«Mixed by Erry», the book that tells the truth

Published on February 10 by the Neapolitan publishing house Ad Est dell’Equatore, the book is 28th in the Amazon ranking of society and social science volumes and 194th in the general ranking. The Frattasio brothers or Enrico, known to all as Erry, Peppe, Angelo and Claudio tell their story for the first time to the Federico II professor of ethnomusicology, who met the “kings” of counterfeiting music for three years, chasing them around the city and province and thus closely reconstructed the genesis of the largest fake music market in the years when Napster was not even an idea, when Mixed by Erry cassette tapes and with them thousands of duplications of the “fake originals” were on the stalls of half of Italy .

The volume is enriched by the direct testimony of one of the protagonists of this story that has marked at least three generations – who were able to buy music cheaply – Luciano D’Angelothe magistrate who investigated their activity, Enzo Mazzatoday managing director of Fimi, and still, among others, Peppe Vessicchio, Nino D’Angelo, Federico Salvatore and Marco Messina of the 99 Posse.

In his most interesting «production» notes, Frasca, among other things, writes: «It seems to me that the film captures the more comical and adrenalinic aspect, the one made up of bets, gambling and risk… emphasizing these specificities of the story». But «as a scholar I find the idea of ​​the existence of a more or less unaware democratic spirit that underlies the actions of musical piracy fascinating in a perspective of “globalization from below”» and «piracy is the most fitting metaphor to define all those who, like the Frattasios, began their adventure very young, before the age of twenty as in the best seafaring tradition. The juxtaposition that explains the figure of the pirate as a repentant sailor who abandons a poorly paid job is easy… The story of the Frattasios pushes us to transcend the logic of conventional thought on good and right and moral judgment ends up becoming a rubber band which lengthens and shortens according to the circumstances, with nuances that open to reflections on the certain past but also on the contemporary».

And the book is presented on March 8, but «that of Mixed by Erry is an all-male story, there are no women, if not side. So for me – reveals Frasca – the idea of ​​being part of an active minority made everything more stimulating. Mental images, cultural codes and stereotypes have long influenced the perspective of the story. It took some time to transform the resistance and prejudice we each harbored for his side »ma« into mutual trust ». And in the end the Frattasio brothers renamed Frasca “Suor Simona” and here’s the reason: “We used to hide – Enrico and Peppe Frattasio say – and instead she made us confess”.