No one has lit up the guitar community – excluding Nuno Bettencourt with his breathtaking Rise guitar solo last year – quite like Matteo Mancuso. The 27-year-old Sicilian released his first album, The Journey, last summer and would be the first to admit his life has become a bit of a blur ever since, from the onslaught of tutorial videos dissecting his fingerstyle method to ending up as the most talked about musician at this year’s NAMM Show.
And although it’s his technique that will undoubtedly be responsible for forging a lot of those unforgettable first impressions, hitting the same speeds Paul Gilbert and Al Di Meola are known for using just his fingers, it’s the sheer sense of musicality that makes his debut full-length such an electrifying listen from beginning to end.
