motel void

Bald Chewbacca is the electronic project of songwriter Angelo Romano, who hails from Sicily. What first drew me to this record were two things: the fact that he comes from my beloved Sicily, and that it was recorded live at Madame Claude – a club I myself visited several times in the past.

Bald Chewbacca’s concerts are part-improvised sonic concepts based on common themes that may shift over time. The audience is drawn into a mix of confrontation and communion, halfway between rave and theatre. An unlikely encounter between a Sicilian singer, a cheap electric bass, and the world of keys, knobs and laptops.

Listening to the album, it was hard not to picture myself back in that Berlin venue – a former brothel transformed into a striking space, with furniture hanging upside down and an entrance that feels like stepping into an abandoned horror-film set. This particular live performance features Romano presenting a set of completely new, unreleased material in a style he himself calls “Zizekwave” – electronic, experimental, and new wave-inspired.

The music is pure club energy, and although it works best in a dark underground space, it also holds up surprisingly well in headphones. Romano creates raw sonic worlds, weaving eclectic mixes of synths and drone textures. Among the most memorable moments is the second part of UBI, which builds with striking intensity, layered vocals and spaced-out effects towards the end.

Boredom Is My Drug slows the tempo and offers a touch of Kraftwerk-like mood, carried by a strong bass synth. Pineapple for Hell dives into a hypnotic, dance-driven pulse before resolving in a more synth-heavy finale. Football fans will be drawn to Specialissimo: The Mourinho Regime Anthem, where the atmosphere of a match and the tactics of “attack” turn into a form of propaganda, while the chant “defend, defend, defend” echoes across both ears.

Basslines for Bulgaria revolves around relentless handclaps, their rapid repetition creating a hazy atmosphere punctuated by a heavy bassline; here I couldn’t fully follow the lyrics, as Bald Chewbacca shifts between languages. The March of the Green Brigade stands out for its lyrics rallying vegan comrades before dissolving into surreal, feverish, almost drugged-out imagery that reminded me of Harmony Korine’s Gummo.

Slavoj’s Wet Dream is a direct nod to Slavoj Žižek and embraces the spirit its title suggests. The set closes with the instrumental Porco Disco, most striking in its second half when a trumpet-like synth line unfurls and spreads across the track, before everything dissolves into a round of applause.

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