In Florence the years ’80, there was a kind of Renaissance. The echoes of the new wave and punk wave of the late ’70 arrived in Tuscany and some groups took life through the downtown streets. To date, two remained critical.
Federico Fiumani’s Diaframma are the voice of a generation still clinging to those sounds, while in a cellar in via de ‘ Bardi, a narrow uphill, just after the old bridge, in the direction of Palazzo Pitti, Litfiba were born, from the idea of Ghigo Renzulli and other guys (Aiazzi, Maroccolo), with a versatile baritone singer with a voice persuasive and devilish at the same time, Piero Pelù. And in their first three albums, the political verve of Italian tradition and the English-speaking world is mixed in a rocky and energetic sound, creating what is termed as “the trilogy of power”: Desaparecido, 17 Re and Litfiba 3.
Desaparecido is one of those discs full of strong rock songs. Often the rhythms and melodies you grant ethnic divagamenti (Arabs and Asians) that make this dark and mysterious work. The lyrics, written by Pelù, displaying his verve that does not give much to the imagination, even if they maintain a line close to the Anglo-Saxon poetry. The rough side of punk and the lesson of this kind in Italian to a group like the decibels feels in the rhythms and harsh language, spoken in metropolitan and games.
17 Re is, however, what is often touted by fans of the band, and is addressed to the new wave. In these sixteen tracks there is a whole world to tell, from the poetry of Pierrot e la Luna to Cane‘s violence, the battery on the four quarters ago rhythmic rounds that often disrupt the listener’s ear and they think it’s a joke.
The synths are the masters, along with the guitar good Ghigo weaving plots sometimes more based on power chords sometimes on harmonic sequences and melodic genius.
16 tracks for a young group were many, but with this album Litfiba demonstrated that would have changed the Italian rock scene. In them and in our circle.
After the new wave
It was time for rock
A hard political, social, attack against institutions like few others. And with a completely different sound, which comes closest to hard rock to Terremoto (that will come later), with much more melodic choruses, and a footprint latina will make them become in the following decade, advocates of latin rock.
A job that ends the tale of their vision of the world and that opens another which will start by Italy and will go to fade increasingly along feelings, emotions and cries of anger but seldom will bloom like pearls in the desert. And before all these is track seven of Litfiba 3: Tex.
From there onwards, will start the so-called “tetralogy of elements”, starting with El Diablo forward, defining the 90s in Italy. But at that point, the story had already been made. And three albums, these three albums, wrote it, with the name “Litfiba” carved in the common imagination, while shouting against the nature of power in society of that time.