CCCP - FEDELI ALLA LINEA's Affinit - Divergenze Fra il Compagno Togliatti e Noi

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Combining Eastern bloc imaginaries, Italian national popular aesthetics, Berlin punk, local liscio, new wave and expressionist theatre in a do-it-yourself, nostalgy-ridden and sometimes overtly provocative fashion, Affinit e Divergenze has prevailed as one of the best Italian albums of the 1980s.

Giacomo Bott explores 1964-1985 Affinit - Divergenze Fra Il Compagno Togliatti E Noi - Del Conseguimento Della Maggiore Et the groundbreaking 1980s album by Italian band CCCP Fedeli alla Linea, arguing that their aesthetic, musical, and ideological approach embodies an imaginary and affective territorialization caught between maximalism and minimalism. The albums exploration of cultural and national borders offers a unique rethinking of music and place in a time marked by cultural imperialism and shifting geopolitical power dynamics. Drawing on Doreen Masseys theory of space and Svetlana Boyms concept of the off-modern, the analysis delves into provincialism, Ostalgie, and the way CCCP reshaped post-punk.

The band broke free from national and class constraints through literature, music, and politics, creating a distinct form of communication through their music. The book examines CCCPs provincial sound and their ability to bridge local and global cultural landscapes. It focuses on a multi-dimensional relationship between music and place, using qualitative methods including interviews and participant observation in Reggio and Berlin, while engaging with media texts like online interviews and live performances.

Through chapters that analyse the bands origins, the album as an artifact, and its deeper theoretical implications, the book explores CCCPs ambiguous position, their unique sound, and their lasting influence on European alternative music. Ultimately, this study reveals the bands out-of-time and out-of-place nature, capturing their controversial yet pioneering role in shaping creative identities across Europe.

Author Bio

Giacomo Bott is a university teacher and researcher specializing in musical urbanism. He has taught at several universities, including Turku, University of the Arts Helsinki and University of Helsinki, Finland. He is the author of Deindustrialisation and Popular Music (2022) and written about popular music, the night, industrial cities and urban scenes.