The Sound of Normalisation is a collection of audio recordings that documents the sound culture of the Ultras group BRESCIA 1911 in relation to modern football and the wave of repressive measures targeted at organized supporters groups. The recordings were taken over a period of 15 years and cover: 1) creation, uses and meanings of the chants 2) group principles and collective identity 3) audience participation and the process of social exclusion from the stadium 4) police repression and the political implications of the chants 5) the evolution of the drumming in relation to the drums ban-order of 2007. Each recording comes with a short introductory text and is presented as a video with subtitles. The work has been published in 2018 by SARU, Oxford Brookes University.

Since early 2000 I’ve been researching football supporter subculture, audience participation and crowd regulation. The overall research concerns the nexus of public space, social performance and surveillance in contemporary Italian football. — The aim of the research is to trace mechanisms of social interaction and aesthetic creation in football supporters’ subculture via an examination of the sound practices shared by the group Brescia 1911. Relations between sound production and space construction are investigated especially in the light of dynamics of social control adopted in football grounds in the last years. — The research contributes to a better understanding of sound’s function in group formation and collective identity as well as how sound performance and social repertoire evolve in relation to public security measures and space control.

In 2015, a first concrete materialization of the project has been exhibited at ARGOS, centre for art and media, Brussels. In 2018, the final version of the project has been presented at GET SOME CHALK ON YOUR BOOTS! an exhibition and conference organized by SARU at Oxford Brookes University.



audio recordings, videos, & texts: Davide Tidoni
design: Marzia Dalfini & Davide Tidoni
offset printing
binding: thread sewn, open spine binding with glued on boards
pages: 60
dimensions: 15×21x1cm
publisher: SARU Oxford Brookes University
number of copies: 300
year: 2018
orders: write to baitabaita AT riseup DOT net