Belladonna

by Diana Potts
Sharing his name with the beautiful poisonous flower that is used for medicinal purposes, Italian musician Maurizio Belladonna practices as both DJ and producer. Creating a stew of sounds, Belladonna uses traditional Latin, break and house beats with instrumental and diva samples to settle into his music persona. In 1999, Belladonna released his first artist album, Housin Paradise, through the international label, Irma Group. He followed it a year later with Midnight House, an album that ranged from acid jazz to breakbeat and more commercial-sounding club music.