Donnarumma

Following on from the release of their 2017 EP which featured exalted single Love Your Man, Donnarumma have well and truly departed from their previous roots sound. The Adelaide trio come out swinging with the supercharged indie single Alien. Full of angst and desperation, lyrics of a lonely soul desperate to be understood in the world today stand strong against distorted guitars and crashing drums combined with lead singer Louis Donnarumma’s powerful and pained vocals and perfectly complement the harrowing emotions of the record and his incredible falsetto demonstrate his prodigious vocal ability.

These guys really do have it going on with a complete DIY set up the band recorded, mixed and produced the record completely independently. Anthony from the band answers some questions for HI Fi Way: The Pop Chronicles.

Has it been an exciting time in the lead up to the launch of the single Alien?
Oh my god yes! It’s always an exciting time to release new music and to get the buzz going.

What’s the story behind the single?
We’ve written a lot of demos in 2017 and this song was definitely the highlight. We wanted to try new things, experiment and to push our musical boundaries.

Was there a feeling when you wrote that you’re on a winner?
Yeah there’s always this feeling when you write and listen back on a song and if it’s strong enough, it’ll make you finish it and polish it off. This was definitely the case with Alien. I think most importantly we felt that the lyrics and music complimented each other and really drives the theme of loneliness across really well.

Sonically, how would you describe the sound you’ve taken the new single compared to what you’ve done previously?
Definitely embracing our love of Jeff Buckley and going for that 90’s old school Radiohead vibe. We love that stuff and realised that we’re still evolving to find our sound. We’re happy to show everybody our progress and development.

Is there another EP/album coming out?
There will be a new EP in the future but there are going to be some stand-alone singles we are still planning to release.

Is it more satisfying as a band having that DIY focus?
Most definitely! We have time to think and plan out our process, not having pressure to spit ball ideas without the risk of wasting precious recording time in the studio. We’re very proud of how it turned out!

Are you looking forward to getting out on the road to play these new songs?
Live shows are our strong suit and it’s always a fun experience playing in new venues across the country. We even have new music to try out on the tour. Most of them have ‘new single’ potential, let’s see what the crowd thinks!

Where to next for Donnarumma?
Well firstly, a much-deserved trip to a pub for celebratory beers, of course. But we’ll be writing more tunes for a new single, collaborating with some SA and interstate artists which will be exciting!

Interview by Rob Lyon

Catch Donnarumma on the following dates…