BRIGHT LIGHTS

Sunlight is the second album by Drift Lab, a jazz rock project based in Rome and led by Manuele Montesanti. It was self-released in 2026 with a completely renewed line-up featuring, along with founder member, composer and leader Manuele Montesanti (piano, synths), the new members Marco Pistone (bass), Guido Della Gatta (guitars) and Roberto Porta (drums) plus the guest Carlo Maria Micheli (sax). According to the official website, this is music "written with rigour but performed with freedom, where improvisation finds its home within intricate harmonic architectures". Drift Lab is an open, constantly evolving project, aiming to shape a sound that blends "jazz roots and contemporary imagery, instrumental virtuosity and electronic curiosity, composition and experimentation". The art cover tries to give a visual form to the musical content...

Electronic sounds and a brief drum roll introduce the album's title track, "Sunlight". It's a bright piece, full of frenetic energy, ready to wake us up to face a new busy day. A kind of urban ride illuminated by the sunlight...

The following "Yellow Fire" is a piece with a jagged rhythm but full of warmth and melodic flares that leads to "Bump" a jazz rock track full of nocturnal and disquieting atmospheres with excellent interweaving of guitar and keyboard that share the solo parts, supported by a never banal rhythm section...

"A-M-M-I-M" somehow revisits and reinterprets a piece from the previous album ("M-I-M-M-A"). It's a relaxed track that at times invites you to dance the night away while "Serendip" is a slow, sensual piece featuring guest saxophonist Carlo Maria Micheli and a certain oriental exoticism. The title refers to the ancient name of the island of Ceylon...

"Chaste Countrywoman" starts with the bass in the foreground that traces a funky rhythm, then the electric guitar outlines melodic paths that take the song in other directions... Next comes "Bleep" is a complex and fast piece where all the musicians showcase great technical skills and a notable interaction.

"bYpOLAR" begins with an old video-game atmosphere and continues with irrepressible freshness, alternating more relaxed moments with others where the pace becomes pressing and lively. Ten, the dreamy "Evolving" concludes the album. A beautiful official video was shot for this piece, completing the sonic universe the band has evoked with images of a disturbingly beautiful dystopian future...

On the whole, an excellent fusion work!

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:

https://driftlabmusic.com/

INSTRUMENTAL FUSION UNDER THE MOON

Drift Lab is a jazz rock project based in Rome that took off in 2020 with a line up featuring Manuele Montesanti (piano, keyboards), Federico Malaman (bass), Daniele Chiantese (drums) and Matteo Mancuso (guitars). According to their website, they were inspired by Bach, Miles Davis, Frank Zappa and by fusion music and the connection with these musical worlds is exactly the reason why they met. In 2023 they self released an interesting instrumental debut album entitled Moonlight where Manuele Montesanti’s sound design experiments and synthesizer programming are the basis of musical compositions developed by the creativity and virtuosity of the all musicians involved in the project...

 

The beautiful title track, “Moonlight”, opens the album with pulsing bass lines, hectic drumming and delicate melodic breaks that drive you through metropolitan dreams under the moon and the city lights... Next comes “Murano”, another excellent dreamy track full of dappled colours and soft atmospheres. The title refers to a locality in the Venetian Lagoon, best known for its glass making...

“King Of Nothing” is darker. It opens with the bass in the forefront and goes on with a perfect interaction with the other instruments evoking a strange sense of uneasiness while the following “M-I-M-M-A” is lighter and carefree, almost suitable for dancing...

 

“Chatterland” is calmer and with a laid back attitude. The great technicality of the solos never clouds the sense of melody and musicality of the piece... Then it’s the turn of “Japanese Experiment” a piece that slowly grows to take you to distant territories where all the members of the band showcase their great musicianship...

The brilliant “My Os” blends jazz rock with a touch electronica evoking the development of a very particular operating system and leads to the final track, the reflective, intense “Rebirth”...

On the whole, an excellent album of modern fusion

You can listen to the complete album HERE

More info:
https://driftlabmusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/DriftLabMusic/