Ponzio Pilates is a musical project that began in 2015 with a strong focus on live music, both played and/or improvised, blending a wide range of influences—from world music to fast afro-beat, from Japanese city pop to acoustic techno.
After ten formative years of live performances, including appearances at festivals like Glastonbury and Sziget, during which the band shaped its own unique musical identity, the project has now evolved into a trio, stripping back its sound from electronic elements and refining its approach, while retaining the energy and presence of an engaging live band.

«What we did in the beginning, after meeting by chance around Bellaria, was to let ourselves be swept away by sonic improvisations that, time and time again, sparked wild dancing among the people around us—until those tribal chants gradually took on a more defined and unique form.
In 2016 we self-produced our first EP, Abiduga: it’s a record that tells of many adventures and gigs. It’s deliberately lo-fi, recorded with a punk spirit in our rehearsal room, full of wild rhythms, crazy moments, fantastical atmospheres, and various oddities.
After several small tours around Italy, and with a mix of tension and uncertainty, we managed to work on our second album. Its recording was financed through a crowdfunding campaign on Musicraiser.it, and it was released at the end of May 2018 by Brutture Moderne, with the support of Fleisch Press.
Thanks to the artist Gola Hundun, who created the cover art for both albums, and to our former backing vocalist and percussionist Viola Corbelli—who also designed some of the costumes and elements of the set—the first video for the single Vongole came out in summer 2018, based on Gola’s storyboard and ideas.
Around the same time, we focused on performing live and began collaborating with the Radar Concerti agency to organize various tours across Italy and beyond. Our experiences during summer tours in Italy, along with international festivals like Glastonbury 2019 and the MiMi Festival in Marseille that same year, culminating in our invitation to the ESNS Festival 2020, definitely helped solidify the project—and, perhaps, also brought an end to the “old” phase.
During and after the lockdown, we didn’t see each other for a long time. When we finally reunited in 2021, the decision to get back on stage pushed us to reimagine and reshape the band in a new form. Percussionist Ginardo decided to leave, while Giovanni Cavalcoli joined on samplers and synths. Unfortunately, after a few gigs—including a performance at the Pennabilli AiP Festival—co-founder and keyboardist Pedu also left in early 2022, and was replaced by Paolo Rossi on sax and traditional flutes.
This new lineup was able to consolidate with two performances at the 2022 Sziget Festival, on the EuropeStage and the LightStage—an overwhelmingly positive experience that once again opened the door to international audiences.
Starting from that period, the tracks that make up our upcoming album began to take shape. They were recorded at the studio of Francesco Giampaoli (Brutture Moderne), reflecting a time of both personal and musical experimentation and change—like a soundtrack to a life that suddenly shifts direction.
In the past, we described ourselves as a dance band with a punk spirit, capable of long, high-energy sessions in any setting. If we had to label our music, we might have called it both tribal and joyful “acoustic techno”, or simply “Explosive Electrosamba”, as we used to say.
Now, the Latin and samba elements have almost disappeared, making room for more oriental sounds and psychedelic-tribal moments.
As of 2024, the lineup has changed again: now reduced to a trio, the band has returned somewhat to its roots in terms of sound, now almost entirely free from digital elements, reinterpreted with a different spirit and stripped of embellishments.
We are currently working on the release of our next album and recording several new tracks, which we are already presenting live, either as singles or in other formats».

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