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Farewell to Claudio Coccoluto: the disc jockey dies at 59

A bolt from the blue that hits the world of music on the day of the first evening of the first Sanremo Festival in times of pandemic: Claudio Coccoluto, one of the most internationally appreciated Italian disc jockeys, dies at 59 in his home in Cassino, next to his wife Paola and their children Gianmaria and Gaia. Among the first to pay homage to his partner Giancarlo Battafarano, aka Giancarlino, together with whom he had founded the Goa, the only club in Italy to finish in the rankings of the best in the world: «The greatest teacher and friend of all time is leaving.

He gave culture to music in clubs as a deejay and an artist out of the chorus. Always ready to put his face to the media both for the joyful aspects and for the problems of our sector. A part of me goes with him ».

Claudio Coccoluto, known as “Cocco”, a native of Gaeta, begins to get passionate about turntables in his father’s home appliance shop, on the notes of Maga Maghella by Raffaella Carrà. In 1978 he made his debut as a speaker for the local broadcaster Radio Andromeda, while in the world of clubbing that will become his home he arrives in the eighties at the invitation of Marco Trani, another key figure in that universe, who also passed away prematurely at the age of 53. Absolute protagonist of the new underground electronics, Coccoluto makes itself known for its stylistic originality and constant research, the one that allows him to experiment with ever more daring combinations to the point of writing the history of Italian and international clubbing.

The pinnacle of his career, by his own admission, is the performance at the Sound Factory in New York in 1991: «On the track there were all the greatest, from Louie Vega to Tony Humphries». During the lockdown, he was one of the first to raise awareness in politics and public opinion on the difficulties of the sector that employs thousands of people: «Whoever does clubbing is a cultural flywheel for youth movements, so far the approach of the institutions has been reductive. The lack of interest and subsidies creates a dangerous condition, professionals should arrive alive at a hypothetical reopening date that no one yet knows, while they have to pay the rent, the bills … “he said in an interview with Courier service in May 2020. His last appearance dates back to last December 21st, when he gave his audience his latest deejay set on the Technics Facebook channel.

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