Interview: Disco Bambino, the Record Producer and DJ Reviving Italian Disco
This summer, the music curator and online phenomenon released his latest single, “A Te”
To stumble upon the Disco Bambino Instagram account is to lose oneself in a world of dazzling spectacle and sonic wonder. The feed, along with other facets of the Disco Bambino editorial platform, acts as a preservation platform for the Italian pop, Italian disco and Italodisco genres. At its helm is Beppe Savoni, a music producer, curator and DJ who is not only reviving vintage Italian disco but also inbuing classic tracks with a contemporary relevance. Savoni’s other projects under the Disco Bambino moniker include Radio Pornella, a series of mixtapes that highlight the erotic undertones of Italian disco culture in the 1970s and ’80s, as well as the Substack newsletter Italian Disco Stories. This summer, however, Savoni added something unexpected to his repertoire: an original track.
Released on Helix Records, Disco Bambino’s debut single, “A Te,” evokes retro-lounge sensations and beckons listeners to get up and give in to dance. There’s an upbeat energy that seems to marry that past and the present. The album art acts as an exclamation point to the personal nature of the Disco Bambino project—it features an image of Savoni singing at a local talent show in Bari, Italy circa 1979. He was five years old and already studying music theory, piano and dance. To learn more about his path from Instagram to an original record release, we spoke with Savoni and gained equal insight on the influence of Italian disco today.
Where did your love of music begin?
Music is probably my earliest memory. Some of my very first words were names of records that I wanted my parents to buy. My mother always said that I never ever asked for a toy in my entire life. I would always ask her to buy records. In elementary school, I would come from school and dance in front of the mirror and sing and imagine an audience and a theater. I also loved the variety shows in Italy. They were so incredible—so majestic—at that time.
I grew up with older brothers. When they were teenagers, it was like the mid ’70s or late ’70s, at night, before going to sleep, they would listen to records on their record player. I would hang out with them and listen to the music and look at the record covers. When I was very young, I spent a lot of time with my cousins, as well. They were also teenagers. Instead of taking me to the park, they’d take me to local disco clubs. I would spend hours there with them, on the dance floor, surrounded by everybody who was so amused to see this little kid dancing to the sound of disco music. I was enamored by that world. It was such an expression of freedom and happiness. I relate disco music to that feeling, of being yourself in tune with the universe.
When did you begin to DJ?
I started a few years ago. It wasn’t the traditional path, starting at nightclubs. It was more requests from people following Disco Bambino on Instagram. They wanted me to play that music—Italian disco from the late ’70s and early ’80s. They wanted to hear it at their parties and other social events. They started calling me to do small gatherings, then it just got bigger and bigger. What I like to do when I DJ is take people on a very specific journey through Italian culture, Italian music, Italian style.
How was your Disco Bambino social media account born?
It started with a desire to show record covers. To me, they are so interesting. There is so much artistry and so many incredible ideas and so much talent behind record covers in terms of realization, design and photography. I wanted my Instagram to be visual. But, as I continued this process, I started posting videos and I saw that they caught so much more attention. I realized that it wasn’t just about the song itself but the entire universe around the song—from the person’s look to the choreography to the set design. I saw that it not only attracted people but inspired them.
A lot of creatives follow Disco Bambino and they write to me about how incredible those years were for Italian entertainment and culture—and how they provide inspiration for works being made today. This isn’t just nostalgia from people who grew up at this time. Most of my audience is 25 to 35; they’re from a generation that did not live through the Italian disco years but they are incredibly inspired by them.
This isn’t just nostalgia from people who grew up at this time. Most of my audience is 25 to 35; they’re from a generation that did not live through the Italian disco years but they are incredibly inspired by them.
How do you uncover new old songs and videos?
I collect disco music and everything related to and around it—music produced in Italy or by Italians abroad between 1977 and 1982/83. My record collection is very big. It contains records that I bought, really, as early as when I was five years old. It also has records that I’ve searched for. This is my starting point. If I see something that I’m interested in, or hear a song for the first time, I will dig deeper. I will find out who wrote it, or who played an instrument and then I will research that person. It’s this process of learning more. Even after all these years of research and collecting, I still continue to find things that I’ve never heard before.
Are you surprised by the following you’ve amassed and your celebrity audience?
Yes! I’m very surprised. What I do with Disco Bambino is try to recreate something very personal, these memories from my childhood. In this process of reconstruction and sharing, I see all of these incredible artists—artists that I adore, who I’ve seen in concert or heard their DJ sets—follow me. I see that they find this aesthetic, this culture, very intriguing and inspiring, as well.
Recently there was a Saturday Night Live sketch called “La Maison Du Bang!” inspired by Disco Bambino. They credit Disco Bambino as the inspiration. To American culture, Italian disco is something so unique; it’s so different than American disco, which was the matrix of the genre around the world. Now, I look at what I do and it’s probably a new form of archaeology—to keep this musical universe alive and restore it and look toward it as I create something new.
How did your record deal arise?
It came through my day job, where I am a creative director and the vice president of music partnerships at The Promotion Factory. For work, I had connected with Patrick Moxey’s label, which was Ultra Records. We worked on deals for Revlon and Bulova. Patrick saw the development of Disco Bambino. He saw the interest that it was generating around the world.
I was a producer when I was living in Italy, before I moved to New York City. Patrick pushed me to go back into music writing and music production. He put me in writing camps in London with my partner Giuseppe Giammetta. Then we started writing songs. The first single is called “A Te,” which is a celebration of my love for music and also a celebration of my love for my mom, who has always supported this passion of mine—from the earliest moments when I was a little kid living in this small town in southern Italy, fascinated by music and dance. I have a second single coming out in September and by the end of the year there might even be an album.
What do you hope your future in the music industry looks like?
I hope to keep recording songs. I hope to continue making music. The music that I want to make is not a reproduction of stuff that was released in the ’70s and ’80s. I want to make music that is very evocative and brings a sense of nostalgia without copying something previously released. I also hope to release vinyl records soon!
What are your thoughts?