New album from Paolo Avanzi

There’s something subtly radical about the way Paolo Avanzi arrived at music, not through the usual channels of bands and early demos, but through a life already dense with creative expression. Born in 1958 in Rosolina near Venice and now based in Milan, Paolo had long established himself as a writer, painter, actor, cultural promoter and radio host before turning his attention to songwriting.

For more than three decades he worked as a project manager in multinational companies while building a parallel artistic life that stretched across disciplines, from creating around a thousand paintings to writing plays and producing cultural content through video, podcast and radio. When music finally entered the frame, it felt like both a continuation and an exciting new chapter. Years of piano study at the conservatory sit beneath everything, giving structure to a process that’s otherwise instinctive and exploratory.

Using electric piano and software to simulate a wider range of instruments, Paolo constructs minimal but intricate sonic backdrops, spaces designed not to overwhelm but to support his poignant lyrical writing. Paolo’s songs progress like monologues, shaped by his experience in theatre and his flair for storytelling. He leans into the ambiguity of life, exploring relationships, contradictions and emotional blind spots without smoothing over the rough edges.

His writing holds tension, allowing discomfort and humour to exist side by side, call carried by a voice that feels conversational but considered, as if each line has been turned over several times before being set in place. With a degree in Psychology and a Master’s in Organisation, his work examines behaviour as much as it expresses feeling, tracing the patterns that shape how people connect, misunderstand and sometimes fall apart.

His recent run of releases has only sharpened that style and in 2025 alone, Paolo released three full-length albums, a pace that speaks to his prolific creative output. The ideas are there, fully formed, waiting to be shaped into songs and now, with Album N° 4, he continues that journey with another exceptional LP. The fifteen tracks carry forward the elements that have quickly become his calling card; pointed observations, theatrical delivery and a refusal to dilute complexity for the sake of accessibility.

From the opening track “Cambierai,” he sets an intriguing scene with warbling vocal elements and the drive of a dance-focused arrangement. Keeping up the momentum with “Dove vai non sai,” the shuffle of percussion and hazy blend of synth textures in met by his fluttering vocals, wrapped in spacey processing to take listeners on a transportive sonic voyage unlike any other.

The steady groove on “Faccio un salto al bar” crafts a bouncy energy that gently develops with shifting instrumentation below his vocal delivery. Tracks like “Splendida festa” bring a laid back hip hop-inflected shuffle as his deep vocalisations float above before closing track “Basta osare” brings an uptempo energy to form a bright, melodic finale to Paolo Avanzi’s highly original new record. Album N° 4 stands as another chapter in a body of work that continues to grow with quiet confidence, shaped by a lifetime of looking closely at the world and finding ways to translate that into art.

Listen to Album N° 4 below