How Nu Genea’s Neapolitan Funk is Revitalizing Italian Disco

In 1975, Napoli Centrale released their self-titled debut album, a groundbreaking mix of jazz-funk, prog-rock, and Mediterranean sounds.

Napoli Centrale was the first album to feature the Neapolitan dialect alongside Afro-American musical influences, marking the birth of a new subgenre of Neapolitan music. This innovative style was further shaped by artists like Pino Daniele, Enzo Avitabile, Tullio De Piscopo, and Tony Esposito, who blended local melodies with boogie, soul, and rhythm and blues. Their music reflected Naples' role as a cultural crossroads, yet despite Pino Daniele's mainstream success, Neapolitan funk remained largely niche.

In recent years, a new wave of Neapolitan producers has sparked a revival of this “Neapolitan Sound.” One such artist, Modula, explains how Neapolitan music permeates daily life—from barber shops to streets—describing it as a blend of diverse cultural influences, including Arabian scales, African rhythms, and Spanish guitar riffs. Many of these producers, such as Pellegrino S. Snichelotto of the Early Sounds label, have lived in European capitals like Berlin. Snichelotto describes Naples as "a state of mind, a distinct approach to life that remains strong, no matter where one goes."

Nu Genea, formerly known as Nu Guinea and composed of Massimo Di Lena and Lucio Aquilina, also hail from Naples and spent over four years in Berlin. They have taken the legacy of Napoli Centrale even further, delving deeper into local sounds while collaborating with musicians from around the globe. With backgrounds in techno and minimal techno, they gained international recognition with their debut album, which featured collaborations with Tony Allen, the drummer for Fela Kuti and Africa ‘70, merging Afrobeat rhythms with jazz, funk, and disco.

Nu Genea's 2018 album, Nuova Napoli, marked a significant step in broadening the audience for Neapolitan music. It was their first album to feature vocals in the Neapolitan dialect and to showcase local musicians. The album paid homage to the Neapolitan disco-funk sound of the late '70s, including the music of Senese and many lesser-known artists.

The album quickly gained traction. In May 2018, just a month after its release, tracks "Je Vulesse" and "Ddoje Facce" reached No. 12 and No. 7 on the Spotify Viral Weekly Chart. Several other tracks were added to the iTunes R&B and Soul charts in eight countries. Nuova Napoli also made its way into popular Spotify playlists like Global Groove (752.4K followers), Peggy Gou Radio (67.2K followers), and Viral 50 - Italy (104.6K followers)

Like Napoli Centrale's debut, Nuova Napoli defied market logic, bringing an innovative sound to the electronic music scene. In line with this mission, the band changed their name from Nu Guinea to Nu Genea, emphasizing their goal to "mix genres and sounds that, throughout history, have touched the Neapolitan gulf, giving them a new genéa (Greek for birth)."

Nu Genea's growth surged following the release of their single "Marechià" in July 2021, which was further boosted by their album Bar Mediterraneo in May 2022 released with Carosello Records.

“With Bar Mediterraneo, Nu Genea wanted to expand and reach an extended audience beyond Italy, while remaining independent.” shared Kevin Andreoni (Multimedia & Digital Manager at Carosello Records ) in an interview with Chartmetric.

Key factors driving their rise include strategic playlist placements, a strong social media presence, and an extensive tour to promote the album.

In the past three years, "Marechià" was added to the Apple Music World Chart in 20 countries, the R&B/Soul Chart in three countries, and the Electronic Chart in six countries. On Spotify, "Marechià" and "Tienaté" appeared on both Weekly and Daily Viral Charts in France, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Finland, and Sweden. By summer 2023, Nu Genea reached over 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify while touring across Europe.

This growth has been heavily influenced by playlist additions. Nu Genea’s tracks have been featured in more than 75k independent playlists and 15 editorial ones, including popular playlists like “Estate Chill” and “Bon Voyage.”

The reach of these playlists spiked in July 2021 when "Marechià" was released. From late June to early August 2021, Nu Genea appeared in 10 editorial playlists, reaching 4.3 million listeners. While there was a slight drop in reach after the release due to curatorial changes, the number of independent playlist adds continued to grow, driving further growth in listeners.

Today, France stands out as a key secondary market for Nu Genea, local editorial playlists like Dîner entre amis (170.1k followers) and independent playlist like Nova: Best of du mois (19.5k followers) have featured multiple tracks from Bar Mediterraneo. The song "Marechià" with lyrics in both French and Neapolitan, has been influential in connecting with French listeners; “French people fell in love with Nu Genea; one of the last single tracks of L’Imperatrice features the singer of Nu Genea band Fabiana Martone”  Andreoni explains.

TikTok has also played a crucial role in Nu Genea's growth. The channel was opened before the release of Marechià, by July 2022, their music had garnered 10 million views on the platform, and the single "Tienaté" became viral reaching over 10k creators and influencers.

“After the success of Tienatè the numbers never really dropped showing that the milestones reached by the band were organic and that there is an audience of listeners who love this music,” Kevin Andreoni shares.

Neapolitan music production in the '70s and '80s contributed to the development of Italo Disco, which has its own editorial playlist on Spotify today with 250K followers. This playlist features both contemporary productions and classic Italian disco tracks from back in the day, with Nu Genea's "Disco Sole" and "Tienaté" among them.

The playlist opens with "Ma Quale Idea," the 1980 hit by Pino D’Angio, a key figure in Italian disco music whose catchy bassline and witty lyrics made it an anthem of the era. D'Angio has recently enjoyed a vibrant second career, touring across Italy and internationally, and winning over new generations with his timeless sound.

A comparative analysis of Nu Genea's and Pino D’Angio’s monthly listeners over the past two years reveals similar trends.

Both artists saw growth until January 2023, with matching listener numbers in December 2022 (490K monthly listeners) and in August 2023 (1.03 million monthly listeners). 

Nu Genea and Pino D’Angio share a comparable fan base distribution, with around 10% of their listeners based in France, a significant secondary market for both. In 2023, French producer Myd remixed "Ma Quale Idea," bringing new life to its timeless sound.

Pino D’Angio’s second career reached new heights over the last year after his performance with the Italian power-pop band Bnkr44 at the “Festival di Sanremo,” where they played MA CHE IDEA a reinterpretation of D’Angio’s original "Ma Quale Idea." Over the past six months, the song was added to 6k playlists, including three editorial playlists, reaching 4.5 million listeners.

Comparing the growth of Nu Genea and Pino D’Angio, we see a spike in D’Angio’s monthly listeners in February 2023, coinciding with the Sanremo Festival. His trend continued upward until his unexpected passing in July 2023 at age 71.

The resurgence of Neapolitan funk, led by Nu Genea, signals a renewed interest in a genre that has long been celebrated in local contexts but remained relatively niche in the past. With strategic playlist placements, a growing social media presence, and international recognition, Nu Genea reached new audiences; their sound is the sound of the 70s and the 80s and therefore matches the sound of the Italian Disco anthems and continues to attract new audiences.

Graphics by Sarah Kloboves; cover image by Crasianne Tirado. Data as of Oct. 6, 2024.