N.086 - Mixed by Erry

‘The story of the upheaval of Italian music,’ as its protagonists put it. In the streets of Forcella in the 1980s, brothers Enrico, Peppe and Angelo Frattasio created a record label known all over the world, and entirely illegal, though a specific law didn’t really exist yet. Enrico dreamed of being a DJ and mixed tapes for the neighbourhood: Mixed by Erry was born. Their copies reached street stalls before official shops, but what set Erry apart were compilations tailored to each listener and exceptional audio quality. Playlists didn’t exist yet, but Erry’s tapes drove Naples wild; the brand even sponsored Napoli’s 1987 Scudetto celebrations. The dream ended when the brothers were arrested for copyright infringement. Alice Filippazzo’s illustration captures a phenomenon that swept across Naples and made history.