Soon - Settimane (Video Raro)

1996

Soon - Settimane (Video Raro) (1996) Era: Italian Britpop / It-Pop Emergence (1995–1997) - The period when Italian indie-alternative bands, galvanized by the UK Britpop explosion, signed to major-affiliated labels and achieved mainstream visibility through MTV Italia and TMC2 rotation. High. 'Settimane' by Soon is a rare surviving document of a critically under-archived micro-genre: Italian Britpop of the mid-1990s. The band's brief mainstream exposure, two videos in MTV Italia rotation, a major-label debut, and a PIM nomination, makes this clip a primary source for researchers studying the transnational diffusion of Britpop aesthetics and the structural conditions of Italian alternative music in the 1990s. The 'Video Raro' designation in the filename suggests limited archival availability, elevating its preservation priority. Context: Soon were a Milan-formed alternative rock band active from 1993 to 1999, whose sound blended British power-pop and shoegaze influences with Italian-language songwriting, an unusual proposition in a domestic scene dominated by American-influenced rock, combat-folk, and militant rap. Signed to Mercury/Black Out in 1995, they released 'Scintille' in May 1996, produced by British sound engineer Anjali Dutt (My Bloody Valentine, Oasis). 'Settimane' was one of two singles to enter MTV Italia and TMC2 rotation, making Soon one of the few Italian acts of the era to achieve mainstream video exposure on the strength of a Britpop-adjacent guitar-pop aesthetic. The video's warm, kinetic realism reflects both the aesthetic conventions of mid-1990s European indie promotional clips and the constrained but earnest production culture of Italy's Mercury-affiliated alternative label ecosystem. Director notes: The 'Settimane' video was produced in support of the debut album 'Scintille' (Mercury/Black Out, May 1996). It entered rotation on TMC2 and MTV Italia alongside the band's other single 'Il fiume', contributing to the band's nomination as discovery of the year at the Premio Italiano della Musica. The album was produced by Anjali Dutt, who had engineering credits on records by My Bloody Valentine, Sleeper, and Oasis. No production company, cinematographer, or director is named in any accessible archival source for this specific video. The 'Video Raro' subtitle in the filename suggests this may be a seldom-circulated or fan-preserved copy of a commercially produced but limited-distribution clip.