audio-based works

THE BEST OF NO-TAV

2024



The Best of NoTAV is a songbook that includes lyrics, contextual notes and reinterpretations of 15 songs from the No-TAV struggle.
Conceived as an historical documentation of the struggle, narrated through its own songs, the work also functions on a performative level. The ironic and seductive character of the musical rearrangements easily infiltrates the listeners’ attention, inviting them to sing aloud on their own.



The publication of the songbook is accompanied by the music video The Golden Years of San Didero. The video includes footages shot by the political police on Dec. 8, 2011, during a demonstration against the newly installed TAV construction site.


You can order a physical copy by writing to: baitabaita AT riseup DOT net. All the proceedings will go to the NoTAV movement and to the Anti-repression Fund of the Western Alps (Cassa Anti-Repressione delle Alpi occidentali). Note: first edition available only in Italian.

Download the pdf of the songbook here.

More about the No TAV struggle: https://www.tni.org/en/article/no-tav-feeding-the-fire-of-resistance-in-northern-italy.

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FRAGMENTS FROM THE NO-TAV STRUGGLE

2023

The work consists of a series of stories, personal reflections, and direct experiences from the No TAV struggle, an Italian grassroots movement that has opposed the construction of the second high-speed train line between Turin and Lyon since the early 2000s.

Through the voices of various people involved in the movement, the work brings together some of the central themes of the No TAV struggle, including: the technical flaws and deficiencies of the high-speed project; the relationship between struggle, community and personal growth; and the military defense plan put in place to protect the TAV construction sites.

The first three episodes of the work were broadcast in May 2023 by RAI, the Italian National Radio. The broadcast of the fourth episode was canceled shortly before airing. For this reason, the four episodes are now published in entirety, restoring the integrity and scope of the work. The fourth episode is presented in a longer version than the one originally made for RAI.

The title “(Valsusa Outtakes) Fragments from the No TAV Struggle” refers to the fact that the audio recordings included in the work were taken while I was making field recordings for an archival project on No TAV protest songs (currently in progress). Due to the contents of the recordings, which are not directly related to protest songs, I’ve decided not to include them in the archival project and instead use them for creating a new work.

An English translation of the work is in progress.

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NEIDERLANT OU NEIDERLANT

2019


In this project, I asked non-native Dutch residents to sing karaoke interpretations of popular Dutch songs. The songs have also been transcribed by the singers according to the (arbitrary) phonetics of their native tongue, highlighting the difficulties in becoming familiar with the sounds of a new language.

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ULTRAS KARAOKE

2019



Ultras Karaoke is the karaoke version of a series of football supporters’ chants. The lyrics of the supporters are superimposed with a midi-track of the original songs the chants are based on. The chants that appear in this work are sung by non professional singers. Their voices have been recorded in informal studio settings, far from football stadiums. The audio work is the continuation of the homonymous video project that you can find here



recordings & mixing: Davide Tidoni
design: Davide Tidoni
silkscreen: Ilana Pichon
number of copies: 50
year: 2019
orders: write to baitabaita AT riseup DOT net

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ULTRAS MASHUP

2018 - 2015



Ultras Mashup consists of a series of audio tracks in which football chants’ recordings are mixed with the “original” songs they are based on. The work reflects on the musical aspects of football supporters’ culture and supporters’ practice of creation through appropriation.

The work includes football supporters’ repurposed versions of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera theme Aida, Jewish traditional song from psalm 23 Gam Gam, Marcella Bella’s 1972 Sanremo Festival success Montagne Verdi, Walt Disney’s whistling theme from Robin Hood, northern italian folk song La Mula de Parensio, Coca-Cola jingle Buy the World a Coke, Dean Martin’s signature song That’s Amore, and Righeira’s 80’s summer hit L’Estate Sta Finendo.

The football chants used in the tracks have been recorded at the stadium and on away matches as part of my involvement with the ultras group Brescia 1911 (2001 – ongoing).

recordings & mixing: Davide Tidoni
design: Davide Tidoni & Marzia Dalfini
silkscreen: l’Appât
publisher: SARU Oxford Brookes University
number of copies: 200
year: 2018
orders: write to baitabaita AT riseup DOT net

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CANTA CHE NON PASSA

2018



DOWNLOAD THE LYRICS OF THE CHANTS.

The work documents part of the repertoire of the informal choir Canta che non passa (Our Singing Will Stop It). The choir is a spontaneous group of middle aged/elderly people active in the NO TAV* movement in Valsusa, northern Italy. The choir’s repertoire consists mainly of protest songs adapted from preexisting musical sources, with new lyrics created from scratch.

I recorded the choir during one of their meetings. Rather than placing the microphone on a stand, at some distance from the group and capturing the collective dimension of the voices, I chose to move within the choir and point the microphone at the individual voices of the participants. This strategy allowed me to emphasize the imperfect nature of the choir and place emphasis on the singular/plural dimension of the group as well as the uncertain beauty of non-professional voices.

* The NO TAV movement is an Italian grass root struggle that, since the early 2000s, has opposed the construction of the second high-speed train line between Turin and Lyon. More info: brief history of the no tav movement and notav.info.

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FORGET THE THEATER – GO TO THE STADIUM

2018 - 2015


Forget the Theater – Go to the Stadium documents all of the times that the italian word “dai” (in english “c’mon”) was used by the leaders of the ultras group BRESCIA 1911 during Brescia vs. Catania, 2015. The word “dai” is commonly used as an exhortation to urge the group to participate in the chanting.

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ULTRAS KARAOKE

2018



Ultras Karaoke is the karaoke version of a series of football supporters’ chants. The lyrics of supporters are superimposed with a midi-track of the original songs the chants are based on.

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THE SOUND OF NORMALISATION

2018 - 2001



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

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THE SOUND OF WHITE NOISE

2017 - 2015
tsown

The Sound of White Noise is an audio piece consisting of a series of instructions that are broadcasted on the radio and performed by the radio listeners at home. The instructions are about specific body positions and movements that the listeners have to perform in relation to the sound system they are using and the space where they are. A recorded voice gives the instructions and guides the listeners through the entire duration of the piece. Each instruction invites the listeners to interact with the white noise that is diffused through the radio. The movements and gestures that the listeners perform modify the stream of white noise that is diffused in the room and the way it is perceived.



The piece has been broadcasted on the 29th of April 2015 on Deutschland Radio Kultur. A french version of the piece has been realized in 2017 (produced by ACSR, Brussels) and received a mention at the Phonurgia Nova Prix Art Sonore, Paris 2017.

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NON MOLLEREMO MAI / We Will Never Give Up

2017

A 89 years old woman sings along with the musical motif of a well know football stadium chant. Her fragile voice clashes with the physicality of the music.

MY LOSS WILL BE YOUR GAIN

2016


The material for this work comes from a tape cassette that I found in a derelict empty house. The material consists of a series of recording-tests performed by the woman who used to live in the house. The title of the piece – my loss will be your gain – refers to the accidental discovery of the tape after years of abandonment and neglect.

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BACK TO BACK WITH PAOLO

2014


The audio work documents the encounter between me and Paolo, two amateur singers that accidentally meet on the street at night time. After a short introduction, the encounter turns into a back to back chanting battle. The street becomes the stage of a spontaneous performance; the chants, a way to discover each other.

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MAGNIFYING MY SPHERE OF POWER

2013


Magnifying My Sphere of Power is an audio work where I sing and play drums along with a selection of my favourite hard core punk songs. The work reflects on the power of music as an emotional inciter, an agitator that animates physical energy and one’s own desire to move and participate.

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(FAIL WE MAY) SAIL WE MUST

2013



The work includes two recordings of two different music rehearsal sessions that I recorded in the halls of a music school. The musicians in the recordings practice their pieces and repeat them over and over again. Their perseverance encourages listeners to understand failure as a necessary step in the process of growth. There’s no mistake you can’t learn from…

Don’t you dare to go under
Don’t let ‘em steal your thunder
Listen to the sound
Well, let ‘em grind that down
Don’t let them bastards grind you down
 Lemmy – Motörhead

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TOUS ENSEMBLE ON VA CHANTER

2012



In this work, my friend Helen and I sing along with a recording I took of St.Etienne’s football supporters group Magic Fans (St.Etienne vs. Toulouse, 2011). The piece emphasizes the contagious nature of chanting. Despite Helen not being a member of the Magic Fans, she gets involved quite easily and participates in the singing without hesitation.

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MEMORIES OF A PIGEON SHOOTER

2012


An elderly man tells about his former career as amateur pigeon shooter. After telling about his prizes and victories, the meaning of his stories slowly comes to surface: the desire to remain somehow attached to his life memories and not be forgotten.

IT’S NOT THE ARCHITECT’S FAULT…

2010



A retired hairdresser, a business man , a plumber, an accountant for the city council, a bird hunter, two young design students, a former real estate agent, a local urban planner… these are the people I interviewed on the main themes presented at the Italian Pavillion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2010.

The piece was presented at the closing event of the Italian Pavillion, Venice Architecture Biennale, 21 nov. 2010.

CHRISTMAS AT THE NURSING HOME

2010


On Christmas afternoon, a music band plays live at the nursing home of a small town in Northern Italy. During the performance, the band invites some of the residents to go on stage and sing. What makes the residents’ voices unique is their emotional involvement and desire to participate, regardless of any musical compentence.

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NEIGHBOURS

2009


This is me singing along with the music that comes from my neighbour’s flat.

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