A small mob of impossibly stylish Italians clogs the entrance to the small club off Via Donatello. Above the mass, “Sottomarino Giallo” (or Yellow Submarine) blinks through the suspended cloud of cigarette smoke, and from the bowels of the club thumps heavy bass like a threatening illness. Once I push through the throng of 20-something-year-olds, I make my way down the beer-soiled stairs to the deep stomach of the club: an irregularly shaped small room, lined with mirrors on every wall, all right angles and laser lights refracted from the disco ball.
Did I mention the kids are going nuts?
Congorock and Pulling Teeth are lodged in the tiny DJ booth, each taking turns throttling the eager crowd with jagged electro—masters of the fidget house that’s storming Milan’s underground clubs like the Allied powers in 1945. Wait—this wasn’t the same city I visited just a year before. Something has seriously changed…
When you think of European music capitals, the giants loom head-and-torso above the rest. London, Berlin and Paris for decades have towered grandiosely over their sister cities, looking down at their meager output with that ever-fine European disdain-meets-pity (no one does it better). Sure, cities like Stockholm and Manchester have made some noise in the past, but as far as pure output the Holy Trinity stands strong. Well, there appears to be another old city now making new noise in Southern Europe—an Italian city world-renowned for its fashion…yet not even glanced at for its music. Milan is back, miei amici.
What we discovered was a city simmering a rich cultural stew. Yes, the DJs and producers are making noise, but so are the tangential fields of culture: fashion lines, jewelry and sunglasses, cutting-edge media with magazines and websites; and, of course, the food. This is still Italy. So if you’re making plans to visit Europe in the near future, forget Rome and make sure you book a couple days in Italy’s real capital—and let us be your guide…you won’t regret it…