FROM CLUBS-TO-CLUBS TO INSTITUTION: THE C2C JOURNEY WITH GUIDO SAVINI
INTERVIEW BY ALESSANDRO SCOLARO Images courtesy of C2CWith just days to go until one of Italy’s most iconic festivals—if not the iconic festival—kicks off from October 31 to November 3, we’re getting a little antsy. So, here at XYZ, we’ve decided to dive headfirst into the C2C universe a bit early. How? By bringing you an exclusive interview with Guido Savini, one of the key masterminds behind the magic of C2C.
Consider this your backstage pass to the hype before the hype.
Hi Guido! Wow, 22 editions—what a journey! Can you tell us about the circumstances and how the idea of Club to Club was born? What drove you to found this festival, and what were your initial aspirations?
C2C Festival started in 2002 under the name Club To Club, drawing from the vibrant 1990s music scene in Turin, centered around a network of clubs. I wasn’t part of it back then, but the festival has gone down in history as the event where, in a single night, you could move from one club to another with just one ticket, experiencing Turin as a vast circuit of clubs. The ambitious vision and challenges the festival embraced from the very beginning intrigued me, and I started collaborating with C2C while working in music event organization with a similar angle. In 2014, ten years ago, I officially joined the C2C Festival board.
Looking back, how do you perceive the festival’s evolution over the years? What were the most significant moments that contributed to its growth and recognition in Italy and abroad?
Rather than a single, linear evolution, to me, the festival seems to go through multiple phases each year, almost losing count! Quantitatively, we’ve reached the maximum capacity of the Lingotto Fiere halls, and qualitatively, we’ve had moments that made C2C Italy’s largest indoor festival. There was a phase where extraordinary and unexpected things happened; we managed to bring master artists to the C2C Festival like Franco Battiato (2014), Thom Yorke (2015), Kraftwerk (2017), and Aphex Twin (2018)—artists far exceeding the usual scale of the festival, like pulling rabbits out of a hat. All of this gave us great visibility, helping to stabilize our reputation. Now, C2C Festival is an established event, and the audience has certain expectations, creating a particular kind of pressure. However, our bond with our audience has become so strong that tickets are often purchased “sight unseen.” Those who attend C2C Festival trust our artistic choices in advance, and not by chance, we’ve sold out every year for the past three years.
This year’s theme is “Living with the Gods.” What does this theme mean, and how does it reflect in this edition’s lineup? Are there any artists or performances that particularly embody this concept?
The social dimension of the celebration in its many forms of expression is an extraordinary connector that transcends time and cultures. Experimental sounds and forms of performance art remind us that shared beliefs and practices have always been part of society. With “Living with the Gods,” C2C Festival invites us to reflect on the possibility of connecting people through sound frequencies. It’s not the artists at the center of this reflection but the entire community, moving together on an imaginary dance floor without barriers. Certainly, the acts of the twenty-second edition have influenced the final vision we chose to express, also through the selection of this theme.
What criteria do you use to select the artists for the lineup? How do you balance the presence of emerging talent with established names in the music scene?
The lineup represents a single artistic entity. The selection process is intricate, especially since Sergio (Ricciardone) and I consider each artist a fundamental piece in building the C2C Festival lineup. It’s hard to explain how it works; Sergio and I have developed a kind of algorithm involving around twenty parameters in choosing each artist. It’s a complex process to describe and one I won’t detail further, as it’s our trade secret [laughs].
During a particularly vibrant period for the city of Turin, coinciding with Artissima, what does C2C Festival represent for the local cultural context? How do you think the festival will interact with Art Week events and initiatives? How does it intertwine with Turin’s identity? Could you share examples of how the community has responded to the initiative over the years?
Each year, C2C Festival interprets the city. Our audience has a strong international inclination, and the percentage of foreign attendees continues to grow. Turin can be considered a best-kept secret: once someone attends the Contemporary Art Week at Artissima and C2C Festival, they rarely miss future events. Our annual audience survey provides precise data indicating a very high return rate. Surrounding this ideal context are the offerings of Piedmontese cuisine and excellent wine.
As we approach the 22nd edition of C2C Festival, what are your expectations for this year? Are there any particular new features or highlights that excite you most?
This year, C2C Festival has added an extra day at the Lingotto, signaling steady growth over the years in response to changing times. However, we’re reaching a point where it will be essential to stabilize the format to offer our audience well-established traditions. Another important new feature, in which we’ve invested significantly, is the earlier start of the festival’s initial performances, with rarer, almost auditorium-like shows from artists such as Kali Malone, Nala Sinephro, Shabaka, and Mabe Fratti.