it
Travel /
Tuscany /
Florence /
Culture /
Music
Jul 23
reading time 6 min

Beyond City-Center Clubs: 6 Florence-Based DJ Groups To Follow

by Anna Hirschorn

To the uninitiated, there’s nothing to do in Florence. And, to be fair, it really does seem to be true: bars close at 2 AM, city-center clubs are overflowing with 19-year-old exchange students, and the range of music styles you can find is certainly more limited than that of more cosmopolitan cities. DJ and local Florentine Andrea Battagli of Mystic Valley explains that this limited range might come down to the fact that the club scene in Florence is very much motivated by money, telling us “it’s easier to open trashy places than other clubs here.” Club owners take large cuts, and DJs often have to bring their own equipment because that of the clubs isn’t up to par. 

 

For these factors, among others, Battagli admits, “There’re lots of parties, but there isn’t a real scene in florence.” But there are some DJs and DJ groups who are trying to work around this system (and the city center). Florence may not have a “scene”, but what it does have is a surprisingly robust roster of creatives who are trying to change the meaning of a good party in Florence. While historical venues like Tenax, a mecca for new wave music in the 80s, might have put Florence on the map in the past, Battagli believes the future is in parties that are “during the day, with nature or in gardens. Chiller parties.”  

 

So here’s the trick about Florentine nightlife: while you can follow places, and there are certainly some great ones, you should really be following people. Here, six Florence-based groups to keep an eye on, though there are many more great ones that can be found with a little searching on Instagram–among them Intro-Spettiva (@intro.spettiva), FVTVRA (@futura.firenze), and Autentica (@autenticaon). The social media channel is the best way through which to keep up-to-date on latest activities and upcoming events.

BIORITMO (@bioritmico)

Born in 2021, the Bioritmo project is for the nature lovers among us: the group, operating under the pseudoscientific philosophy that “our daily lives are significantly subject to rhythmic cycles,” plays sets almost exclusively outdoors, in green spaces like gardens and farms. Water is always free–it’s a non-negotiable for the group–and sometimes you might even find it flavored with the produce and herbs from the places that host them. The sets typically start with Italo-disco style before continuing into tech house. The group chooses to operate under the Bioritmo name, rather than calling out the names of the individual DJs, among them co-founder Giacomo Spotti, whose goal is for Bioritmo to be “an increasingly dynamic way of experiencing electronic music by detaching it from any toxic patterns and habits to which it has often been connected, instead directing it towards being able to feel better mentally and physically every time you dance.” 

Depending on the season, there can be one or two parties a week, and be on the lookout for their once-in-a-while sporting events with the likes of tennis, bocce, and running. 

LATTEXPLUS (@lattexplus)

Inspired by the warehouse parties and underground clubs of London and Berlin, events brand Lattexplus was born in 2010. More of a party organizer than a DJ collective, the project’s name takes inspiration from Kubrick’s cinematic masterpiece A Clockwork Orange and protagonist Alex’s “milk plus” (“latte più”) medley–and a medley is what you’ll get with Lattexplus. Though inspired by the techno capitals of the world, their music doesn’t reach into the depths of obscurity, allowing it to be more accessible and always upbeat. Co-owner Biniam tells us, “It’s not about a specific style or genre of music. Some people don’t identify us as a techno event–instead more housey, disco–even if we’ve hosted some techno acts during the year like DVS1, Blawan, and, recently, Samà Abduladhi. It’s not really just about that, though: it’s about building a community around a nice, friendly, and playful vibe.” 

They frequently throw parties at the recently-renovated Manifattura Tabacchi, a former tobacco factory, but keep an eye on @lattexplus for any of their multidisciplinary events: with an attention to lights, visuals, and sound, Lattexplus wants guests to “experience music at 360 degrees” and works to include other formats like films and contemporary art.

Photo by Claudio Caprai

DE RIO (@de__rio)

Since 2019, collective DE RIO–founded by Tommaso Andolrini and Tommaso Ciaranfi–has been organizing events, parties, and DJ sets “to explore the various facets of electronic music, starting from a focus on the ‘techno’ sound.” Moving beyond the typical club format–both physically and conceptually–the collective chooses venues that are “unusual, abandoned, or socially/historically interesting” like gardens, sheds, or abandoned buildings. Operating under the motto “for wise dancefloors only”, DE RIO aims to “attract a truly passionate and music-conscious audience with a real interest or curiosity in our movement and in the musical research we carry out.” 

The group is quite varied–and their sound has evolved as the members of the group have–so music styles may change by event, though you can expect contemporary techno with inspiration from EBM, trance, psytrance, and old-school techno from the 90s. Starting in 2021, the group expanded its scope and started an independent record label, with six releases–of their resident artists and up-and-coming talents–under their belt to date. 

Photo by @phlame_

LUNATICA (@_lunatica_movimento)

Lunatica started in 2019 as a female/queer project, working “to fight the gender gap in the club music field in Florence and Tuscany,” founder Sofia Scupola tells us. As this gap has shrunk, Lunatica has evolved into a mixed-gender project, though always maintaining a focus on gender-diverse lineups that celebrate music and its effects on our “different phases and emotions.” Some events, like that of the Full Moon phase, contain an upbeat, high energy, while others are more introspective, like those of the Black Moon phase. Depending on which phase you find yourself in, you might dance to music that orbits around leftfield bass music, breakbeat, techno, and trance, though Lunatica organizes ambient and downtempo events too. “We are focused on building a space that is safer, equal, and colorful. We believe in the party as a temporal space where we can grow artistically and humanly, and where we connect with others with respect and love,” Scupola says. 

This summer, 2023, you can find Lunatica every other Tuesday at Fiorino sull’Arno, or on Sunday once a month at their pool party in Chianti.  

MYSTIC VALLEY (@mysticvalle)

Architect, collector, and producer Andrea Battagli is a born-and-bred Florentine with a hand in many musical projects around Florence. After years of DJing with eminent group Tropical Animals, Battagli is turning his attention: he’s one of the founders of up-and-coming collective Mizuna (@mizunantis), and his latest venture, Mystic Valley, brings a sound best described “as a melting pot of Italian psychedelic influences, from obscure downtempo to new beat, as well as English breakbeat and German ebm.” In tandem, Battagli has launched–together with post punk group Zona Utopica Garantita, of which he has been a coach–the label Mystic Transfers (@mystictransfers), named for Florence’s famed, dark wave shop named Transfers. Their releases focus on experimental music and international club cuts. 

PINK SOUND SYSTERS (@pinksoundsysters)

Founded in winter, 2021, the Pink Sound Systers collective, which also goes by the acronym PSSY, is a female- and queer-focused community of DJs, activists, performers, and creatives. With a sound system described as “rosa, vivace e independente” (“pink, lively and independent”), the group can be found around Florence and its fringes, at circoli arci, clubs, and rifugi. As for their color of choice, the collective writes in their manifesto, “We reappropriate this color, which was given to women in the 20th century as a limiting label; we reappropriate its energy, its strength.”

Courtesy of @pinksoundsysters

Lattexplus