Drifting from Milan to Tokyo among tamarri and Bōsōzoku A double interview with Toni Brugnoli and Federico Radaelli for the F.R.T.B. project

Engines are not just a passion, but a way of life. In recent history, there have been numerous subcultures structured around the world of engines, especially around that of two wheels: the symbol of the English Mods was the Lambretta, that of the bikers the Harley-Davidson, that of the Paninari of Milan the Zündapp. More recent and varied, as well as less recognized, is another subculture: that of tuning. It is a subculture that revolves around the concept of customization, technical knowledge and, of course, speed – its members cultivate the passion and collecting of engines taking it to the next level and making themselves artisans and mechanics to transform their vehicle into an extension of themselves. All over the world, this subculture has a capillary and sometimes unconscious diffusion, develops around workshops (often leading to the birth of specialized workshops) and maintains, in a rather surprising way, a very precise aesthetic coherence that then obviously opens up to numerous local variations. 

Toni Brugnoli and Federico Radaelli are two photographers who thought to document it for their photobook F.R.T.B., which tells the parallel stories of the tuning culture in Milan and the Bōsōzoku motorcycle aesthetic in Japan. nss magazine met them to talk about the genesis and nature of their project.

How did you meet and how did this project come about?

Federico: Tony I met him last summer, I needed a spare for the scooter I was processing at the beach (we are both sick for Honda God) and I was looking for this piece online on a forum, he kindly offered to give it to me and from there we met. We found that we were both photographers, that we had the same passions, interests, the same photo kit and shooting in a very similar way. If we decontextualize the photos it is very difficult to tell if a photo took him or I took it, this is a lot of fun and interesting.  We only met once but we often feel and it's like we're longtime friends, that's because we've been to the same environments as kids.

Toni: After a few messages we realized that we had a lot in common, photography, engines, aesthetics... but the thing that surprised me was to review in Federico my own attitude in dealing with the photographic process.  

In recent years analogue aesthetics has become a trend: how will it evolve in the future? 

Toni: I can say that personally analogue aesthetics has helped me so much in recent years to make my work more interesting to the public. I'm not hiding it, it's a very simple gimmick these days. I personally start to get a little bored with this language, but it's not that easy to change your approach to shooting. Then, honestly, the idea of having to select photos from a hundred digital shots already sends me anxious.

Federico: I hope more and more people will continue to shoot in film and keep this market alive, I very much hope that Kodak and the major brands will stop this continuous increase in roller costs. I find the prices of now unacceptable and certainly do not help artists or people who cultivate this passion with their savings. This is the only snag I see in the evolution of analogue aesthetics, I personally bought a new digital camera with which I am having a lot of fun exploring its potential.