Infesta is an Italian word which carries a double meaning: ‘to haunt’ and ‘to celebrate’ or ‘party’, a term described as “a fitting cloak for the conceptual multitudes” which encompass ‘Passerella’, the debut solo album under the eponymous pseudonym by Basel-based artist Marco Guglielmetti (also of Lugano-Zürich kosmische outfit Bitter Moon).
An introspective journey through immersive soundscapes, ‘Passerella’ draws inspiration from minimal wave, synth pop and post-punk, yet executes a contemporary reinterpretation of these stylistic cornerstones. Infesta's earlier influences, particularly the Italian canzone he often heard during childhood years, also played a subconscious role in his songwriting. Creating music of candour, authenticity, emotionality, and intensity, Infesta’s work is raw and confrontational yet shares an intimacy with the listener which feels rare and relatable.
The recording of ‘Passerella’ took place in the late summer of 2022, during one week of isolation and songwriting in a house on the shores of Lake Lugano, a scenic lake on the border between southern Switzerland and northern Italy. Guglielmetti details an idyllic time of seclusion with an artistic process guided by assemblage: “My daily schedule involved swimming in the lake in the morning, then returning home to light up the fireplace and record bass lines, simple percussive sounds from my drum machine, rhythmic sequences…It felt like solving a puzzle, finding recordings that worked well together and piecing them into songs. The resulting skeleton of the songs led to shorter tracks, influenced by my background and love for punk music. However, it also reflected my subconscious inclination towards short and sweet pop music”.
Infesta's vision of a dark yet familiar world is solidified through focused, purposeful songs. His music embodies a cathartic sense of uncertainty that resonates powerfully, and ‘Passerella’ is diaristic and lyrical, with arresting songs that tell a story. As Guglielmetti relates, the album title encapsulates the existential yet somewhat irreverent explorations of the project: “The album's title comes from a song I wrote about the feeling of walking a narrow path in life, symbolising the human condition. In Italian, it carries the double meaning of a catwalk, so it’s an ironic take on my artistic heritage, like a haunted catwalk, in a way.”
In this haunted meeting of late 70s / early 80s minimal wave and contemporary pop musicality, Infesta incorporates literary influences rooted in existentialism, dark humour and romantic Italian poetry, across output which feels both new and like something pulled from our collective memory.
Fundamentally, Guglielmetti describes the Infesta project as an abundant repository of poetic, experiential expression:
“In my songwriting, I wanted to explore the feeling of being a spectator of my own existence…'Passerella' is about feeling powerless in the face of certain events and the uncertainty that arises from open questions about the human condition.
Relationships, sometimes with a romantic twist, were also topics I wanted to explore…the song ‘Fastidio’ is derived from the poem ‘Canto notturno di un pastore errante dell’Asia’ by Giacomo Leopardi. Leopardi, one of the major Italian poets and a key figure in literary romanticism, serves as inspiration for what is now known as cosmic pessimism…the rest of the songs fall along the motifs of relationships, memory, sorrows, hopes, abandonments, uncertainties and states of unrest, this notion of being engulfed by darkness but also having the ability to find one's own light.”
Tracklist
1 | A1 - Inquieto
2 | A2 - Sfrenato Ritmo
3 | A3 - Fastidio
4 | A4 - Certo
5 | A5 - Mani
6 | B1 - Immane
7 | B2 - Movimento
8 | B3 - Giovani
9 | B4 - Passerella
10 | B5 - Ryan
11 | B6 - Brucia i ponti