Career Highlights
Dardust is Dario Faini, one of the world's most acclaimed Italian pianists of the new generation. An exceptional author and producer, he has pioneered a deeply personal and innovative style that redraws the boundaries between classical and contemporary music. By pushing his sound beyond traditional definitions, he creates unconventional atmospheres in a perfect equilibrium between piano and electronics. He has also penned numerous Italian hits, boasting a palmarès of over 100 Platinum records.
The artist released a trilogy of albums: 7 (2015), Birth (2016), and S.A.D Storm and Drugs (January 2020). Since 2019, he has produced major hits, collaborating frequently with artists such as Mahmood, Elodie, Irama, Lazza, and Angelina Mango, including several editions of the Sanremo Festival.
In 2020, "Sturm I – Fear" from the album S.A.D Storm and Drugs was selected by Apple Inc. for its annual keynote to launch new products, streamed globally from the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. In 2021, he performed a unique set under the stars in the desert city of AlUla, Saudi Arabia—a UNESCO World Heritage site—for the AlUla Moments festival. That same year, he collaborated with international artists such as Benny Benassi and Sophie and The Giants, joining them on stage at the Pala Olimpico in Turin for a performance during the 66th Eurovision Song Contest.
In early 2022, he composed the soundtrack for the Olympic "flag handover" between Beijing 2022 and the upcoming Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, featuring the tracks "Forget To Be" and "Inno (Prologo)." In the summer of that year, Dardust served as the Master of Ceremonies (Maestro Concertatore) for the special 25th-anniversary edition of La Notte della Taranta in Melpignano, Puglia. He was also among the artists chosen to represent Rome’s Expo 2030 candidacy with "Humanlands – Eternal Evolution."
At the end of 2022, he released Duality via Sony Masterworks and Artist First. This double album separates his two musical personas—solo piano and electronics—and was followed by the Duality Tour in 2023 across Italian theaters and European clubs. The two-act show showcased an intimate, minimalist piano set contrasted with the rave atmospheres of his electronic set. In late 2023, he launched Duality + Guests, a refined version of the tour featuring special guests such as Elisa, Samuele Bersani, and Saturnino.
Following the success of the An Intimate Night tour with Elisa, Dardust joined her again for major 2023 events at the Verona Arena and the Mediolanum Forum (An Intimate Christmas). This collaboration led to the project Intimate – Recordings at Abbey Road, recorded live at the legendary London studios. He also composed the soundtrack for Cover Story, a film celebrating 20 years of Vanity Fair, and is currently working on the score for Mauro Mancini’s feature film Mani Nude.
In 2024, he was named Best Producer/Talent Scout at the CIAO – Rassegna Lucio Dalla in Bologna for his innovative approach to music and creativity. On June 21, 2024, he released "Mon Cœur, Béton Brut," the lead single from his latest project, Urban Impressionism. Released on November 8, this album features 13 piano "impressions" where Dardust once again challenges neoclassical conventions by merging music with Impressionist painting and Brutalist architecture.
To celebrate his 10-year career, he performed the live event 10 Years. 1 Night at Teatro Dal Verme with the I Pomeriggi Musicali Orchestra. He also opened for Lana Del Rey at I-Days Milan and Dua Lipa at the Nos Alive Festival in Lisbon. In March 2025, two special events at Milan’s Pirelli HangarBicocca and Rome’s La Nuvola kicked off the Urban Impressionism – 2025 European Tour, taking him to stages in Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Paris, Brussels, Hamburg, Berlin, Prague, Utrecht, and London.
