Rising as a social-media sensation a number of years in the past, Matteo Mancuso is altering the best way we see and listen to guitar. Utilizing a radical fingerstyle assault, the Italian ace handles his electrical with the fireplace of a flamenco participant, weaving-in staggering readability and precision. Higher but, his instrumental debut, The Journey, guarantees to be the start of a protracted, fret-burning profession.

How did you begin enjoying fingerstyle on electrical?
I’ve been enjoying with fingers for the reason that starting. I’d see my father enjoying classical at dwelling once I was a child, so I believed each guitar was meant to be performed with fingers. It felt pure.

What’s the sound you’re after on guitar?
After I’m enjoying lengthy phrases, the sound I chase is a really uniform and stylish stream of notes. I attempt to combine legato and staccato strategies to create a cascade impact the place all of the notes are distinguishable from one another. I play flippantly with my proper hand, so I pay a variety of consideration to the articulation and accent of the traces.

Once we talked 5 years in the past (October ’18), you had been a breakout web phenomenon. However as a substitute of beginning an expert profession, you went to a music school. Why?
As a result of I had the prospect to play a large repertoire, from big-band swing like Benny Goodman to trendy jazz-fusion of Yellowjackets and Snarky Pet. I additionally started to transcribe extra and increase my vocabulary; I listened to a variety of sax gamers, like Michael Brecker, Cannonball Adderley, and Bob Mintzer.

As for the web fame, I didn’t actually care about it on the time. Being energetic on social media and chasing numbers wasn’t my precedence, primarily as a result of I used to be surrounded by unimaginable musicians in my band and at college. My purpose was to enhance, musically, and proceed studying from them.

Your jazz chops will be heard on “Polifemo.”
“Polifemo” is without doubt one of the jazziest songs from the album and it’s closely impressed by a Frank Zappa tune referred to as “King Kong.” I all the time play it with a clear jazz tone, however for the album, I needed a less-traditional strategy. So, as a way to do some distinction with the primary piano solo, I selected to report the solo with a distorted tone, then come again to the primary theme in unison with the clear guitar.

You play a Yamaha Revstar solidbody, which has been one thing of a guitar-industry secret for some time.
Mine was custom-built in 2019, and it’s my favourite guitar. I’ve used it for each live performance and recording since I obtained it. It’s actually just like a Revstar Skilled, however the physique is barely smaller and has completely different woods; it’s chambered mahogany with a maple high, and has a beautiful pau ferro fretboard, stainless frets, and an oval, C-shape mahogany neck. The pickups are Lollar Imperials with a five-way blade change. I not often use the in-between positions, however they sound actually good.

What different gear did you employ on the album?
For “Time To Depart” and different classical components, I used my Yamaha GC42S; that’s it within the outro from “Silkroad.” I recorded virtually the whole lot with my Line 6 Helix. For results, I used plug-ins from Common Audio. The sitar-sounding solo is a Yamaha Revstar 720B with an outdated Roland VG-88 pedalboard. With a view to use a few of the sounds from the pedalboard, I mounted a piezo hexaphonic pickup by Roland; I feel it was the GK-2.

I’ve all this gear due to my father; the VG-88 was certainly one of his favourite models again when he was enjoying!

You’ve jammed onstage with fusion nice Al Di Meola. What was that like?
Jamming with Al was an unreal expertise. Think about strolling as much as the stage with him and enjoying his most-iconic songs, like “Mediterranean Sundance” and “Spain.” It felt like a lucid dream, and he’s such a pleasant particular person. We talked quite a bit about music and guitars, and he gave me some actually good recommendation. Total, it was among the finest experiences of my life and I can by no means thank him sufficient.

What’s with the hoodie? Is that your signature stage outfit?
I don’t actually have a signature trend (laughs). I identical to to be cozy, so hoodies and monitor fits are my favourite garments. I virtually by no means use elegant stuff at gigs, until there’s a costume code; I prefer to go onstage with informal road garments as a result of that’s what I put on each day. I’m only a common man who likes to play guitar.

This text initially appeared in VG’s October 2023 problem. All copyrights are by the writer and Classic Guitar journal. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.