Litfiba
Litfiba

Florence. 1981.

The new British wave is hitting many young people on the peninsula, among them 5 young men residing in Florence: Gianni Maroccolo (bass), Antonio Aiazzi (keyboards), Franco Calamai (drums), Federico Renzulli (guitars), and a 19-year-old on vocals, a certain Piero Pelù.

They all play in the same band, named LITFIBA. After debuting at the Rokkoteca on December 8th, 1980, and after 6 concerts throughout 1981, the five head to a garage pompously called a "recording studio" owned by Sergio Salaorni, singer of Alcool. It is the legendary Larione 10. Here, albeit in a very fragmentary manner, Litfiba produced a demo containing 5 pieces: "Luna", "Guerra", "After death", "In my head", and "Dea del Fuji-Yama". Only the first two were deemed valuable pieces and were included on side A of their debut EP. On side B, 3 new tracks were added: "Under the moon" and "Men in suicide" (both poorly recorded in the rehearsal room and thus passed off as "Live at Casablanca" versions), concluded with the cold and dissonant "E. F. S. 44" (i.e. Etnological Forgery Series), an experimental piece created by Aiazzi, Maroccolo, and Stefano Fuochi from the first formation of Neon.

The 5 tracks would make up the band's first record, with an initial release of 1050 copies. It was titled "Litfiba". It would be released under the Materiali Sonori label, but more specifically under Urgent Label, a section dedicated to the "Italian new wave" followed by Marcello Michelotti, Stefano Fuochi of Neon, and Bruno Casini. It is June 6th, 1982, Litfiba are in the final in Bologna for the "Italian rock festival". Competing, other bands such as the Catanian Denovo (with Mario Venuti, editor's note) and Diaframma by Federico Fiumani. On that same day, Francesca Pieraccini and Giampiero Bigazzi (creator of Ma. So.) went to Milan to collect the first 50 copies of the EP, attaching the covers during the return trip on the train and arrived at the Palasport in Bologna in time to contribute surprisingly to Litfiba's win.

This record today is practically untraceable; it was reprinted without authorization and cover in 1982 and was called "Guerra", because what appeared to the buyer was a gray envelope with the lyrics of "Guerra" printed on it and inside, the 12". Today, the first edition, has a commercial value of about 450 euros. Regarding musical content, "Litfiba" contains 5 tracks in which the "new wave" can be felt, albeit excellently converted and interpreted in an Italian key.

The first track is "Guerra", written by Pelù as soon as he returned from his escape trip from London. It's a decidedly urgent piece in which keyboards and bass stand out the most. Piero's vocal interpretation is very innovative and unusual for the time, very charismatic, where an increase in tension and drama can be felt, culminating after shouting "di uomini guerra" four times, where a long Fender Stratocaster solo begins. The piece would become a hallmark of the ensemble and would be re-recorded, in a more violent and mature form in the 1985 debut LP. The second piece is "Luna", a stunning piece also sung in Italian, where guitars and keyboards stand out the most among the other instruments, especially in the chorus. Contrary to the version recorded in the 7" of 1983 and subsequent live versions, this version contains an extra verse, the one that reads "terra di esseri verdi e gelatinosi, figli della penombra e di già atrofizzati. E noi uomini li domineremo, li renderemo simili a noi".

Side B opens with a track sung in English, in some ways similar to some Joy Division productions... the title is "Under the moon". The audio quality is lower than the first two tracks, because both this and the next were recorded in via de Bardi, in the rehearsal room. In fact, in the initial keyboard intro, you can hear the voices of the five talking and arguing... you can even understand Pelù saying "mai una volta che si inizia alle otto e mezza...".
The fourth track is the gloomy and dusky "Men in suicide" which fully reflects Piero's own dark period, obsessive and repeated rhythms but making this track unique, as it was performed very few times live. In both tracks on side B, the singing is difficult to comprehend (in fact, the two lyrics cannot be found anywhere... perhaps they will be printed inside the record?? Who knows....). The experimental "E.F.S. 44" closes, a bonus created by tinkering with mixers and effects on some discarded tapes (at one point you can hear the chorus of "Luna" played backwards) and Piero's verses with very spectral effects.

An innovative record for the time but at the same time raw. For collectors and genre enthusiasts, a true relic to be venerated and contemplated. It has never been reissued on digital media and I strongly doubt a possible reissue.