Formed back in 2023, Italian synth pop/coldwave duo Freddi Rituali — Diego Ballani (vocals) and Marco Tosetti (guitar, synths, programming) — features two, grizzled Italian scene veterans: After spending 20 years in Italian power pop outfit Made, Ballani and Tosetti decided to start a music project largely inspired by 80s British synth pop, Italian New Wave groups like Diaframma and Germany’s CCCP, as well as contemporaries like JOVM mainstays The Vacant Lots and acclaimed Belarusians Molchat Doma.
Last year, the duo released their self-titled debut EP and the EP featured the Flock of Seagulls-like “Per ridere di te,” which saw the Italian duo pairing glistening and icy synth arpeggios, mathematically precise, skittering beats with angular bursts of shimmering, reverb-soaked guitar, catchy hooks and Ballani’s earnest, emotive delivery.
In fact, for Anglophones, “Per ridere de ti,” may open up an alternate pop universe that sounds intimately familiar yet alien — but as infectious and as danceable as ever.
The duo began their 2025 with the release of a small batch of standalone singles that includes their latest single “Guilia che balla,” a brooding bit of minimalist coldwave featuring Ballani’s plaintive vocals singing introspective and Romantic lyrics over an icy synth soundscape that brings Molchat Doma and others to mind.
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