Especially thanks to press, the history of disco music in Italy is hidden behind a thick haze made of heroic mythology. No one dares to tell the banal truth, that Italy has been a mere colony of New York, the hometown of disco music. Like happened in NYC, Italian disco music had two infamous parents, namable “market of recreational drugs” and “consumerism of discographic products”, that, thanks to political correctness, were renamed “LGBT civil rights” and “interracial ethos of loving equality”.
Unfortunately, disco mythology has become very hard to overcome, because some fundamental personalities are dead. Among them, there are the two pioneers of DJ mixing in Italy, Michele “DJ Miki” Giuliano, and Claudio “DJ Mozart” Rispoli. Many sources affirm that two DJs from the USA have spread the new techniques in Italy since the year 1975, whose names are Tom Sison and Bob Day. Is it true? There’s no confirmation from American sources, and, consequently, you can bet that the supposed facts of the above never happened.
Differently from official mythology, a superstar DJ from NYC, Mr. Tom Savarese, worked in Italy for two years, but only from 1978 to 1979. DJ Savarese didn’t teach to Italians how to mix records on the beat, simply because the praxis had already taken place all over the Emilia-Romagna region. However, the American superstar was fundamental in teaching how to make a remix, and how to compose a disco music hit. His precious teachings became the guidelines of disco music production in Bologna, featuring two local guys, Mauro Malavasi and Jacques Fred Petrus. In effect, from 1978 to 1986, disco music records released in Bologna were excellent, because very close to the classic tunes of NYC discos.
Given that “Tom and Bob” are two ectoplasms, who was the earliest Italian DJ to mix records on the beat? It was DJ Miki, Michele Giuliano, who started to perform that way at the discotheque Ciak, in Bologna. When? In the year 1974. The year before, Mr. Giuliano, a journalist with some relatives in America, visited the underground discos of NYC, fell in love with the new musical genre, and learned the techniques of the best New-Yorican DJs. Possibly, he knew the American journalist Vince Aletti, and the charismatic DJ David Mancuso. How can I say that? First, in the year 1978 DJ Miki was awarded as “the best European DJ” by the Billboard Magazine. Second, the music, that was danced in Emilia-Romagna during the late 70’s, is exactly the same of the disco charts by Vince Aletti. Third, a disco production of the well-known DJ Mozart, who never went to the USA, was adopted and promoted by David Mancuso’s Record Pool; the title is Soft House Company – a little piano. What about the legendary discotheque “Baia degli Angeli” in Gabicce? I can refer my memories, because I was there in the summer 1978. The “Baia” was opened in the year 1977 in Gabicce, and the resident DJ was DJ Mozart, while, in the near Cattolica, Mr. Daniele Baldelli was the DJ of the “Tana del Lupo”. In the year 1979, the “Baia” had problems with drugs trafficking, and something, easily imaginable, happened to DJ Mozart, who was replaced by DJ Daniele Baldelli. In the year 1980, I can testify that DJ Mozart was the resident DJ of the “New York”, a discotheque in Miramare di Rimini, where all the fans of the “Baia” went to follow him. As you can imagine, the “New York” was shut down in a few months, because of the same problems of the “Baia”. Generally, I remember that, since the year 1978, almost all the nightclub DJs in Emilia-Romagna were regularly mixing all records on the beat. Of course, those DJs were disciples, or imitators, of DJ Miki. My impression, based on the performances that I’ve listened, is that DJ Mozart was a direct disciple of DJ Miki. My second impression is that only one person was able to convince DJ Tom Savarese, an American superstar who earned a lot of money, to come to Italy for work, and the name is DJ Miki. How did DJ Miki do that? No one knows it. My theory is based on the following two elements: the death of the true originator of the disco music movement, the mob boss Carlo Gambino, that dates back to the year 1976, with subsequent difficulties for his men of the discos; some personal relationships between DJ Miki, awarded as the best European DJ of 1978, and DJ Tom Savarese, awarded as the best American DJ of the same year, maybe of the affective kind.
Honestly, I haven’t appreciated a lot DJ Mozart when mixing at nightclubs. I suspect that the absence of excellence was depending on DJ Mozart’s personal habits, and not on his musical tastes. On the contrary, I am a big fan of DJ Mozart as a record producer. More precisely, he was a founding member of the successful disco band named Jestofunk, the credited producer of some big house music hits (for instance the Double Dee, and the Soft House Company), and the inspirator of all the music of the label Irma Records, founded in Bologna in the year 1988, at the seat of a former brothel. The mix of the page contains only tracks published on Irma Records, of which only 1 officially bound to DJ Mozart. Despite, as aficionados can listen, the influence of DJ Mozart is evident, even in not credited tracks.
File name “tribute to an Italian classic composer, DJ Mozart, by Max Look DJ (Jan 2026)”, about 1 hour and 20’ of selected tracks from the catalogue of Irma Records, evidently inspired by the musical tastes of DJ Mozart (R.I.P.).
Far from the Baia, the playlist:
Tameka Starr – going in circles (DJ Art version)
Gazzara – lady (hear me tonight)
Papik feat. Frankie Lovecchio – can’t get enough of your love
2 men 4 Soul – spread your love (M.G. funk mix)
Gee es Juice – watcha gonna do about it (funky piano mix)
Dust – Donna (Irma Crew remix)
Bossa Nostra – the crickets sing for Anamaria
Instant Cities – make up your mind
Sam Paglia – bullit
Big Mojo feat. Max Ferrauto – please have mercy on me
Rino (IO) DJ and Danny Bianchi – eye in the sky (Francesco Cofano remix)
Ely Bruna – more than a woman (Belladonna disco remix)
Black Mighty Wax – losing my religion (Radio Disco edit)
Crystal Glide – Baker Street (Francesco Cofano remix)
DJ Rodriguez – vibes & tribes (Pastaboys jazzy mix)
Clan Greco – rotation (Eric Kupper remix)
Jestofunk – can we live (Hot Coffee remix)
Hammond Express – move on up
