MAMA ft. Antonella producer joins Grammy Awards judging team

When he received notification that the American Recording Academy wanted him to join their team of judges, Gavin Monaghan was, for once, speechless.

"It was absolutely hilarious," his MAMA ft. Antonella bandmate and fiancée, Antonella Gambotto-Burke, says. "Gavin's generally so focused on the bands he works with that everything else just falls away, but this absolutely floored him."

Responsible for the sale of over 20 million records and with over 30 gold and platinum records to his credit - the most recent being a few weeks ago, a platinum album for the Twang's "Love It When I Feel Like This" - Monaghan's work has been featured in innumerable world-renowned advertisements and productions ranging from Peaky Blinders and Gangs of London to the Austin Powers and Twilight franchises.

Monaghan has certainly had a life-changing twelve months.

In 2024 and among countless studio sessions, Monaghan was selected by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Robert Plant to customise an edit of Led Zeppelin classics Kashmir and Whole Lotta Love specifically for the Wolverhampton Wanderers' walk-outs and kick-offs, and, in early 2025, he joined forces with Revolver Records and Warner Music to create his own label, Magic Garden Recordings.

Apex Predators, Monaghan's band MAMA ft. Antonella's long-anticipated debut album, was then released to unexpected acclaim.

Electronic Sounds magazine described it as "a riveting stone killer, supercharged with searing intensity and fried circuit gumbo that'll barbecue your ham-hocks", Black Country Radio host Mark Terry lauded MAMA ft. Antonella as an emerging "giant of the new music scene", and BBC and Radio Brum presenter Adrian Goldberg heralded the band as "destined for big things".

"We've been so humbled by the response," Monaghan said. "While I knew that Antonella’s voice is hit-the-floor amazing, it's easier for me to gauge the work of others than my own, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. We spent so much time creating the album that it had become a universe unto itself."

Since April 19, where MAMA ft. Antonella played their first gig, headlining their Feel the Noise Festival venue at the North Street Social, the band has been garnering plaudits for their electrifying live performances.

Monaghan's "fabulous, dark and grimy" guitar-playing has been liked to that of blues giant Robert Johnson, and his bandmate and co-songwriter Antonella's vocals have been variously described as "drenched in raw emotion", "primal", "superb", and as having the same "power and flourish" as Robert Plant’s.

Earlier this month, MAMA ft. Antonella opened for the band Senses at a sold-out gig at Coventry’s legendary Tin Music and Arts. Monaghan, Senses' longtime producer, was called on stage to play harmonica.

Senses' lead singer and guitarist Brian Callan simply introduced him to the roaring crowd as "The Maestro", and bassist Kevin Kavanagh agrees. "The success of our new album 'All the Heavens' is down to Gavin. I can't thank him enough."

While Monaghan is widely known in the industry for driving the bands he produces to their highest artistic achievements, his increasing visibility - and talent - onstage has taken many by surprise.

"Never in a million years did I think I'd perform again!" Monaghan, who played countless major international festivals in his twenties, says. "So many bands have asked me to play with them, and I've always refused. Antonella is made of sterner stuff: the woman would not take no for an answer. The weirdest thing? I'm having more fun than I ever thought possible. It's just brilliant."

Monaghan's triple-threat inclusion - performer-producer-label CEO - in the Grammy Awards judging team in addition to an upcoming double-page interview with Antonella in a major American magazine, then, seems like an invitation to world domination.

Laughing, Monaghan says, "While I'm not exactly certain that's the intention, we are planning to take MAMA to the States in 2026, so the invitation to become a Grammy Awards judge seems like a very good omen!"

Catch MAMA ft. Antonella on the main Dragon Stage at the Landed Festival in Powys on July 26, and at their first headline gig at Birmingham's Rock 'n' Roll Brewhouse on September 11.