Fans of football may be forgiven for not being overly familiar with the name “SPIME.IM”. The Turin-based art and music collective were yet another of the acts from the C2C festival that were recruited by both adidas and Juventus for the launch of the club’s new away shirt, crossing the boundary between sport and art.
The launch video for the Juventus 21/22 away shirt leans heavily on the C2C festival, with the shirt having been inspired by Turin's electronic music scene, and specifically the world-famous avant-pop music festival itself. Chief among the artists recruited for that video were Turin-based media art collective SPIME.IM, and we caught up with Davide Tomat and Gabriele Ottino, two members from the group, to speak about the cross over between football and music, the opportunity to work on the Juventus shirt launch, and the future relationship of the cultures.
In your words, how would you describe what SPIME.IM is all about?
SPIME.IM is our digital expression in which we are embracing the musical and digital world. We use technology, 3D art, programming, creative coding and electronic music to weave immersive audio-video experiences, which explore the boundaries of identity, corporeity and perception, in a world where our virtual doppelgänger takes on an increasingly intense protagonist and all-encompassing position.
When did it all start for you guys and at what point did music over take football as a potential career path?
SPIME.IM was born after a casual and lucky meeting between Remidi and Niagara. Remidi was developing his brand-new wearable midi controller and Niagara (Davide and Gabriele) were touring their latest album: Hyperocean. When we met we decided to create a new project called SPIME.IM.
When did football first come into your life and tell us how that relationship with Juventus started…
My Grandpa was a very big supporter of the Juventus football club. He always tried to bring me to the stadium when I was a child but I was not so involved. He also bought me a Juventus outfit. I actually started following Juventus football club a bit later, but then I was totally absorbed by the music.
How would you describe what Juventus now means for you and the people of Turin? What makes them a different animal to most?
Juventus is the “animal” that helps Turin to be known in the world apart from FCA (now Stellantis). Another “animal” that is helping in that respect is ClubToClub Festival, so it’s perfect for them to come together in this instance.
Juventus is the “animal” that helps Turin to be known in the world apart from FCA (now Stellantis). Another “animal” that is helping in that respect is ClubToClub Festival, so it’s perfect for them to come together in this instance"
Being culturally switched on, engaged in creative and contemporary culture – how does it feel to have a connection to the club given what they stand for? It must be nice to get a call up from the club and adidas?
Sure it's cute, but since it's not that common, we were a little confused about the request in the first place. But since we received it from our friends at Club to Club, we were sure it would be a great opportunity and we embarked on this new adventure.
They’ve been forward thinking in their approach – the change of the club badge as an example – what do you like about that kind of headspace?
We like everything is out of the ordinary, disruptive, unstructured. Seeing a club that dares to change its logo after so many years is something admirable.
When creativity and football come together you often see new and interesting things happen - do you feel like Juventus are a club that embraces that?
Sure thing, we definitely believe that Juventus, as a football club, is really a pioneer in that.
What about this season's away jersey and how does it feel to see your name on the back of a shirt – is there still a childlike level of excitement that comes with a new football shirt?
Yes, we were all pretty excited of the idea of a customised jersey, and we have to admit it looks terrific! It was a well appreciated gift without any doubts. Can't wait to show it around this summer!
Away from football, what has your journey been like through music and creative industries?
As an artistic collective we all had different paths. The mainly journey i think, in every discipline, from sport, to music, to creative industries is always perseverance, dedication and sacrifice and maybe these ingredients are the clue of this project.
How much would you like to keep blending both music and football? We see that there’s almost a holy trinity of football, fashion and music – what’s your take on that?
Italians really like football and fashion; this new triangle is definitely something interesting. Let's see if other artists or clubs will embrace this new wave!
Looking to the future, in your own lane – where do you set your sights and your ambitions - what would you like to achieve over the next 12 months?
We are now working on some new very interesting projects, that are involving different artists from different locations too. These kinds of multi countries and multi-disciplines projects are something that we really would like to work on.
Performing must be something you’ve missed greatly over the last two years – how big is that party going to be when we’re through the other side of Covid?
Is there another English word for gigantic?
Similarly, getting back to a game, experiencing all that, that football brings, all over again - what are you most looking forward to?
To perform music back again in big concerts, with very loud music and huge projections.
Pick up the Juventus 21/22 away shirt at prodirectsoccer.com
