Guitarist Matteo Mancuso Reshapes Virtuosity and Expression On New Album ‘Route 96’

The Sicilian guitar savant Matteo Mancuso has announced details of his new album Route 96, which will be released on 24 April via Music Theories Recordings. The album features appearances from Steve Vai, Antone Boyer and Valeriy Stepanov. He has also revealed the official video for Isla Feliz featuring the Gypsy Jazz whirlwind Antoine Boyer, which you can watch in this article.

Matteo will also be playing the following shows in the UK:

13 May – Glasgow – Oran Mor
14 May – London – Islington Assembly Hall

The Rara Avis – “rare bird” in Latin – burst on the scene in 2023 with his debut album The Journey after his prodigious ability caught the attention of the likes of Tosin Abasi, Al Di Meola, Dweezil Zappa and Steve Vai. The release of his debut with its perfect storm of dazzling fingerstyle technique and beautifully crafted compositions saw him adorn the front covers of multiple Guitar magazines, being hailed as the “world’s hottest virtuoso,” “the young guitarist redefining virtuosity,” and saw his international touring take flight with sold-out shows across Europe and the US.

This year, the 29-year-old Palermo, Sicily-based Mancuso returns with his second solo album, Route 96. While his debut was made over the course of three years, this latest release was written and recorded to a much faster timeline, as is often the case with sophomore records.

“I had to squeeze it all into 2025,” he explains. “Everything you hear on the album was recorded last year. “It was so much faster, and I think it was for the best, because the album came out more homogeneous and uniform. Every tune is different, of course, but there are also some sonic qualities that are very similar”.

“This album has come at the right time. I want to have a busy 2026 in terms of tours, but I don’t want to perform the songs from the debut album. I wanted something newer and fresher. These ideas are more original and melodically stronger. There are more explorations, harmonically speaking. I think it shows who I am musically a lot better.”

Perhaps the biggest difference between the debut and Route 96 is the musical confidence on display. The concepts are more orchestrated and developed, with Mancuso showing no shortage of creative wind in the sails. As he goes on to explain, the first album was mainly arranged in a rehearsal room, working out the structure and flow of Mancuso’s music in real-time. This time, the process was much more streamlined.

Route 66 features Matteo alongside Riccardo Oliva (bass) and Gianluca Pellerito (drums) and was recorded at Fico D’India Studios in Casteldaccia, Italy and produced by Matteo along with his father Vincenzo Mancuso. The first song to be released from the album features Antoine Boyer, who brings his gypsy jazz feel to the track Isla Feliz.

Talking about the song, he says, “This is the first official video from my upcoming album Route 96. Isla Feliz is the first tune I wrote for the new record. I wanted to write something Latin-influenced using classical guitar, but I ended up using distortion as well. I had the privilege to collaborate with one of the most talented and brilliant players we have in our galaxy Mr. Antoine Boyer! We really had a great time together, and his contribution to the piece completely changed the tune in a wonderful way! Thank you so much, Antoine, for your amazing work! Thank you as always to my groove overlords Gianluca Pellerito and Riccardo Oliva. As you can see in the official video, we had the opportunity to shoot at this beautiful location, “Real Teatro Santa Cecilia” in Palermo, a huge thank you to Fondazione Orchestra Jazz Siciliana, Presidente Ignazio Garsia, Direttore artistico Luca Luzzu, Real Teatro Santa Cecilia and Direttore Fabio Lannino. Thank you also to my fellow Video makers Filippo Silvestris and Pierluigi Ferrandini.”

Elsewhere, Solar Wind features a guest spot from multiple Grammy winner and instrumental guitar mastermind Steve Vai. Then there’s Warm Sunset – a love-letter to the guitarist’s Latin influences – and Fire And Harmony, which Mancuso describes as the longest and most intense track on the album with more parts and sections than anything he’s recorded in the past.

One of the big differences between Mancuso and the large majority of his peers is his musical open-mindedness. He’s the kind of player who can not only exist but thrive in a variety of different styles

There are many reasons for the young musician to feel proud of album number two – named after his year of birth, as well as the 96kHz audio sample rate Steve Vai recommended him to record at. With a busy year of touring ahead, he’s excited to be bringing this new music to stages around the world.

“I think I know myself better musically thanks to this album,” he admits. “I did go through a process of eliminating things, and through that I realised more about the things I liked best about the music I compose and hear. The first album was made when I was studying a lot of things. Now I study less but listen more to just the music that attracts me. Route 96 is a more honest-sounding record, I would say.”

Tickets available HERE

Track listing
1. Solar Wind ft. Steve Vai
2. Fire And Harmony
3. Isla Feliz (ft. Antoine Boyer)
4. L.A. Blues One
5. The Great Wall
6. Warm Sunset
7. Black Centurion
8. In The Morning Light
9. The Chicken ft. Valeriy Stepanov (Bonus Track)

Feature Image Photo Credit: Photo (c) Paolo Terlizzi

Matteo Mancuso’s new album Route 96, will be released on Friday 24th April 2026 via Music Theories Recordings.

Stream/Pre-Order Here: https://lnk.to/matteomancuso?mc_cid=fa15d5719e&mc_eid=a77190dc13

Official Website: https://www.matteomancuso.net/?mc_cid=fa15d5719e&mc_eid=a77190dc13