Born in Rome during the 1982 World Cup, Matteo Madafferi’s life has been soundtracked by music since the very beginning. A versatile multi-instrumentalist, he started with the piano before mastering the guitar, and eventually the bass and drums.
Parallel to his artistic growth, he earned a Law degree with an experimental thesis on Euthanasia, reflecting his deep intellectual curiosity. This duality has defined his career: he has successfully navigated roles as a musician, writer, and blogger (notably for Ukizero), as well as a columnist and contributor for various music publications. Throughout these diverse pursuits, his presence on stage has remained a constant—evolving from a dedicated guitarist to a compelling lead singer, always driven by a passion for performance and storytelling.
MUSIC
His musical education includes two years in the Jazz department of the Scuola Popolare di Musica di Villa Gordiani, studying under the guidance of Roberto Spadoni. In 2002, he joined the Radio Capital Show as a session guitarist, stepping in for Luca Casagrande (who was receiving the award for Best European Blues Guitarist at the time). During this experience, he performed alongside distinguished members of the Demo Morselli Band, most notably Ambrogio Frigerio—the renowned trombonist for Italian icons such as Jovanotti, Renato Zero, Claudio Baglioni, and Gianni Morandi. From 2002 to 2008, he balanced his career between developing original personal projects and performing extensively with high-level tribute bands, further refining his versatility across different musical genres.
From 2009 onwards, he developed an original music project that culminated in the formation of the band The Ties. With this group, he achieved significant milestones, including winning the contest organized by the prestigious fashion house Trussardi in 2015. That same year, the band embarked on an international tour across Finland and the Netherlands to promote their debut EP, "The First Tape". In December, they also secured a third-place finish in the prestigious Sanremo Rock selections.
In 2016, the band recorded their second EP, "What’s Next", produced by Alessandro Sgreccia (from the band Velvet) and Cosecomuni. Upon its release in the United Kingdom in March, the album received widespread critical acclaim. This success caught the attention of Fred Perry, the iconic British brand known for its deep ties to music and subcultures. The band was featured in the "Subculture" section of the Fred Perry website—a remarkable achievement, as The Ties were the only non-British band included in a roster typically reserved for icons of British musical culture such as Oasis, Suede, and DMA’s.
In support of the album "What’s Next" (2016), the band embarked on a promotional tour across the United Kingdom. During this time, the record reached an extraordinary milestone, hitting #1 on Amazon’s Digital Music Bestsellers chart. Sharing the top rankings with global icons like Adele, Laura Pausini, and Franco Battiato, the album held the top spot for an entire week and remained in the Top 10 for over a month.
Following the tour, the band began writing new material, but internal dynamics eventually led to an indefinite hiatus. Undeterred, Matteo Madafferi continued to record the songs that had become staples of their live sets, releasing the mini-EP "From the Beginning to the End?" in 2018, followed by "First Tape: The Early Demos" in 2020—a collection of previously unreleased early tracks.
Recently, a core part of the band reunited to breathe new life into their latest compositions. With over 40 pre-production takes already recorded in the studio, the long-awaited new album is scheduled for release in 2025, marking a powerful new chapter for Madafferi and his collaborators.
In 2022, he released "Tutta mia", a poignant song dedicated to Rome during the pandemic. The track gained massive visibility, being broadcast on screens across the entire Italian subway network, and its digital success continued to grow, reaching 260,000 online streams by 2024. His reputation as a guitarist reached new heights in 2023 when he joined Rockin'1000, the world's largest rock band. Following this, he was chosen as part of the elite "100" selection to perform live at the Stadio Olimpico for the 2024 Coppa Italia Final, showcasing his talent in front of a national audience.
AS PRODUCER
Between 2017 and 2024, Matteo Madafferi expanded his horizons into sound design, producing music for commercials, YouTubers, and soundtracks. Notably, his collaboration with architect Matteo Benedetti sparked a new creative direction, leading Madafferi to experiment with ambient and Oriental-inspired sounds, integrating instruments like the sitar and Asian percussion into his arrangements. In addition to these projects, he began reimagining his own catalog, remixing his tracks with an electronic edge. Through OML, these reworked versions have been pitched to various American film productions, showcasing his ability to adapt his signature style for the global cinematic stage.
OTHER PROJECT
In 2017, he founded The Madicine Screwdriver Club, an electronic rock duo that fuses electric guitars and live drums with synthesized textures and loops. Their debut, "Take Madicine, Spin Conscience" (2018), made an immediate impact: one of its tracks was selected by Polpo Entertainment for a film soundtrack, while the music video for the single "On an Helter Skelter" (produced by Jaws Production) reached the finals of the Los Angeles Music Video Awards.
During this same period, Madafferi established himself as a versatile session musician, lending his talent to projects such as the High Flying Band, Supersonic (Oasis Tribute), and Britannica (UK Music Tribute). He also collaborated on "I racconti delle nebbie", the acclaimed musical project by Paolo Benvegnù and Nicholas Ciuferri.
In 2020, during the global lockdown, he self-produced and released his first full-length solo album, "Cross The Multiverse". Featuring a mix of instrumental tracks, vocal pieces, and complex loop-based compositions, the album achieved an impressive milestone: with no formal promotion, it garnered over a thousand streams worldwide within its first month of release, proving the universal appeal of his evolving sound.
BOOKS
In his editorial career, he published "I codici dell'eutanasia" (Nuova Editrice Universitaria) in 2016, which was adopted as a textbook in several university faculties, as well as “Benvenuta Cuba” (Erudita, Giulio Perrone Editore). In 2020, he released “L’incoscienza di Zeman”, featuring prefaces by football legend Totò Schillaci and writer Gianluca Morozzi.
That same year, he curated the volume “The Wind Cries Jimi”, a collection of stories marking the 50th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix's death, with contributions from notable Italian artists such as Bud Spencer Blues Explosion, Fulvio Feliciano, Tiziano Tarli, Giuda, and many others. In 2024, he published the dystopian novel "Tre per zero è uguale a tre" and the biography "Definitive Oasis". The latter became an Amazon bestseller for over two consecutive months, receiving unanimous critical acclaim and leading to guest appearances on major radio and TV programs, including RTL 102.5, RDS, and RAI’s Radio Social Club.
ALTER EREBUS PRESS & LABEL
In 2018, he co-founded ALTER EREBUS Press & Label, a publishing house and record label, alongside acclaimed singer-songwriter Paolo Benvegnù and writer/performer Nicholas Ciuferri. The label fostered collaborations with notable artists such as The Niro (Davide Combusti) and writer Gianluca Morozzi. Over the years, the company released numerous titles and organized creative writing workshops, music masterclasses led by Benvegnù, and various concerts and cultural festivals throughout Italy.
In 2024, due to personal reasons and time constraints, he made the difficult decision to step down and leave the company to focus on his other artistic endeavors.
CINEMA
In 2020, he began collaborating on stage productions and cinematic adaptations. In 2021, he completed the script for "The Wind Cries JIMI", a musical journey through the life of Jimi Hendrix, featuring prominent Italian artists such as Fulvio Feliciano, Nicholas Ciuferri, Giuda, and Tiziano Tarli.
During the same period, he worked as a screenwriter alongside Giuseppe Rasi (founder of The Wider Screen and director of the short film BlackOut) and Andrea Corbo (screenwriter of Abiura and the David di Donatello entrant ATESTALTA). Together, they developed the story and screenplay for the film adaptation of his novel "L’Incoscienza di Zeman". In 2022, this screenplay was officially recognized at the "Inventa un Film" International Festival in Lenola, where it received a prestigious award for its quality and narrative depth.
His passion for cinema also led him to explore acting, taking on various small roles and cameos. He began with appearances in commercials and music videos produced by Jaws Production. With them, he performed a featured role in a promotional campaign for a national contest and starred in the music video for his band, The Madicine Screwdriver Club. This video gained significant international traction, touring several festivals and reaching the final selections of a prestigious showcase for emerging talent in Los Angeles.
Following this, he took on a supporting role in the film "Quid", produced by Polpo Entertainment. Playing the character of "il cravatta" (The Tie), he also personally curated his own costume to fit the film’s authentic "street comedy" aesthetic. Set in the gritty Roman suburbs, the production chose non-professional actors for secondary roles to maintain a raw, realistic atmosphere. His performance relied heavily on improvisation and rapid takes, capturing the spontaneous energy required for the film's narrative style.
