Tarantismo : odyssey of an Italian ritual

Description

FLEE is proud to present its new project Tarantismo: Odyssey of an Italian Ritual. Dedicated to Tarantism, a centuries-old musical ritual (from which the Tarantella, a dance from the Mezzogiorno in southern Italy, originates), used to heal women victims of a mysterious malady caused by a spider bite through exorcisms made of frantic rhythms and manic dances. Trans-disciplinary, this work of documentation and artistic reinterpretation of one of the most mysterious transcendental phenomena in Europe consists of a vinyl compilation as well as a book published in Italian and English. This double LP features original field recordings of musician-exorcists from Apulia from the late 1950s made by Diego Carpitella, Alan Lomax and Ernesto de Martino, as well as six exclusive remixes of these works by avant-garde electronic music musicians and producers including: Bjorn Torske & Trym Søvdsnes (NO), LNS (CA), UFFE (DK), KMRU (KE), Bottin (IT), and Don't DJ (DE). The book is composed of nine essays addressing the different dimensions and facets of the ritual; this bilingual publication gives voice to artists, photographers, sociologists, anthropologists, religious figures and scientists. These witnesses, experts and actors of the past and contemporary history of this musical exorcism contribute their exclusive writings and photographs with contributions from: Chiara Samugheo, Edoardo Winspeare, Claudia Attimonelli, Pamela Diamante, Luigi Chiriatti, Salvatore Bevilacqua, Gino Di Mitri and Mattia Zappellaro. The release of this project will be followed by a cycle of exhibitions, concerts/parties and conferences, unveiling the scope of the research work and the vision of FLEE developed around the subject over the past two years, as well as the numerous works commissioned and put into discourse for the occasion.