Italy’s Matteo Vallicelli unveils the debut single “Michelangelo” from his solo record Primo, out February 3rd. The drummer and composer is best known as the live drummer of The Soft Moon, Death Index and as a founding member of many renowned Italian punk bands. Primo is result of three years of experimentation and ultimately an exercise in self-limitation and discovery.

The transition from playing drums in punk bands to sitting alone in his home studio, working on minimalistic electronic compositions, has dramatically shifted his music career. He says, “Being in charge of everything can be disorienting. Having no other band members to work or fight with… I would end up with hours and hours of music that I was never content with, having the possibility to endlessly edit all the parts on my computer. It took me almost three years to learn how to limit myself, to finish up a project and move on to something else. But as soon as I mastered that, I was able to assemble my first album in something like four weeks.”

Songs like “Michelangelo” and “Frammenti” were born as techno tracks but, through subtraction, became something different and more representative of the introspective state in which they were created. These two tracks opened up a path for the rest of the music on Primo, in which most of the songs ironically have no traces of drums or percussive elements, marking a new, liberating way for Vallicelli to make music.

Tour Dates:

11/17 Berlin, DE – Acud (with David Vassalotti)

01/19 – Amsterdam, NL – Melkweg *
01/20 – Utrecht, NL – Tivoli Vredenburg *
01/21 – Nijmegan, NL – Doornroosje *
01/22 – Rotterdam, NL – Annabel *
01/23 – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique *
01/24 – Maastricht, NL – Muziekgieterij *
01/26 – Glasgow, UK – SWG3 *
01/27 – Manchester, UK – Machester Gorilla *
01/28 – London, UK – Electric Ballroom *

* with Trentemoller