Vienna, I found myself comparing the Austrian scene with the Italian one. I spoke with Jonas from Va Fa Napoli to discuss their music and loudness during his worktime in a library, a place of silence and reading. I had this funny thought that maybe it is only through this stillness that he is able to write new songs. We started our conversation about why Emo, Grunge, Shoegaze are coming back again. J: I think on a wider perspective guitar music is probably doing better the last couple years. Hardcore, Emo and so on, have always been there but now with a new generation growing up on huge bands like Turnstile or whatever, they are getting into the subculture as well and shows are almost everywhere crowded these days. I presume young people dancing to American Football on tiktok contributes something as well and now that generation can experience the real deal. When we played in Klagenfurt, we heard that it was the first concert for a lot of kids, which is kind of cool to play stuff like that. Just hope they will stick around. Shout out to the internet but please get off the Internet. F: Can you still remember your first concert? J: Unsure but I would guess The Offspring when I was 11 or 12. F: Maybe nostalgia is one of the magnets. In your first EP there are different influences, how do you actually start working? J: It varies but most stuff we write collectively in our rehearsal room with some guitar or bass riffs on the table plus we talk a lot about the structure and vibe of a part or song. All four of us share some kind of DIY history and many preferences but at the same time we all draw from various personal backgrounds. Starting an emo band, we were aiming for something catchy, comfy and fun and to stay focused on a sound to be recognizable while keeping it interesting. F: Italy is not the first country Austrian bands have in mind while planning a Tour. I am curious about it, for instance, where did you start? J: That’s true, the usual choice of a next step for Austrian bands is often Germany, since it seems pretty convenient in many aspects like language or already existing contacts. At first, we just joked about touring Italy with that band name and so on but that idea grew on us and the sound we play is quite a thing in Italy. They have a huge history of Emo and Screamo with some legendary bands down there and we decided to try it. I was responsible for most of the booking and started immediately after the EP dropped. And wow, that worked out quite great for us. I did not expect such a good feedback on all the mails I sent! Everyone in Va Fa Napoli has toured before but pretty unanimously everyone was sure about this one being on a totally other level. The shows were wild and we met so many kind and giving people, some of them I can consider my friends now. We played with a ton of great newer bands like Stegosauro, Bulgarelli, Monteluna or F4, just to name a few. Often, we were told that there aren’t many bands touring Italy besides some parts of the north, but we were going quite south in what were all together 10 days. We also shared a stage with the legendary Raein in Napoli. It was some Halloween gathering at an amazing place called Scugnizzo Liberato, a huge building in the city center with its own football field, art or workshop spaces, apartments and other stuff. Never before we have played in front of so many people - the called out numbers varied from person to person but I think there must have been around 600-700. It was quite the experience since the audience was really motivated and kept dancing, stagediving or even singing along to this silly little band from Austria. Because of the Halloween-thing many came in costume and whenever I think of that show I just see this huge bear in the first rows with some sick psychedelic dance moves. I hope that guy is still living his best life! F: In Pordenone when we played together, I overheard that some people have travelled from other cities to see you perform, some even went to two different venues. Do you think this could have been similar in Austria? J: We were amazed by that as well! I think Austria is just different than Italy, geographically compared. Italy has a lot of shows going on in the north with some mid-sized cities and they’re not that far apart. In Austria it is probably more focused on the few bigger cities and after all most of the times it just comes down to Vienna. F: A lot of starting bands wish to organize a tour like you did. There are a lot of different strategies and possible issues, for instance how did you actually finance it? J: I am booking, promoting and hosting DIY shows in Vienna myself so that definitely helped when it came to booking this tour. Focusing on promoters who “get it”, who “get us”, the sound, the vibe, the scene, was really important to us and I think that’s half the deal. Those interested people will always take good care of you and they are giving their utmost best to organize a great show for everyone involved. That really worked out great for us and after selling quite the amount of merch we were definitely fine on finance. - At one show we wanted to split some of our money with the cool local supporting band but they told us to “Take a gelato!” and it became an oftenquoted catchphrase in the tour van. I think that comfy phrase really captures a lot of our experience being on tour in Italy. F: What about SKE and other government-oriented support? J: Nah thanks, this is a punk band. F: After this tour, how are your next plans in Vienna? J: We are focusing on writing songs for a future release and want to take our time with it. But we might play a show here and there! Touring in Italy gave us a lot as a band and we’re looking forward to more adjacent moments. Attached to Jonas experiences, I called Hanna from Pordenone, she is part of Cielo Perso DIY Collective, together with Davide Miniussi and Valentina Corocher. Since the last two years, they have been working with bands like Ojne, Lantern, Flowers and Shelters, Reverie, Malerbae, and Futbolin, also hosting our concert with Va Fa Napoli. Reaching out to her, I wished to understand more about how smaller collectives act and shape an independent scene. Photo: Davide Miniussi | Astro Club, Pordenone, 2023. H: Va Fa Napoli did a pretty good campaign about their new album and a friend of mine recommended them. Our Pordenone concert had a lot of guests but we were anxious because of a red alert about a storm, the schools were closed and the center was empty. Fortunately! The weather got better and we had a lot of guests. In the crowd I recognized some people I already knew, but there were younger and new faces as well. The whole Italian scene is quite active, which makes it easier to find out about concerts, and people are eager to travel to attend them as well. I am, myself, one of these people that for instance just jumps into a train to Milan, which is only four hours from my home. We have right now so many talented artists in Italy and it’s always worth seeing them. F: How do people get informed about your concerts and how connected are these kinds of venues? H: Through social media it is easy to find out what is happening. We mostly promoted the event through that, as well as posters around the city. Italy also has systems like Arci which is a membership card. You pay once a year something between 10 to 15 € and are able to visit different concerts exclusively for cardholders. It gives you basically access to all Arci events even in the smaller DIY venues. For example, Astro where you played in Pordenone, uses their own independent card. Those cards are very important as they help to finance DIY projects and smaller events. Hanna, Cielo Perso Collective | 2024 F: That´s quite interesting, I don´t think there is something like that in Austria or in Germany. Why did you focus that evening on Emo? H: Music comes in waves, there was the Punk, Hardcore, and I think right now the scene has also renewed its interest into Emo. People are in a nostalgic way rediscovering it, and others are hearing it for the first time. F: How did your collective finance our evening? H: The club invested in the evening and fortunately we didn’t have any money issues, we could pay the bar, the bands and didn´t lose any money. Especially because of weather conditions, a lot of people even drove one to two hours to get there as I was telling you before. F: Pordenone is not big, and small cities in the country side can be quite conservative. Did you ever had any bad experiences, like people calling the police or somehow annoying the events? H: That night nobody called the police as everything was legally organized, from that point of view there is no risk and Astro club will not go above its loudness limits. Fascists and right-wing people are not very welcomed and we fortunately didn´t have any issues. But other associations in the past had. Pordenone, generally Italy, is rightoriented. It’s very important for us to share common values, we want to create a safe space where you find your friends, you know, you would be moved away if you harassed anyone. F: What stays in the city after the concerts? H: Although the concerts are gone after one night, the connection with people remains. Your friends stay and that´s why you want to repeat it. You have this sense of reconnection with other people, and you feel less alone, as a lot of other people like the music you like. I have been attending events and participating even more, maybe in the last two years because of that. The more concerts you go to, the more people you know. For me it is just about this wholesome feeling that I have to meet my close ones. Common sense of sharing. Meanwhile in the south of Italy, as Jonas mentioned; Va Fa Napoli also played in an event from the collective Napoli Direzione Opposta (NaDir) in Naples. I talked with JD, one of its members. Their collective is not only involved in different social programs, but built a concept that helps new musicians to merge, creating and giving them space to perform. Napoli Direzione Opposta, Scugnizzo Liberato | Photo: Guglielmo verrienti @guglielmoverrienti | 2022. F: How and when did your collective start? JD: NaDir started in 2016 as an independent music festival. Its agenda wasn't very political as it turned up to be after its settlement. We are based in the Scugnizzo Liberato, an occupied space recognized by the city of Naples four years ago. NaDir stands literally for Napoli Direzione Opposta (Napoli Opposite Direction). With that we wish to go in the opposite direction and book bands that aren't being booked by the main venues and give them dignity. There are small venues you can play as a beginner musician which aren't good for the artists, and we believed everybody should play on a good stage with professional equipment. Dealing with this difficult, we have an ongoing project called Gravità 0 (Zero Gravity) where we allow new projects from very smalls groups to come and all the entry money in these evenings is completely given to the artists. It is a kind of volunteering for music. We support social problematics, we have a table called Nessuno Escluso (like everyone welcome, none excluded) every week, which gives food for homeless people. We also have English classes for children who can't afford it, different workshops: ceramics, basketball. It has a gym, a soccer field, and the money coming from these activities is used to keep the building alive. The actual recognition is still in a gray area. Nowadays the space is totally independent and organized through volunteering. Basically, never winning or losing any money, we just try to make everything fit. F: I believe it is comparable to the Ernst-Kirchweger-Haus in Vienna. Which difficulties did you have while establishing an occupied space? JD: We are very lucky that Naples, or actually the hole south is in a way different then the north. The south is less controlled. The space was occupied eight years ago, the first collective participants broke into the building and slept in it for a month or so, and the past major wanted to kick them out. But thanks to Luigi de Magistris (Naples major between 2011 until 2021) seven to eight communities and occupations were legally recognized. Since then we haven't changed and the people are the same. Now we are using the government funding only for structure issues. Naples has a lot of problems for space and midsized concerts. Buildings don't have large rooms, you can only play in a tiny bar or in a really big arena. Our building has a theater founded by Eduardo De Filippo, a famous author and actor, which was only founded because the Scugnizzo used to be a juvenile detention center that was used for the detainee’s education. F: It is really interesting to think about how spaces can change with time. From a detention center to a concert space… How are your plans for the next years? JD: For the future, we have a series of fixed activities but since the space has to be closed for the structure work, we do intend to continue the activities in other places; keep it going. After 8 years, it is literally part of the community, which is mostly Punk, DIY and amateur bands. Va Fa Napoli | Milano, 2023 | Photograph: Luca Secchi oni_bakuu. Gluing together Jonas performer perspective; Hannah´s production in offside places, as well JD´s political engagement and statements, they shape the landscape of this article. Through social ideals and choices, they generate a space for musical growth as well a cultural economy. These interviews may reinforce that the development of musical subgenres is less dependent on streaming platforms than compared to other kinds of music. It is more based on localities and individuals, being a product of plural desires and methods of collaboration, simultaneously influencing each other. Capital is small and our artists do not mainly exist from these activities. This precarity builds certain neutrality over capital extraction, as there is no form of music unrelated to capital currency. Not producing music as a main income, can have a concrete effect over its production. At the same time, subcultural music genres often find consistent support from privileged youth. These individuals not only contribute to trends but also shape the fashion associated with these genres, creating consumption patterns that influence other youths. A striking example is the trajectory of Grunge, originating as a social activist movement in 1980s Seattle and evolving into a mainstream cultural phenomenon in the 90s.Therefore, the economical precarities related to DIY primarily prevent music production in its beginning to already be influenced by consumerism. This economic factor shapes a scene grounded in collaboration, rejecting the notion of a singular genius. Nobody is really interested on that. In line with Brian Eno's concept of "Scenius,": we can only be better working together. Subculture also relies on circular influences, as the epicenter of western subgenres of music is strongly influenced by the Anglosphere, afterwards spreading to other continents. This is caused by an American music industry, able to canon its own products, recently losing its power through the democratization of internet access, making music communities and subgenres more plural. Therefore today, these influences can navigate easier between opposing directions: local music developments and the influences of intercontinental music streaming platforms. This paper didn´t manage to focus on the returning of Emo. It mostly elaborates on infrastructures that influences the return of subgenres of music. The revival of Emo, is a multifaceted phenomenon with various intersecting factors, which I am freely, poetically and irresponsibly relating to the realization of false capitalistic promises and hedonistic behavior in the context of the environmental crisis, things we weren´t completely aware of in the 2000s. For me, Emo is more relatable today than during its beginnings in American white boy minority suburbs. It is now more linked to a form of rescue, comfort and nostalgia, at the same time prisoned in modernity. Which might additionally explain why in its core, Emo and Goth are nowadays more relatable to a youth than Punk. While Punk embodies a spirit of rebellion, Emo is fatalistic, more incorporable into perspectives on modernity over a nihilistic future. Emo also supported an extremely needed development on gender identities. What was in the late 2000s seen as an “emo masculinity crisis” could nowadays be read as an attempt to deconstruct male standards within mainstream media. Maybe this is what I feel while hearing Emo again, enjoying it with a layer of pain and clarity. As like other music genres, it moves between time, starting here but ending there, a malleable form going through narratives, space, countries, keeping something to be determined as its essences, but occasionally breaking it and surprising our ears along the way. Editorial recommendations: Futbolín, French Fries: https://open.spotify.com/intlde/track/2J9VC8U1MqevcBxDe0N5TX?si=1bcb755fc1c84757 Stegosauro, Song: Buonanotte Raga: https://open.spotify.com/intlde/track/7FpgTQS4ucrjSeoUUlWz5G?si=f3718678a5de4c72 Monteluna, Song: CTBP: https://open.spotify.com/intlde/track/4Arx3wpT3Omi37gjEw4ghL?si=932337ceeafc43e5 Nailhead Magazine INSTAGRAM Author: Francisco Valenca Vaz.

Ein aufregendes neues Talent präsentiert sich der Musikszene - .bozo, wohnhaft in Wien. Mit seiner ersten EP "a story about", die sieben Songs und eine Spielzeit von 23 Minuten umfasst, hat er ein echt gutes Stück erschaffen. Die EP ist am 25.10.2023 erschienen, enthält sowohl deutsche als auch englische Songs und wird über das Independent Label "New Basement" aus München veröffentlicht. Darüber hinaus begleiten zwei beeindruckende Musikvideos die Veröffentlichung. Seine Musik ist geprägt von maschinell elektronischen Drums, ätherischen Synthesizern, eingängigen Gitarrenriffs, melancholischen Melodien und tiefgründigen Texten. Mit seinem markanten Stil, leichter „Internet Ästhetik“ wie er es selbst beschreibt und seiner außergewöhnlichen Stimme zieht er Hörerinnen und Hörer in seinen Bann. Die EP, mit dem Titel „a story about“, verspricht eine vielseitige Sammlung von Songs zu sein. Von energiegeladenen Tracks bis hin zu balladenartigen Songs bietet .bozo eine breite Palette an Emotionen. Die Kombination aus deutschen und englischen Texten ermöglicht es ihm, verschiedene Facetten seines künstlerischen Ausdrucks zu präsentieren. Neben der EP hat .bozo auch zwei beeindruckende Musikvideos veröffentlicht. Diese visuellen Ergänzungen bieten einen Einblick in die kreative Vision des Künstlers und verstärken die emotionale Wirkung seiner Musik. Die Videos fangen die Stimmung der Songs perfekt ein. .bozo ist zweifellos ein aufstrebender Musiker, der mit seinem einzigartigen Sound die Musikszene bereichert. Mit seiner ersten EP und den begleitenden Musikvideos hat er bereits stark angefangen und wir sind gespannt auf seine zukünftigen Veröffentlichungen, hoffen ihn und seine Songs mal live auf der Bühne zu sehen und können es kaum erwarten, mehr von .bozo zu hören. Bis zum nächsten Mal, euer Constantin! BANDCAMP .BOZO Nailhead Magazine INSTAGRAM Author: Constantin Jacobs Photo: Collage by Constantin Jacobs -> Original .bozo| Other photos by .bozo

Am 11.11.2022 pünktlich zu beginn der närrischen Faschingszeit veröffentlichen Atom Womb ihr erstes Album mit dem Namen Visions. Und dieses Datum ist eigentlich sehr passend, wen man bedenkt, dass die vier Psych-Punks aus Wien sich regelmäßig auf ihren Shows gerne mal in den verrücktesten Kostümen verkleiden. Mal als Rennfahrer oder im traditionellen japanischen Kimono mit Kabuki Theater schminke, oder einfach mal mit orangem Overall im Müllmänner Style. Ich glaube aber nicht, dass Atom Womb Mit Visions einfach nur die Zeit der Narren einläuten wollten, sondern auch dezent darauf hinweisen, dass bei dem Trio die ausgelassene und unbeschwerte Zeit der Eskalation und des Exzess ein Dauerzustand ist. Diesen Eindruck bekomme ich jedenfalls gleich zu Beginn beim Anhören des Albums. Denn Track Nummer eins mit dem Namen Psycho startet schon sehr ausgelassen mit einem leichten Hauch von Eskalation. Ein richtig schöner Start in dieses gelungene Album. Dann aber wird mit Track Nummer zwei schon wieder Tempo rausgenommen, denn Lethal Woman kommt mit einem sehr entspannten Grove daher und lädt zum zurücklehnen und Kopfnicken ein. Dieser auffällige unterschied zwischen den ersten beiden Songs lässt schon ein bisschen erahnen was für ein weit gefächertes Spektrum an Einflüssen Atom Womb in Visions geschafft haben unterzubringen. Das hört man auch bei Camino Del Sol, der genauso entspannt aber auch irgendwie hypnotisch ist. Es hört sich für mich sowieso so an als wäre das Zusammenspiel der Instrumente bei dieser Band so ausgeglichen und die vier Musiker so gut aufeinander eingespielt, dass es ein wahrer Genuss ist sich dieses Album anzuhören. Jedes Instrument findet hier seinen Platz ohne im Vordergrund zu stehen. Ob es nun der Bass ist, der mit melodischen und hypnotischen wiederholenden Lines sanft und dennoch fesselnd dahin stampft. Oder die Gitarre die innerhalb kürzester Zeit von dezenter Begleitung zu massiver Soundkeule eskaliert. Und natürlich sind da noch die Drums, die diesen vielseitigen Sound, der sich manchmal fast anhört wie eine improvisierte Jamsession, im Rahmen hält und mit perfekt getimten Beats und ganz viel Gefühl, wie in einem Römischen Streitwagen Gitarre und Bass wie zwei Wilde vorantreibt. Bei Track Nummer vier Perversion scheint es so, als würde das Schlagzeug ständig versuchen die anderen Instrumente im Zaum zu halten. Damit wird eine wahnsinnig hohe Spannung aufgebaut, bis diese gegen Ende gelöst wird und nach einem richtig bösen Break der Song dann, wie mit einem Feuerwerk beendet wird. Teenage Hope, der mit diesem schönen krachenden Bass alleine schon eine markante Nummer ist, werden sogar spanische Vocals zum Besten gegeben, wenn ich das richtig rausgehört habe. Und dann kommt mit Inside Dreams auch schon mein persönlicher Favorit von Visions. Dieser Song hat irgendwie Filmmusik-Feeling wie ich finde. Inside Dreams könnte ich mir richtig gut bei einer Szene eines Quentin Tarantino Western vorstellen. Wieder wahnsinnig gefühlvoll und doch so staubig und fuzzy gegen Ende. Mit Lullaby For A Lost Soul wird es dann noch einmal richtig psychedelisch. Hier kommt sogar eine Violine zum Einsatz und gemeinsam mit dem angenehm ruhigen Gitarrenklängen wird hier wieder einen Gang zurückgeschaltet und vom Fuzzy-Trip wieder in den Hypnotic-Psych Modus geschaltet. Und zu guter Letzt verabschieden sich Atom Womb dann mit dem Track FIN von den Zuhörer*innen. Visions könnt ihr euch natürlich wie gewohnt auf allen Streamingplattformen anhören, ich würde euch aber empfehlen eine der auf hundert Stück limitierten 12 Inch crystallo Vinyls zu ergattern. Für Visions und den vielseitigen und künstlerischen Sound gibt es von mir vier von fünf Nägel. Bis zum nächsten Mal Manu! LINKS ATOM WOMB Nailhead Magazine INSTAGRAM Author: Manuel Krassnig Photo: Collage by Constantin Jacobs - Original by @herrbrot666 | Other photos by Luca Celine