FLEE | Tarantismo: Odyssey of an Italian Ritual

posted by Robyn Pitts November 28, 2019

We’re excited to present FLEE’s latest project: Tarantismo: Odyssey of an Italian Ritual. Dedicated to the Tarantism dance ritual (an ancient popular belief in which women allegedly become crazy and/or nymphomaniac after a tarantula bite, being only cured by frenetic dancing and music), the book is available now. The projects features a hardcover linen book (printed in both English and Italian) as well as a 2xLP vinyl which will be sold separately or together in custom-made packaging.

As an independent cultural engineering platform dedicated to the documentation and enhancement of hybrid cultures, FLEE function as a record label, publishing house and exhibition organiser. They focus on highlighting sub-cultures, whilst making them interact with contemporary artistic approaches through a critical point of view. Their trans-disciplinary approach to documentation and artistic re-interpretation is showcased in their latest project which tells the story of one Europe’s most mysterious, ritualistic and centuries-old phenomenons.

Tarantismo: Odyssey of an Italian Ritual is comprised of a double LP vinyl compilation and a hardcover book. The double LP captures original field recordings of musicians-exorcists registered by Diego Carpitella, Ernesto de Martino and Alan Lomax in the late 1950’s in Puglia, as well as six unique remixes by contemporary vanguard electronic musicians and producers including Bjorn Torske & Trym, Bottin and Don’t DJ. The hardcover publication includes nine essays focusing on various dimensions of the ritual and provides a voice for artists, photographers, sociologists, anthropologists, and catholic priests, as well as witnesses, experts and actors of the history of this music exorcism. It contains original photographs from Chiara Samugheo, former official photographer, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Mattia Zappellaro, to name a few. Original contributions from seven experts such as director Edoardo Winspeare, researcher Claudia Attimonelli and conceptual artist Pamela Diamante are also featured in the publication. The project ultimately aims to document and explain the social context of the music and ritual of Tarantismo.

The release of the book and the record will be followed by a series of exhibitions and conferences that will share FLEE’s year-long research on Tarantism, as well as their numerous commissioned artworks.