IDIOM | VINYL RECORD (LP)

Trust the Mask are seeking connection. Connection to the world amidst an increasingly fractured global environment; connection to their listeners in a meaningful way that provokes questions and sparks joy in equal measure, and connection to their true selves, at their hearts, behind the masks. The creative partnership between two Venice-based musicians, multi-instrumentalist Elisa Dal Bianco and singer Vittoria Cavedon began just as social communion was about to be plunged into an all-time low. Describing their local music scene as one with "only about 10 people, so everyone knows everyone", Vittoria and Elisa had been peripherally aware of each other's previous projects but finally began to talk at a party in early 2020. Elisa - a classically-trained songwriter with a qualification in electronic music and a passion for unusual instruments picked up from around the world - sent Vittoria a demo; Vittoria, a self-taught singer with a more pop-oriented melodic ear, immediately heard what she'd been searching for. For Elisa, Vittoria's knack for a hook was the ingredient she needed to make her unusual, experimental sound palettes pop. We all know how 2020 then proceeded to pan out yet, despite their infant status as a band, the duo continued to write remotely. From those lockdown days came two equal but opposite tracks - 'Our Fault' and 'Spring' - which addressed the lows and highs of our relationship to the planet. Over time, they would become the beginnings of 'Idiom', the band's forthcoming debut album: a record with an outward-facing eye that spotlights scenes both close to home and far, far wider. On 'Idiom', Trust the Mask's ability to mix the analogue and the synthetic, the physical and the digital, is out in full force. Elisa's songcraft centres around balancing the possibilities of electronic music with the more tactile sounds of live instruments. Vittoria's vocals, meanwhile, complement these ideas with both softness and power. 'Idiom' was brought to life with the help of a group of musical mentors including Bruno Dorella (OvO, Ronin, Bachi da Pietra) who they describe as the residency's "spiritual guide", producer and sound, engineer Andrea Cola, and Matteo Vallicelli, drummer of The Soft Moon. Giving the duo the opportunity to explore and define their personalities as artists, the experience was crucial in building the unique sonic palette that populates the record. Genre: Alternative / Synth-wave / Experimental Pop