Perturbazione started up in Rivoli (Turin) in 1988 as the high-school band of Tommaso Cerasuolo (voice) and Rossano Antonio Lo Mele (drums). Gigi Giancursi (guitar) and Stefano Milano (bass) would join the following year, and Elena Diana (cello and piano) in 1994. The group played at local events, and eventually released its first single in 1996 and its first album, Waiting to Happen, in 1998. During the same year, Cristiano Lo Mele (guitar) was added to the lineup, and the band decided to switch into singing in Italian for the 1999 EP 36. Influenced by guitar pop bands such as the Smiths, R.E.M., and Belle & Sebastian, Perturbazione set out to renovate the panorama of alternative Italian pop music through intensive touring, as well as recording several tracks for independent compilations. Recognition finally came with the release of 2002's In Circolo. The animated video of its second single, "Agosto," became a favorite of Italian MTV, and it won the important Videoclipped the Radio Stars Award. The band also received an award for Best Italian Tour at the 2003 Meeting for Independent Labels in Faenza. Their 2005 CD Canzoni allo Specchio broadened the group's audience base and garnered excellent reviews. In 2006 Perturbazione contributed a song (sung in Italian) to the Belle & Sebastian tribute A Century of Covers, and in 2007 they released their first major-label record, Pianissimo Fortissimo, for EMI. Aside from touring and recording, the band has also been involved in various art and theater projects, such as performing a soundtrack for the classic silent Italian film Maciste at the Museo Nazionale del Cinema in Turin. ~ Mariano Prunes