SUBSONICA at the Rugby Sound Fest: thirty years of electronic resistance

Article by Simona Ventrella | Photo by Lara Bordoni

There's a big difference between a band celebrating an anniversary and a band proving why, thirty years later, it's still needed. THE Subsonicon stage at Rugby Sound of Legnano, do not celebrate their past: they put it back into circulation, they update it, they give it current. There is no nostalgia, there is no “greatest hits” self-satisfaction, instead there is a group that continues to play as if it still had something to prove.

And perhaps this is precisely the secret of the Subsonic. Having remained faithful not to a sound, but to an idea. That electronic music can be popular without becoming superficial. That rock can communicate with synthesizers without losing physicality. That a song can make you dance while forcing you to look at the world a little more carefully. The band's thirty years coincide with the release of Rare Earthsa title that already tells a lot about their present: indispensable but invisible materials, precious resources hidden inside the objects we use every day, a perfect metaphor of an era that consumes everything and forgets what's beneath the surface. It is a political reflection, perfectly consistent with a career that has always preferred to question the present rather than offer a reassuring version.

Live this coherence becomes pure energy. The opening with Snapshots And Square Waves it is the memory of the beginnings with the synthesizers orchestrated by Boosta, Vicio's elastic bass, Ninja who continues to be a methodical and tireless drummer, Max Casacci the silent engine of the entire tireless system and Samuel who still retains that rare ability to be simultaneously frontman, master of ceremonies and traveling companion.

When they arrive Radioextensions And Free Allthe audience is already a compact mass jumping and dancing. Subsonica have always had something that many Italian bands have never managed to build: a community. Not just fans, but people who share an imaginary of social attention, individual freedom and curiosity. Different generations coexist in their concerts without any seeming out of place. Historical songs such as Aurora Dreams, Rapid Clouds they don't work because they evoke the past, but because they still speak to the present. Their songs anticipated digital alienation, the manipulation of information, fear transformed into consensus and the need to preserve spaces of humanity in an increasingly accelerated society. Today they sound less like prophecies and more like chronicles and fit naturally together with the new pieces of Terre Rare, creating a single flow of the concert

New Obsession, The center of the flame, Leave yourself And Time in me they don't interrupt the narrative: they continue it, while the concert continuously grows in intensity. Foreigner, Ghibli, Shout And Poison. The Rugby Sound lawn is now a gigantic alternative dancefloor where rock, techno, drum'n'bass and pop definitively cease to have boundaries. On the other hand, breaking down categories has been their trademark for three decades.

Then comes one of the most devastating sequences of the evening. Labyrinth divider, Up Patriots to Armsa respectful, personal and successful tribute to Franco Battiato,Transhumanism, The Flood And All my mistakes. Songs that tell the story of those who continue to make music following their own compass and have never been afraid to take a stand, to talk about rights, the environment, technology, control, social transformations, without ever turning songs into slogans. In which commitment is not an accessory to show off, but the point of view from which they observe the world.

Despite all this conceptual weight, Subsonica concerts are always fun. It's almost a paradox: they talk about alienation and end up creating one of the most inclusive and liberating environments of Italian rock. In their live performances the reflection passes through the body. We dance, we sing, we hug. The party becomes a political gesture. A way to remember that being together today is already a form of resistance. And then there's one of those moments that are worth the price of admission alone. Casino Royale, who opened the evening, return to the stage for a shared version of King without throne. It is not a simple guest, nor a nostalgic homage. It is the photograph of a common story that spans over thirty years of alternative Italian music. Seeing them together means witnessing the meeting of two bands who, despite speaking different languages, shared the same obstinacy: rejecting shortcuts, contaminating genres, keeping sound research and civil conscience together. King without throne it thus becomes much more than a cover, but a mutual recognition between musicians who have always considered music a space of freedom, doubt and taking a position.

When they leave Roads and above all Got BlueRugby Sound definitively explodes. It's the perfect ending: melancholic and euphoric at the same time, as only Subsonica have been able to be since their inception. Thirty years later, they continue to occupy territory that no one else in Italy has truly conquered. Too electronic to be a traditional rock band. Too rock to be a dance group. Too political to be pure entertainment. Too in love with pop to take refuge in the elite.

They simply remained Subsonica and this is probably their biggest revolution.

Click here to see them photo of Subonica in Legnano or browse the gallery below