Album Review/ Alt Rock : Massimo Donelli- Paolo Rossi’s ‘FAMOYO’

Massimo Donelli- Paolo Rossi is an Italian music maker and composer. He brings experiment and exploration to classical styles, building them finally into a production. The Italian artist draws from cultural styles and formats, underlining them with modern motifs and planes. His latest release is ‘FAMOYO’, an album that perfectly exemplifies the artist’s brand of alternative, and the worlds that he sees in between music that he has known and listened to all his life. 

The album opens with ‘Guarda dentro’ , a track that opens into an orchestra. By distorting the cello line and violin melody, he ushers in a spirit of dance, pop, disco and even funk. There are dark slashes of distortion that run through the soundscape. His vocals, synced up with the bass lines, set up a hypnotic sound. 

There’s a lot of texture to his sonic atmosphere. He plays with mood, genres and energy, all driving towards a vast stylistic scale. In ‘II Fachiro- Gestation and Birth’, we see a voracious pop rock portrayal. And behind the veil of it all, we see desert music influences dotted with tribal motifs. Rivulets of neoclassicals. The series that follow this have similar instrumental confluences. But shaken up with new age tempos and builds, each one has its own world. We see flute frames and a piano-gospel-rock trilogy. 

In ‘II Monaco - Feeling and Love’ we see an alternative rock flow. So powerfully fluid and massive. The rock is matched with a buoyant musical halo, a resonance that creates a pleasing duality. The other two tracks in this series have a marked distinctness. With curving rhythms, sensual themes, middle-eastern melody and beats, these have an intimate feel to them. 

‘Lo Yogi - Trought and meditation’ is designed like an intense musical spiral. With instrumentals growing chaotic and compressed, the track has a way of deepening the sonic progression. It keeps drawing you in with growing intensity and nuance. While ‘Ricerca’ has a similar build, the other two tracks in this series are lighter and magnifying songs. ‘Filo d’acciaio’ is long melodic drift that is perfect to make your journeys feel vital and lively. ‘Lo Yogi - Balance and completeness’ has a new age funk air to it. With acapella moments, a bouncy rhythm, bright melodies and bluesy vocals, it’s such a fun song.

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The album is available for streaming on popular sites like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music! 

You can listen to ‘FAMOYO’ by Massimo Donelli-Paolo Rossi here -