“Uccio Vive” is the first single from Tradisco, the upcoming album by [EM] Elettro Mascarimirì, due in spring 2026.
The track reworks a pizzica by late Salento singer and percussionist Uccio Aloisi, with Claudio Cavallo (Elettro Mascarimirì) translating its rhythmic drive into an electronic structure. Cavallo aims to evoke the psychedelic, acid feel he associates with Aloisi’s tambureddhu (large tambourine) playing.
He traces the idea to a specific live memory from the 1990s at a Festa dell’Unità event near Lecce. After hours of rock and metal performances, Cavallo recalls Aloisi taking the stage with only tambureddhu (tambourine) and voice. According to Cavallo, the audience, largely young interested in other genres, responded immediately, with movement in the crowd that reminded him of a Clash-era pit. He describes that moment as proof that traditional music can appeal to younger audiences.
Cavallo says “Uccio Vive” grew out of that contrast: a persistent rhythmic call that connects past and present through the tambureddhu’s pulse.
Author: World Music Central News Room
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