[Column] EXPLOIT: The sharp 1970s depicted by Italian underground progressive rock
Column en Italy Progressive Rock Psychedelic Rock![[Column] EXPLOIT: The sharp 1970s depicted by Italian underground progressive rock](/../assets/images/column-exploit.webp)
Unusual progressive rock buried in the Italian underground scene
| Text: mmr | Theme: EXPLOIT appeared at the end of Italian progressive rock. Tracing the experimentalism, sociality, and enthusiasm of the underground scene in his short career and only work. |
Italian progressive rock in the 1970s had a different energy than British progressive rock. Classical influences, theatrical compositions, political atmosphere, and fusion with jazz and psychedelia. In this vortex, there were not only widely known bands such as Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and Premiata Forneria Marconi, but also many underground bands that disappeared, leaving only a few records.
EXPLOIT is a symbol of that “underground” nature.
It wasn’t a huge success. The period of activity is not long. However, in the history of Italian underground rock, their names are often talked about among avid collectors and prog rock enthusiasts.
Their music was a little different from typical symphonic progressive rock. Rather, it was a sound that was a combination of hard guitars, rough rhythms, jazz-rock tension, and a psychedelic atmosphere.
One of the bands that reflected the atmosphere from underground at a time when Italian society was undergoing great turmoil. That was EXPLOIT.
The history of Italian prog rock was shaped not only by huge successes, but also by small fragments that sank underground.
The special musical environment of Italy in the 1970s
An era when rock and politics came close
Italy in the 1970s was a time of extremely high political tension.
Student movements, labor movements, conflicts between left and right sides, terrorist incidents, and social unrest. During this period, known as the ““Age of Lead’’ (Anni di piombo), music was not just entertainment, but also a means of expression closely connected to society.
While British progressive rock turned toward fantasy literature and the world of science fiction, in Italy rock developed to be more connected to real society.
For this reason, many Italian progressive rock pieces have a sense of tension.
Behind the gorgeous keyboards, there is an air of unrest, and behind the lyrical melodies, political and social instability oozes.
EXPLOIT, too, cannot be talked about separately from the atmosphere of the time.
Expansion of the underground scene
At that time, there were a huge number of rock groups in Italy, mainly in regional cities.
Only a small number of bands were able to sign contracts with major labels, and the majority of their work was self-produced or released on small labels.
As a result, many rare records now exist in quantities of only a few hundred copies.
EXPLOIT’s work also falls within this context.
Low circulation, short-term activities, and lack of information. These factors, in turn, increased the mystique within collector culture.
EXPLOIT was a product of Italy’s underground rock culture, which evolved independently outside of the larger market.
Flow of EXPLOIT formation
Bands born from the local scene
EXPLOIT was born out of Italy’s underground rock environment in the mid-1970s.
At the time, many young musicians were active in Italy, mainly in local clubs, student events, and leftist cultural spaces.
An increasing number of bands were strongly influenced by British hard rock and King Crimson’s experimentalism, but did not end up merely imitating them.
EXPLOIT was one such example.
In their music,
- progressive rock
- jazz rock
- psychedelic rock
- hard rock
- Avant-garde
were mixed.
“Not too neat” charm
What is often talked about as a characteristic of EXPLOIT is its “roughness.”
The level of technical perfection is different from that of PFM. It’s different from the theatricality of Banco.
Rather, they had the feel of containing the heat of an underground live house.
The performances are sometimes rough, the developments are rapid, and the songs have an ominous feel to them.
However, that instability was what made EXPLOIT so appealing.
This was because Italian society itself at the time was unstable.
The sound of EXPLOIT was more strongly imbued with the roughness of the times than with its completed beauty.
The world view engraved in the only work
Heavy atmosphere
The works left behind by EXPLOIT have a unique atmosphere even in the history of Italian underground rock.
There is a sense of realistic tension rather than the fantasy of British progressive rock.
The guitars are sharp, the rhythm section is rigid, and the song structure changes unpredictably.
Quiet scenes often suddenly transition to noise-like developments.
As a result, some listeners may not find it to be an easy-to-listen work.
However, their uneasiness was their characteristic.
Intersection of melody and experimentation
EXPLOIT’s songs also have beautiful melodies.
However, the melody is always in an unstable rhythm and tension.
This is also a feeling unique to Italian progressive rock.
Lyricism and chaos coexist.
It wasn’t just a competition of skills, but the emphasis was on creating an atmosphere.
In that respect, EXPLOIT has characteristics in common with many RPI bands that are reevaluated in later years.
EXPLOIT’s music was not a show off of skill, but a work of tension itself.
The end of Italian progressive rock and EXPLOIT
Changes in the entire scene
In the late 1970s, progressive rock as a whole began to change significantly.
With the rise of punk rock, there was a growing backlash against ““long and complex music.’’
The situation was the same in Italy.
Large-scale progressive rock bands find it difficult to maintain their activities, and many are forced to disband or change direction.
EXPLOIT was also part of this trend.
The harsh reality of underground bands
For bands in the underground scene, staying active was especially difficult.
- Lack of distribution network
- Financial difficulties
- Lack of media exposure
- Limits of live environment
Under these conditions, many groups disappeared in a short period of time.
However, this short-lived nature has led to it being mythologised.
After the 1980s, as Italian prog rock was reevaluated in the collector market, bands like EXPLOIT also became targets for discovery.
EXPLOIT was more a symbol of the unrest at the end of progressive rock than at its peak.
Collector culture and rediscovery
Evaluation within rare disc culture
From the late 1980s to the 1990s, there was a worldwide reappraisal of Italian progressive rock.
Specialized magazines and reissue labels have begun to operate in Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
In the midst of this, ““buried underground works’’ are enthusiastically dug up.
EXPLOIT has also come to be talked about in this context of re-evaluation.
Especially in the analog record market,
- Few presses
- Lack of information
- underground
- Unique jacket
etc. have increased their rarity value.
“Narrative” is more important than the sound source
The music itself is not the only reason why EXPLOIT is still talked about today.
“Born underground, active for a short period of time, and then disappeared.”
The story is great.
The appeal of Italian progressive rock is not necessarily proportional to its commercial success.
In fact, works that are unfinished, have a strong sense of their region, or time, tend to receive enthusiastic support.
EXPLOIT can be said to be a typical example.
The value of EXPLOIT lies not in its mere rarity, but in its strength as a record of the underground culture of the 1970s.
Comparison with other Italian underground bands
Difference from symphonic type
Bands like PFM and Le Orme had a classical, sophisticated side.
EXPLOIT, on the other hand, is more “back alley” style.
The sound image is dark, rough, and sometimes even violent.
In the UK, this could be said to be closer to late King Crimson and Henry Cow than Yes.
Connection with jazz rock
EXPLOIT also had a uniquely Italian jazz-rock feel.
Its characteristics are evident in its tempo changes, improvisation, and tense bass lines.
However, it is not heading in the direction of complete fusion.
It always had a rock-like roughness to it.
EXPLOIT was a group that stood out for its “aggression” and “underground feel” among Italian progressive rock.
EXPLOIT heard from modern times
Why is it still so attractive?
Listening to modern ears, EXPLOIT’s music is by no means “comfortable.”
The recording is rough and the performance is unstable.
However, this imperfection has a strong sense of reality.
It”s the opposite of today”s digitally edited music.
There remains the feeling that humans are actually playing against each other.
Commonalities with the modern underground
EXPLOIT’s music resonates with contemporary noise rock, post-punk, and experimental music.
The attitude of not fixating on a genre and emphasizing a sense of unrest and atmosphere is still very relevant today.
In that sense, they are not “relics of the past.”
In fact, there are aspects of it that were ahead of its time.
Although EXPLOIT’s music is a work buried in its time, it still retains a surprisingly strong sense of modern disquiet.
Chronology
| Year | Events |
|---|---|
| Late 1960s | Psychedelic rock expands in Italy |
| Early 1970s | Golden Age of Italian Progressive Rock |
| Mid-1970s | EXPLOIT activities begin |
| Late 1970s | Progressive rock decline and underground |
| 1980s | Re-evaluation begins in the collector market |
| Since the 1990s | Increased mention as a subject of RPI research |
What EXPLOIT left behind
EXPLOIT was not a hugely successful band.
However, their presence occupies a unique place in the history of Italian underground music.
It is not a “completed art” but a “fragment of an era” that is so strong.
Anxiety, heat, politics, youth culture, and the chaos of the underground scene in Italy in the 1970s. All of this is engraved in their music.
That’s why avid listeners continue to search for them even today.
Italian progressive rock is not just classical rock.
When you look at it through underground bands like EXPLOIT, you see that culture was more dangerous, more chaotic, more human.
EXPLOIT is not the glamorous front stage of Italian prog rock, but a ““rough record’’ left deep underground.
