Labor, Power, Music, and Sex Create the Possibility of Solving History
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La Neve is the powerful dance-punk project of Rhode Island-based musician, organizer and historian Joey La Neve DeFrancesco.
Recently they announced their electrifying new History Solved EP, set to release on April 15.
Along with the announcement comes La Neve’s most forceful song to date, title track “History Solved.”
Written from the depths of the pandemic in 2020, the song gestures at the historical interconnectedness of our current catastrophes — not their uniqueness. The lyrics mention “one way out” which is, as it always has been, the organized mass action of working people around the world.
“The accompanying video, directed by Zac Puls, was in some ways an attempt to recreate the joy and chaos of the band’s live shows at a time when we had all been unable to perform for so long,” La Neve explains. “The exaggerated camera movements work to bring us back to the freeing disorientation that live music, at its best, can provide.”
Combining blistering punk, dance and house music with themes of power, labor, sex and possibility, La Neve creates a compelling, dynamic listening experience. For this project—produced by Marco Buccelli (Giovanni Truppi, Xenia Rubinos, Lady Lamb) and mastered by Heba Kadry (Animal Collective, Big Thief, Courtney Barnett)—Karna Ray (also of The Kominas) has joined on drums, bringing a powerful new percussive energy to the music. Additionally, there’s a joyful intensity brought to the live performances, which are equal parts drag show, mosh pit and rave.
Hometown fans can experience the show firsthand on March 12 at Black Box Theater.
Outside of La Neve, DeFrancesco has been a long time songwriter and guitarist with punk band Downtown Boys. DeFrancesco has also long worked as a labor organizer, most recently co-founding the organization Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) which, among other efforts, has led a worldwide effort to demand better pay from streaming companies. DeFrancesco’s writings on labor, history, and Rhode Island have appeared in Jacobin, Newport History, In These Times, Art Forum, Uprise RI, Providence Journal, and more.
On background
La Neve is part rave, part drag show, and part moshpit. Based in Providence, Rhode Island and New York City, La Neve has been performing since the release of the American Sounds EP in 2017, which was followed up with the 2019 LP The Vital Cord. SPIN called this earlier work “a dreamy, synth-pop glimmer of hope.” Her latest EP History Solved is her most intense, complex work to date. Created with drummer Karna Ray (also of The Kominas) and producer Marco Buccelli (Xenia Rubinos, etc.), History Solved blends electronic and analog elements into a propelling, beautifully chaotic energy. While her previous work relied heavily on house and electronica, the new EP leans harder into big beat, punk, and digital hardore.
The new sound is fitting for La Neve’s lyrical content. Lead singles “History Solved” and “Soft Power” elaborate on her frequent concerns with labor, power, sex, and possibility. Karna Ray’s percussion provides a newfound driving force to the tracks. Ray joined the band in 2019, and besides elevating the new recordings, has brought La Neve live performances into a new level of joyful intensity.
La Neve is a project of Rhode Island based musician, organizer, and historian Joey La Neve DeFrancesco. DeFrancesco is also a songwriter and guitarist with the punk band Downtown Boys, whose records Full Communism (2015) and Cost of Living (2017) were met with wide critical acclaim. Most recently, the band composed the music for the 2020 film Miss Marx, and their soundtrack won prizes at the Venice Film Festival and the David di Donatello Awards. DeFrancesco has also long worked as a labor organizer, most recently co-founding the organization Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) which, among other efforts, has led a worldwide effort to demand better pay from streaming companies. DeFrancesco’s writings on labor, history, and Rhode Island have appeared in Jacobin, Newport History, In These Times, Art Forum, Uprise RI, Providence Journal, and elsewhere.
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