Tutte le mani del Maffia

TUTTE LE MANI DEL MAFFIA** :: Publisher: Rizosfera, NUKFM series :: Catalogue number: NUKFM027 :: Full-colour book, 300 pages :: Trim size: 23×30 cm (9.05″×11.81″) :: 450 original photographs scanned from film negatives :: 1,000 graphic works including flyers, posters and banners :: Cover: Sirio Black cardstock with intaglio printing and screen-printed spot colours :: Binding: Swiss brochure (lay-flat binding, 180° opening) :: ISBN 979-12-985502-6-1 ::

** The DJ sets uploaded on the Rizostream platform under the names ‘Live at Maffia – Tutte le mani del Maffia DJ Set 1-10‘ and ‘Live at Maffia -Tutte le mani del Maffia DJ Set 11-20‘ are exclusively linked to the rewards of the crowdfunding campaign that ended on 23/12/25. Therefore, those who purchase the book on the Rizosfera website from 25 March 2026 onwards will not have access to the said DJ sets, but will be able to stream, free of charge / open access, the five Maffia compilations entitled ‘Illicit Sounds of Maffia Chapter 1-2-3-4-5‘, available on the Rizostream platform at the following address: https://rizo.stream/. Additionally, four other albums from the label Kom Fut Manifesto, the Maffia’s record production hub, are already available, also free of charge / open access, on the Rizostream platform. They are Groove Safari (with thanks to Fabrizio Tavernelli for his kind permission), 2Blue’s ‘Fattore Sonoro’ and ‘Light Transmission’ (with thanks to Luca Roccatagliati and Enrico Marani for their kind permissions) and A.N.D. ‘Fashion Victims’ (with thanks to NicoNote, Andrea Felli, and DJ David Love Calò for their kind permission).

**

Thirty years have passed since the birth of the Maffia Illicit Music Club (1995-2009), and such a milestone called for something special: the publication of a remarkable book assembled by the Collettivo Maffia—a diverse group bringing together founders, DJs, graphic designers, theorists, artistic directors, and the creative and organizational forces behind the club as it once was.
The Maffia Illicit Music Club was truly one of a kind, not just in the world of clubbing and DIY culture, but across the artistic, musical, and theoretical-critical landscape. The book captures not just the extraordinary range of what the club generated—across music, art, aesthetics, performance, literature, and theory—but also offers a window onto a particularly fertile moment at the end of the millennium. It was a time when an international artistic-existential scene, still in the wake of the rave explosion, was witnessing a technological revolution that was reshaping everything, from daily life to art and politics.

In this light, Tutte le mani del Maffia does something genuinely original: it traces the outlines of a self-organized creative community, one that forged its own language and skillfully sidestepped the clichés of clubs, discos, and community spaces alike. Like the two-faced god Janus, it was at once popular and radically experimental. The Maffia Illicit Music Club was, in short, a unique phenomenon: part creative hub, part heterodox cultural machine. The book tells its story brilliantly, weaving together thematic and chronological threads with just the right amount of creative chaos—striking a balance between nostalgia and the spirit of club culture.

Over the years, the Maffia Illicit Music Club has hosted, among others: Goldie, Kemistry & Storm, Fabio, Grooverider, LTJ Bukem, 4 Hero, Lemon D, Dillinja, Aphrodite, General Levy, DJ Hype, Zinc, Roni Size, DJ Krust, DJ Die, DJ Suv, Breakbeat Era, I-Kamanchi, London Elektricity, DJ Marky, Patife, Ed Rush, Optical, J Majik, Doc Scott, Shy FX, Kenny Ken, Hidden Agenda, Fatboy Slim, Propellerheads, Matt Cantor, Photek, Peshay, Amon Tobin, Andy C, DJ Rap, One True Parker, Storm, Howie B, James Lavelle, DJ Food, Coldcut, Funky Porcini, Herbaliser, Red Snapper, Daddy Longlegs, Naked Funk, Spacer, Keiron B, Optimo, Ian Simmonds, Bushflange, Headrillaz, Lamb, Tony Thorpe, Dave Watts, Aki Nawwaz, Transglobal Underground, Nitin Sawhney, Young Gods, Laibach, Test Department, Foetus, Andrew Weatherall, Dave Tipper, Radioactive Man, Royksopp, Santos, Massive Attack Soundsystem, Morcheeba, Talvin Singh, State of Bengal.

From the back cover

Forget nostalgia: it’s a heavy drug that kills tomorrow. This is open-heart surgery on the frequency of the possible. Maffia Illicit Music Club wasn’t a place—it was a signal deviation, a Situationist laboratory where the science of the breakbeat met pataphysics. In these sumptuous pages, with over 450 photos, 1,000 graphics, dozens of articles and testimonies, a route is traced. Tutte le mani del Maffia dissects those seasons of creative urgency, bridging the 1990s and the 2000s: fingers scratching vinyl, hands drawing revolutions, hearts beating at 130 bpm. An epidemic of visions between the fog of the plains and the heart of darkness of the metropolis. The future is kicking. It’s time to restart the machine. Be ready to break the rules of ordered perception.

Press release

Collettivo Maffia presents

TUTTE LE MANI DEL MAFFIA (The Many Hands of Maffia Illicit Music Club)

Maffia is the perfect picture of an extraordinary historical moment, defined by an explosion of musical creativity and a generation fortunate enough to witness the convergence of musical worlds that had, until then, been immeasurably distant.

— THE BOOK
Tutte le mani del Maffia is a document that chronicles the history, the nights, the DJ sets, the graphics, and the lifestyle of an era bridging the 1990s and the 2000s. A central role is given to graphic and photographic documentation, capturing the indelible moments of an unparalleled journey. This is the story of a community of people who left a deep imprint on both the collective memory and the cultural landscape.

— THE CROWDFUNDING
The crowdfunding campaign, launched in the fall of 2025 on the Produzioni dal Basso platform, was an incredible success. More than 250 supporters participated, choosing from various rewards alongside the book, including t-shirts, DJ sets, and Polaroids.

— MORE THAN NOSTALGIA
Far from being a nostalgic operation, this project is a manual for anyone navigating club culture today—a key to understanding the present through the past. With its bold approach, it aims to inspire new generations to rebuild communities that truly inhabit spaces, channeling urgent creative visions. More than a book, it’s a manifesto: reclaiming the dancefloor as an act of resistance against the relentless advance of the digital world.

— STORIES FROM THE FLOOR
Maffia Illicit Music Club attracted clubbers from all over Italy, fueled by radio broadcasts (RadioDue aired every Saturday night live during the 1997-98 season). In November 2000, it made history as the venue for Fatboy Slim’s Italian debut, booked by its in-house agency, Institute of Dubbology.

The handprint of Maffia is seared onto the hearts of all who lived through those incredible years.
The atmosphere was unique: you could feel the urge to meet, to connect, to know new people.
An accelerator of matter.

Upcoming presentations

Book presentation with pick-up of copies reserved through crowdfunding.
The evenings will feature talks with guests + DJ sets.
The dates are currently:

• 11/04/2026 @ Chiostri di San Pietro (Reggio Emilia)
• 24/04/2026 @ Colonne 28 (Parma)

As soon as we have further dates, we will add them here, or on the Rizosfera website.