Gay club italia

London-based Italian writer Marco Mancassola reflects on his personal relationship with the oeuvre of renowned Sicilian art pop musician Franco Battiato: What the musician has vicariously (and unwittingly) passed on to him through his music, his knowledge of Western and non-Western mysticism, and his unique craftsmanship within the Italian music landscape.

They call you Maestro (as in master, teacher) and you surely have taught me some important things. You are not the only one who has taught me those things, but you have done so in a luminous, unparalleled way.

Your name, Franco Battiato, is often associated with categories such as «esoteric pop», «philosophical pop», «experimental pop». But they all sound too niche and unseal to misunderstanding. Most of your work is pop in the broadest sense; you are among the most successful Italian singer-songwriters of all time. And your work has become widely loved not despite of, but because it is spiritual, intellectual, and experimental. Your work transcends usual oppositions.

I am impossibly grateful to your music,