GRAMMY®-nominated and Eurovision-winning Italian rock band Måneskin continues its global ascent to stardom with a world tour and dozens of festivals in every corner of the globe. To ensure the band’s sound is impeccable for every show, Måneskin puts its trust in Sound Engineer Enrico La Falce, whose experience spans the panorama of Italian pop and rock music. Building off his first role as a studio assistant in London and his career as a mixing engineer and producer in Italy, La Falce knew he wanted a natural and uncolored microphone to support the band’s glam-rock sound on tour. For this, he selected DPA Microphones’ d:facto 4018V Vocal Microphone.
Unlike the clean sound and sleek design of DPA’s mics, Måneskin’s glam-rock sound and style result in metallic leather vests and flares, eyeliner, shimmering details and metal studs. “Damiano is moving and dancing a lot on the stage, and often ends up cupping his hand over the grille,” adds La Falce of the singer’s style. “The d:facto doesn’t bring in weird sounds, but to obtain this quality, the mic must be used correctly, meaning the grille must never be covered. To avoid this, Remo and I came up with a simple idea: we put a studded bracelet on the microphone body, and when Damiano feels the studs, he knows his limit. Damiano brings this ‘punk-rock-mic’ with him all the time, and it has become an iconic accessory.”
The band’s unique style combines elements of dark and glam rock, something that has been missing from the contemporary music scene for some time. Its musical style is explicitly reminiscent of 1970s rock, like Queen and Elton John, mixed with Franz Ferdinand and Aerosmith, which gained the attention of later generations. “Of all the bands that I have worked with, this one is the most powerful commercially and simultaneously the most ‘indie’ production I have ever mixed,” says La Falce. For that complete “indie” production setup, La Falce connects the d:facto to the mic pre of a Yamaha Rivage mixer, which goes through a first equalization stage from the desk, and then into an UREI 1176 compressor and a Pultec EQ to sculpt the sound, and ends at an Universal Audio Teletronix LA-2A Amplifier to get a good thickness of the voice.
With their song “Zitti E Buoni” (Shut Up and Behave) topping the leaderboard at the Eurovision Song Festival, Måneskin became a global sensation. They became break-out stars in America, where they toured with the Rolling Stones, played on Saturday Night Live, and were nominated for the “Best New Artist” category at the 2023 GRAMMY Awards. After completing the North American run of their world tour in December 2022, Måneskin will wrap up the European leg on July 25.
