Master Research Symposium: ‘Neapolitan Power; An analysis of Pino Daniele’s Transcultural Musical Experiment.’ By Davide de Luca

Master students, during their studies, delve into research topics related to their main field of study. At the Master Research Symposium, happening this week, they present their findings, covering a wide array of subjects, accompanied by live music! Click here for the full schedule and the programme.

We had the opportunity to speak to a few students and asked them about their research projects.

In his research, Davide de Luca delves into the Neapolitan Power movement of the 1970s, driven by his passion for showcasing Pino Daniele's music beyond Italy. Inspired by Daniele's ability to fuse foreign influences with Neapolitan style and language, he aims to highlight the transcultural richness of Italian music.

Can you please tell us what your research project is about?
My research analyses a musical movement happened in Naples during the 1970s and called Neapolitan Power. Using the songs of the Neapolitan singer and guitarist Pino Daniele as case study, I analysed the transcultural musical elements in his music and his ability to tie them with his Neapolitan style and language.

Why did you choose this subject?
I chose this topic because I wanted to bring Pino’s music outside of Italy, demonstrating the musical transcultural richness of his songs. The purpose of this subject is also connected with my personal artistic goal, consisting of sharing my Italian music, based on the connection between Italian language and Afro-American genres such as jazz, R&B and funky music, here in the Netherlands and in Europe in general.

What was the experience like, researching this?
It has been quite hard, but also very interesting for me to analyse a topic that, in my opinion, has never been deeply investigated outside of Italy. There are not many sources on the web related to this topic, so I had to consider many books, essays, articles, and interviews to go deep in the analyses of this movement and of Pino Daniele’s songs.

What did you think of the results of your research?
I had the chance to discover many connections between Pino’s music and foreign influences that came from Spanish, Portuguese, Afro-American and Arabic countries. But there is still much work to be done, because the Neapolitan power involved many young musicians from the Neapolitan music scene, and the production is huge. In addition, a deeper analysis of Pino Daniele’s songs can be done, considering much more transcultural elements.

Photo
Attached to this article is the cover of my research, showing the famous “Superband” of Pino Daniele. In this picture is also included the saxophonist James Senese (on the right side, with long curly hair), one of the main personalities of this Neapolitan music revolution who made a big contribution to Pino’s style of music.

Thank you so much Davide, we are positive this will not only enrich your own music, but that these findings will benefit a lot of other people at the same time!