Self-taught Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist Gianmaria Testa first made his mark in the early 1990s with two consecutive top prizes at the Recanati Festival. A late bloomer, the Piemonte province native was already in his 30s when he recorded his first album Montgolfières in 1995, on France's Label Bleu. Extra-Muros followed one year later on Warner Music France's Tôt ou Tard, a label devoted to chansons. The Italian public took its time to warm up to him, but the release of Il valzer di un giorno in 2000 helped Testa achieve a popular breakthrough in his native country. His gruff but enticing voice also found an audience in Canada and the US. His discography includes the live album Solo dal vivo (2009) as well as studio efforts Da questa del Mare (2006) and Vitamia (2011).