Italian-Australian writer Antonella Gambotto-Burke started MAMA ft. Antonella in late 2022 with Irish-British multiplatinum producer and indie label CEO Gavin Monaghan after recording in his award-winning studio Magic Garden in Wolverhampton.

After a year of sonic  experimentation - and, as Antonella has said, not a few clashes - they found their sound: a blur of alt blues, indie, roadhouse, darkwave, chanson, rock, and bluegrass, which they blend with savage poetry to narcotic effect.

Described as “the most dynamic outfit to hit the scene in years” before playing a single gig, MAMA worked on their debut album Apex Predators for a year and a half.

“I thought this spirit was dead," critic Kris Needs wrote on hearing it, while podcaster Jonny Amos described it as ”Flawless. Utterly flawless."

Antonella's "widescreen vocal" has been compared to that of Sinead O'Connor, Annie Lennox, Nick Cave, Alison Mosshart from the Kills, and, by a number of critics, to that of Robert Plant - while Gavin, portrayed by the BBC as commanding “massive respect worldwide”, is simply defined as a "legend".

MAMA released their debut album, Apex Predators, on May 21, 2025, one month after playing their first gig.

Expanding the MAMA sonic landscape, Antonella has collaborated with other artists - in particular, on the upcoming MAMA dance EP.

Launched by BBC Introducing, the institution that launched the careers of luminaries such as Florence + the Machine, Idles, Wolf Alice, and Ed Sheeran, MAMA's music has also featured on the BBC app Orbit.

Despite having only ever played five gigs because they lived in different counties, MAMA made the 2026 GRAMMY Awards longlist in two categories: Best New Artist and Best Rock Album.

A week later, they had their first #1 - for four weeks, three of them consecutive - on a US indie radio chart, and then had a song at #5 on a national Canadian indie radio annual chart.

MAMA were also longlisted by the British MPG Awards for Apex Predators in three categories: Album of the Year, Self-Producing Artist of the Year, and, for Gavin, Producer of the Year.

Antonella, who - along with Dave Grohl, Shirley Manson, Kylie Minogue, Ed Sheeran, and others - appears in the documentary film EGO: The Michael Gudinski Story, is also featured - along with Fat Boy Slim, Avicii, David Morales, Roger Sanchez, Paul Oakenfold, Carl Cox, Pete Tong, Graeme Park, Moby, and others - in A Journey Into Sound, the upcoming Netflix EDM documentary.

Gavin and Antonella are currently working on their second album and planning a documentary.

- London 2026