“MAMA weaves electronic and pop elements with a gritty, lo-fi production that almost results in a new genre entirely ... I haven't stopped listening to it since I started.”

— FASHION INDUSTRY BROADCAST

WORDS

“MAMA [are] becoming a giant of the new music scene" - Black Country Radio host Mark Terry

"Antonella possesses an extraordinarily powerful voice, drenched in raw emotion and charged with fearless defiance  …  eloquently poetic lyrics with lacerating emotional force … I thought this spirit was dead. The mothership album is a riveting stone killer, supercharged with searing intensity and fried circuit gumbo that'll barbecue your ham-hocks"- music critic Kris Needs

“A band destined for big things” - Brum Radio

“Some records are destined to be merely listened to, and some are lived. Apex Predators belongs to the latter category. The fusion of Gambotto-Burke and Monaghan results in a new, almost narcotic genre. Redolent of the 1970s, the production skilfully blends alt-blues, darkwave, roadhouse, rock, and chanson, creating a hypnotic and often lysergic soundscape. Upon this canvas unfolds the voice and pen of Antonella, author of a savage poetry that aligns her with the great storytellers of rock – poet Charles Bukowski, Patti Smith, and Lou Reed come to mind, and are useful references for framing her artistic caliber. Her literary, visceral, ruthlessly exposed lyrics are as sharp as a blade and, a moment later, as welcoming as a nocturnal embrace. This poetry digs into the soul … Apex Predators is not just a great debut. It's a work that transcends purely musical value to also become a literary experience. Dark, emotional, and unforgettable, it is one of the most important and authentic works of the year” - Distopic

“Fabulous. Dark and grimy guitar - somewhere between Commercial Road, Wolverhampton, and the swamp - rooting a voice between a scream and a whisper, with a power and flourish that reminded me (unexpectedly) of Robert Plant” - Jonathan Day, co-director of the Performance Research Cluster, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and Associate Professor of Transmedia Arts at the Institute of Creative Arts, Birmingham

“Mama ft. Antonella is the most dynamic outfit to hit the scene in years” – Fashion Industry Broadcast

“A cinematic, stadium-sized piece of bluesy art-rock, featuring intricately arranged composition that adds even more depth to the acrobatic vocal performance" - Glide magazine (USA)

“Utterly, utterly speechless … breathtakingly beautiful lyrics. Antonella is an enigma” - SW20 Radio

“There's a nervous pressure held in these beats, and it seems almost tangible … Picture velvet vocals wrapped around barbed-wire blues riffs, held together with the heartbeat of something both primal and unsaid. Beautiful” - Zillions magazine

“Incredible. The vocals are insane … There is something very magical about Antonella” - Lorna Bailey, BBC Radio

"Flawless. Utterly flawless" - Music Business Buddy podcaster Jonny Amos

“[Antonella is a] majestic and somewhat mystical Scandinavian-looking snow queen behind the mic, wearing an oversized filled black Rundholz coat, melted the mesmerised crowd with her hypnotic and hurricane splitting vocal range. Her voice soars, It bites. It licks, It kisses. It whispers, It yelps. It strangles you until you submit. It’s an everlasting hug, It’s a raging butterfly. It pauses time, and it’s a viper in lingerie. That accompanied with Monaghan’s ability to deliver a raucously intricate choreographed guitar style” – music critic Lee Eccie

"An incredible debut” - Rocklands Art Beat

“The album is phenomenal – it’s got a real Kills/Unloved vibe, and the vocals are early Sinead O’Connor” – musician Michael Clapham

“Poetry in motion that explores every nuance and literate, emotional level over perfect musical backdrops” – music critic John Robb

“Antonella is a total rock star” - The Weekend Australian

“Powerful lyrics … showcasing Gambotto-Burke's compelling vocal delivery” - Industry News, Dawn Audio

“Antonella has an extraordinary voice … a great, authentic voice” - BBC radio host Adrian Goldberg

“Apex Predators, which sounds like it was recorded in the 70s, manifests the electric folk-blues of Patti Smith [and] Robert Plant. The album features sweet guitars and … Antonella's magnificent voice. I haven't heard anything like this in a while” - music critic Mikko Ihalainen

“Antonella is a force of nature” - Resonance radio host Joe Cushley

“Gavin Monaghan commands massive respect worldwide” - Robin Valk, BBC Radio

"Beautiful and brutal, visceral and cerebral. MAMA ft. Antonella clearly want to fuck things up"- music critic Ben Marshall

"MAMA ft. Antonella's music is like, you know, taking a ride out to the desert, taking a nice handful of peyote and shoving it deep down in a pipe and, you know, taking a trip and going to the clouds, baby! Jim Morrison who? Little bit of Morrison, little bit of Floyd, and a little bit of, you know, Satan. I love it! ... The pipes on that woman, oh my God!" - EWL podcast (USA)

“Theatrical, emotional, and totally unpredictable” - music critic Laury Verdoux

“Antonella is an artist who with courage and passion faces everything that concerns the world we live in” - Extra Music Magazine

“A powerful tonal – in lyrics and delivery – presence … a fuck-you energy that’s not quite disdain but isn’t pissing about” - music critic Bernard Zuel

“Apex Predators is a debut that, had it been released in the ‘70s, you’d still be talking about today” - Louder than War

“Producer legend and mixer extraordinaire, Gavin Monaghan” - music critic Susan Hansen

“Captivating, intense, and dark ... [Gambotto-Burke] hooks listeners with a voice that plays extensively with tone and rhythm. The emotion affects the senses, transporting the listener” - Pop Punkers

“A gritty, nine-track, lo-fi masterpiece” - The Express & Star

"Every track glints with vulnerability, fragility, and depth in its composition. For me, however, it is Gambotto-Burke’s obscure vocals that up the ante throughout Apex Predators  … it is the enigmatic tale told in Gambotto-Burke’s voice that leads you through the highs and lows of Apex Predators" - music critic Nicole Mendes

“A collision of poetry, pain, and raw beauty that feels as dangerous as it is divine. This is a love letter to the chaos of being human. Every sound feels carved from bone, and every lyric steeped in the kind of experience that only comes from living through fire. Fronted by Antonella Gambotto-Burke, a writer of remarkable emotional intelligence and unflinching honesty, and produced by Gavin Monaghan, the alchemist behind some of Britain’s most enduring sounds, Mama’s music refuses categorisation. It’s a thrilling fusion of alt-blues, roadhouse rock, darkwave, and gothic Americana, haunted by the ghosts of Patti Smith, Nick Cave, and Amy Winehouse, yet entirely their own beast. The result is a narcotic swirl of beauty and brutality. Antonella’s voice carries the kind of power that stops time. You can hear the grief, rebellion, years of surviving and still choosing tenderness. Monaghan’s production, stripped to its bleeding edge, mirrors that intimacy with raw guitars recorded straight to iPhone, feverish percussion, and a cinematic sense of space that feels simultaneously eternal and claustrophobic. Beyond its musical brilliance, Apex Predators is a declaration that art made by women of experience and depth is not only relevant but essential” - Music critic Chris Bound

"If you are still hankering for the wilder god of Nick Cave at his most poetic and passionate moments, then fellow Australian Antonella has the widescreen vocal and poetic imagery to match and beyond" - Louder Than War

“Gavin Monaghan is a musical genius,” Daniel Morris, Revolver records

“Antonella's life experiences breathe authenticity into her music, creating a powerful and intimate listening experience. Her multifaceted talents and fearless artistic spirit exemplify her relentless pursuit of self-expression. Whether through her literary work or provocative music, Antonella continues to push boundaries and redefine what it means to be a creative force” - Paul G Roberts, A Journey Into Sound documentary

“MAMA ft. Antonella, Apex Predators makes clear, owns the territory between anxiety, depression, and passion, in the process bringing an entirely new depth to the art of lyric-writing” - Belfast News Letter

“MAMA are going to blow you away” - BBC Radio host Ed James 

“Superb vocals” - The Coventry Observer

“Brilliant” - Female First

“Antonella’s vocals have ‘I’m the queen of fuckin everything’ vibes” – music critic Kimmo Leijala

AWARDS

2026 - Grammy Awards longlist, two categories: Best New Artist, Best Rock Album

2026 - Music Producers' Guild (MPG) Awards longlist, three categories: Album of the Year, Self-Producing Artist of the Year, Producer of the Year

A COLOSSAL, MYSTICAL SOUND

MAMA ft. Antonella is singer/songwriter Antonella Gambotto-Burke and multiplatinum producer and Magic Garden Recordings CEO Gavin Monaghan of sonic temple Magic Garden Studio in Wolverhampton. Dark, emotive, and unforgettably exposed, MAMA's music blurs various genres to create a narcotic new genre.

Her delivery and lyrics have been likened to the work of Charles Bukowski, Patti Smith, and Lou Reed.

THE BIGGER STORY

Antonella, a critic and the author of - among other books - The Eclipse: A Memoir of Suicide and Apple: Sex, Drugs, Motherhood and the Recovery of the Feminine, was a single homeschooling mother in full-time work before she started singing. 

Through her art, Antonella was not only able to survive decades she describes as "disorientating in their brutality, passion, and complexity" but now wants to change the music industry. 

"I've been petitioning for women of all ages to be heard," she says. "Whilst I've always been involved in the industry as a writer - and, briefly, as a radio host - I came to singing late.  

"It's critically important for the collective soul to honour the experiences of older women, rather than reflexively trivialising them or limiting them to an artistic ghetto. Fertility is not the only value for a woman. Maturity can be a terrifying - and a terrifyingly beautiful - landscape."

The light in the darkness of MAMA's oeuvre: that of intimacy.

"Our first album, Apex Predators, is about love in the postindustrial era, and was informed by the savage emotional currents known to every adult," Antonella says. 

She writes the lyrics, the melodies, and some of the instrumental music in addition to co-producing.

"Together," one reviewer wrote, "MAMA conjure a sound as cinematic as it is confessional, where the hazy guitar lines unfurl like a plume of smoke and Antonella stretches and stretches her voice until she doesn't so much sing as she stalks." 

Critic Chris Bound agreed, describing Mama’s music as "refus[ing] categorisation. It’s a thrilling fusion of alt-blues, roadhouse rock, darkwave, and gothic Americana, haunted by the ghosts of Patti Smith, Nick Cave, and Amy Winehouse, yet entirely their own beast. The result is a narcotic swirl of beauty and brutality. Antonella’s voice carries the kind of power that stops time." 

Almost all the guitar on the album was recorded on an iPhone. Gavin says, "I wanted to keep the sound as raw as Antonella's voice. She'd go into fugue states in the recording booth - I mean, some of the takes were really spooky, super strange. Her voice is unlike any other - glittering, unearthly in its emotion."

Antonella co-produced Apex Predators, their debut album, steering and refining the creative direction throughout.

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 - with "Commercial Road / A Call to Light" on a US indie radio chart, and then made #5 on a national Canadian indie 2025 annual chart with "Morning".

MAMA also made the 2026 MPG Awards longlist in three categories: Album of the Year, Self-Producing Artist of the Year, and 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, also features alongside 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. 

Watch an excerpt here. 

- London, 2026

Apex Predators

MAMA ft. Antonella

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"A collision of poetry, pain, and raw beauty that feels as dangerous as it is divine" - Chris Bound

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ANTONELLA

Antonella Gambotto-Burke was born in Sydney to Northern Italian parents. Her mother, who emigrated to Australia at the age of 19, was born in Ferrara, where Gambotto-Burke spent part of her childhood, and her father was from Casale Monferrato; they met in Sydney. They lived with her maternal grandparents on Sydney's Upper North Shore. English is Gambotto-Burke's second language.

In her youth, Gambotto-Burke's mother was a professional singer who performed on Bandstand, the Australian music TV  phenomenon. Like her mother, Gambotto-Burke was always asked to sing before the school. Her beloved grandmother's death - Gambotto-Burke was 16 at the time - took away the desire. "She was the most beautiful woman, and her death was drawn-out and deeply traumatic," Gambotto-Burke told an interviewer. “So the singing just stopped: boom. I started wearing black. The grief was profound.”

At the age of 18, Gambotto-Burke moved to London and began working for the NME. It was during this time that she met Alan McGee, who was then living in a squat but who would, years later, become the CEO of Creation Records and discover Oasis. McGee, recognising Gambotto-Burke's potential, asked her to sing with the Jesus and Mary Chain but she refused on the basis that she was "too shy".

In 2019, McGee asked Gambotto-Burke to join him for dinner with friends. One was a Grammy Award-winning producer. In an interview, she recalled the moment the producer addressed her: “'You should sing,' he said, a propos of nothing. 'The way air moves over your larynx. I work with voices all the time, and you'd be really good.'”

Since then, Gambotto-Burke's music has been featured on BBC Introducing, BBC Orbit, and BBC Radio, she and Gavin headlined a venue at their first festival, her first dance record is due to be released, she made the 2026 GRAMMY Awards® longlist in two categories (Best New Artist, Best Rock Album) and the 2026 MPG Awards longlist in two categories (Album of the Year, Self-Producing Artist of the Year) with Gavin making the Producer of the Year longlist for his work on Apex Predators, and a feature about her is due to be published in a major US magazine later this year. 

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.

In 2026, Antonella is interviewed along with Fat Boy Slim, Avicii, David Morales, Roger Sanchez, Paul Oakenfold, Carl Cox, Pete Tong, Graeme Park, Moby, and others for A Journey Into Sound, the upcoming Netflix EDM documentary. Watch an excerpt here. 

"It has all been so beautiful, and all so completely overwhelming," she says.

- London 2026

GAVIN

Gavin Monaghan, the only child to a British mother and an Irish father, was born in London. In his youth, he was a reserve member of the Commonwealth Games British karate team. Monaghan is a Second Dan black belt. 

He has spoken openly about his severe ADHD during his lectures at BIMM Music Institute. 

Drifting in and out of bands throughout his twenties, Monaghan played major international festivals and supported bands such as The Cult and Zodiac Mindwarp. He "detested" touring as his appetite for mayhem made life difficult, and so moved into production.

Within a short space of time, he opened his first studio in London. He now has 30+ gold and platinum records. His most recent platinum record was awarded in May 2025 for The Twang's debut album "Love It When I Feel Like This".

Monaghan has worked with Robert Plant, Led Zeppelin, Elvis Presley estate, Duane Eddy estate, Grace Jones, Editors, Paolo Nutini, The Twang, The Holloways, Ocean Colour Scene, Tony Christie, The Cult, Sly and Robbie, Jimmy Somerville, Aswad, Elvis Costello, Terry Hall, Kirsty MacColl, Femi Kuti, Meredith Brooks, Goldblade, Nizlopi, Scott Matthews, Lemmy, The Destroyers, Stone, Headshrinkers, The Sherlocks, The Blinders, House of the Dragon's Paddy Considine, and JAWS, among hundreds of others.

His music is featured in innumerable advertisements and multimillion dollar productions ranging from the Austin Powers and Twilight (film) franchises to American Horror Story, Gangs of London, Luther, and Peaky Blinders.

Over the years, his studio Magic Garden, Wolverhampton, has contributed millions to the British economy.

In 2024, he was commissioned by Robert Plant to "reimagine" two Led Zeppelin tracks, Kashmir and Whole Lotta Love, for the Wolverhampton Wanderers football team.

Monaghan is a two-time winner of both the BMA Producer of the Year and Studio of the Year Awards (2019, 2022/23).

In 2025, Monaghan launched Magic Garden Recordings, his new indie label x  Revolver Records x Warner Music. 

For the first time, Monaghan was longlisted for both the 2026 GRAMMY Awards® and the 2026 MPG Awards as an artist, which, he says, "blew his mind".

- London 2026

Antonella Gambotto-Burke and Gavin Monaghan of MAMA ft. Antonella

“Poetry in motion that explores every nuance and literate, emotional level over perfect musical backdrops.” - John Robb

 

 

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