Band: Marco De Angelis 
CD Title: “The River - Both Sides of the Story”

Band Website: www.theriver.it

Label: Independent Release

Label Website:

Release Date: 2013

In the world of Progressive Rock music, there really seems to be no end of variations on a theme. Artists will approach the genre with their own inspiration and set of influences. Such is the case with the Italian multi-instrumentalistMarco De Angelis. His new CD entitled The River - Both Sides of the Story offers up an interesting mix of sounds that are at once familiar and yet delivered with a fresh take. The River features not only De Angelis but also Marcello Catalano (vocals), Cristiano Micalizzi (drums) and then Désirèe Petrocchi, Simona Rizzi, Susanna Stvali, Fabiola Torresi, Sara Berni all on backing vocals. The music will have instant appeal to fans or melodic prog.

The River - Both Sides of the Story is a collection of 12 tracks, 68-minutes of music written, arranged, produced and performed by De Angelis. This is clearly his show even though he enjoys the help of other talent on drums and vocals. This is also his story, a loosely based concept with songs reflecting the dualism of humanity: male – female, life – death, good – evil, hence “both sides of the story.” These tunes are all more or less mid-tempo and on their own come across as nice catchy tunes, but what elevates them into the prog-sphere is their arrangements and structure. Sound effects are layered-in creating a sense of place or environment and reinforcing the concepts at work. At the same time it’s possible to imagine each tune out of context and hear its melody and hummability. The musical reference point would be Pink Floyd reinterpreted through RPWL. The music is melodic and transitions smoothly from one musical idea to the next. While not every track is connected to the next, many do slide into one another which contribute to creating a larger than life musical pallet.    

For a guy who started to play music the first time he picked up an instrument at the age of ten back in 1972, it’s taken Marco De Angelis quite a few decades to bring his musical vision to fruition and while it’s not the most complex progressive rock you’ll ever hear, it is a very satisfying listen. Fans of Barclay James Harvest, RPWL of course Pink Floyd will find much music here to appreciate and enjoy.

Als je de website van de Italiaanse multi-instrumentalist Marco De Angelis bekijkt, kun je niet anders dan concluderen dat de man erg tevreden moet zijn over zijn album “The River – Both Sides Of The Story”. Hij heeft er zelfs een recensieachtig stuk over geschreven waarin het woord ‘fantastic’ overigens wel heel vaak voorkomt. Tijd voor wat tegengas dus. De messen zijn geslepen. Nou nee, deze kunnen linea recta terug de kast in. Na een enkele draaibeurt is al duidelijk dat het dik in orde is wat de man laat horen. Een mengeling van progressieve pop en classic rock is vaak niet al te spectaculair, bij De Angelis ligt dat anders. Hij heeft zijn zaakjes goed op orde.
De Angelis kan bogen op een lange carrière in de muziekbranche. Deze ontdekkingsreis begint al als de in 1962 geboren Marco op tienjarige leeftijd een gitaar cadeau krijgt. In de loop der jaren leert hij ook basgitaar en toetsen spelen. Tevens heeft hij zich bedreven in het arrangeren en produceren van muziek. Een kundig mannetje dus met het hart op de goede plaats. Naast zijn eigen projecten is hij hoofdzakelijk in de weer geweest voor anderen, maar met het hier besproken album staat de spot geheel op hem gericht.
Nou ja: geheel? Voor de drums en de zang alsmede voor de koortjes heeft De Angelis een beroep gedaan op anderen. Het is wijs dat hij op deze kardinale punten is gegaan voor kwaliteit en niet voor zelfgenoegzaamheid. Neem bijvoorbeeld de zang. Marcello Catalano heeft een aangename stem die doet denken aan die van Ray Wilson. Keer op keer laat hij horen dat hij de expressies die in de muziek voorkomen vocaal weet over te brengen. Wel heeft hij wat te kampen met een accent, maar dat heeft iedere Italiaan die in het Engels zingt. Soms doet hij ook wat denken aan Peter Gabriel, maar hij niet alleen; de hele muziek hangt in de sfeer van de jaren 80 a la Gabriel, maar ook a la Pink Floyd of zelfs Simple Minds. De Gabriel-link is snel gemaakt aangezien De Angelis alle baspartijen uitvoert met een Chapman Stick. Hij is uiteraard geen Tony Levin, het kronkelt er echter niet minder om.
Het album kent een heus concept. Het eerste gedeelte van de titel (The River) is een metafoor voor het leven zelf, terwijl de subtitel (Both Sides Of The Story) slaat op de oevers oftewel het dualisme in het leven (leven-dood, man-vrouw, dag-nacht etc.). Tussen de intro en de bonustrack bevinden zich de tien stukken van het album. Tell Me Why is het eerste echte nummer. Het toont aan dat de koortjes groots zijn. De vijf gospeldames die dit klusje klaren maken een zeer overtuigende indruk, niet alleen in Tell Me Why maar ook in een aantal andere nummers. Hun geluid is warm en vol, het ideale middel voor de grote emotie. Ook de Pink Floyd-deken is er snel mee gelegd, maar nog niet hier in dit nummer. Dat gebeurt ook nog niet in het mooie Black Stare, een nummer dat in het begin ingetogen zang kent van Catalano en later lekker orgelspel. Eigenlijk is het jammer dat de intensiteit niet nog een keer wordt opgeschroefd. Zo blijft het een beetje hangen tussen mal en dwaas.
“The River” vervolgt met drie fraaie songmatige liedjes te weten One Love, Snowbound en Never Look Back. Hoewel het mosterd all over the place is, is het materiaal dusdanig  genietbaar dat De Angelis er mee weg komt.
Het copycat-spelen is wel heel erg vaak het geval als de fase met de meer progressieve nummers zich aandient. Het ene na het andere Pink Floyd-standje komt voorbij. Je ziet het zo vaak: muzikanten die op hun best zijn als ze dicht bij hun voorbeeld blijven. Zolang dit nummers oplevert als Regrets, Take It Away en What Do You Feel Now zal niemand klagen.
Het concept sluit af met Fly High en laat dat nou net een matig nummer zijn. Het veelvuldig zingen van het refrein is nogal irritant, zeker door het gebruik van de kopstem. Wel is dit een typische afsluiter. Dat is dan weer wel goed. Het zet alleen de bonustrack die er nog achteraan komt in een bedenkelijk licht. Nu mag je een gegeven paard niet in de bek kijken, maar dit is wel heel veel mosterd na de maaltijd.
Voor wie muziek origineel moet zijn is het makkelijk, die kunnen “The River” moeiteloos aan zich voorbij laten gaan. Wie niet zo nadrukkelijk op zoek is naar oorspronkelijke muziek kan zichzelf een plezier doen door dit album op zijn minst eens te gaan beluisteren.
Dick van der Heijde

Review: Marco De Angelis - The River: Both Sides Of The Story (2013)

Review: Marco De Angelis - The River: Both Sides Of The Story (2013)

Artist: Marco De Angelis
Album: The River: Both Sides Of The Story
Year: 2013
Label: Self released

Review: Diego Camargo

Rate: 

Thoughts: Although this is the debut album of the Italian musician Marco De Angelis, he’s far away from being a new face in the musical world.
He spent the last 15 years working as a sound engineer and as a producer for production companies in Italy. He also has his own recording studio and he is a multi-instrumentalist playing the guitars, Chapman stick, bass and keyboards.
His first album The River: Both Sides Of The Story (2013) is a conceptual piece of work that deals with the duality in life.

The album runs in a more modern approach to Prog but very often having a Neo Prog feeling to the music.
It is also very different when it comes to styles, one can’t really say that Progressive Rock is the main goal here. In my opinion, the goal of the album is to pass the message in a dreamy bed of sounds and not really focusing on being Prog Rock.

The singer of the album is Marcello Catalano and he does a very good job throughout The River: Both Sides Of The Story (2013) with good vocal lines.
And though there are plenty of very good songs and bits on the album with catchy Prog moments like the great opening track ‘Tell Me Why’, the Neo Prog ‘Black Stare’ or in the Pink Floyd influenced moments like ‘Regrets’ and ‘Take It Away’ I had a hard time to label The River: Both Sides Of The Story (2013) as a Progressive album.

On the other side of the album there are plenty of Pop oriented tracks, that aren’t really bad songs but one expecting a Prog album can be disappointed.
Being a Prog Rock website when I receive a CD I’m expecting it to be Prog Rock and when it comes to this album half of the songs is not quite there as in ‘One Love’, ‘Snowbound’ and ‘This Time’.

Marco De Angelis wrote a good album, it’s also well played and has great songs. The problem for me is the aforementioned fact: I expect  Prog albums when receiving a CD to review so it’s quite hard to write about albums like The River: Both Sides Of The Story (2013).
The album has numerous Prog moments as I mentioned, but I wouldn’t mark it as such. It lacks a more intriguing and profound sound, perhaps some daring moments in the compositions would do.

Having explained this, The River: Both Sides Of The Story (2013) is a good album, it’s just not Prog enough for my standards. If you like a good mix of Prog Rock and Pop Rock with a big Neo Prog accent you’re going to love it.
Now, if you’re searching for a more complex sound, seek somewhere else, this is not for you.

In time, mentioning the booklet of the CD is needed, it’s a great fat booklet with high quality paper that reminded me of many of my 90’s CDs.

On next issue of Eclipsed Magazine

Thanks to Joe Asmodo

 

Artrock

MARCO DE ANGELIS

„The River – Both Sides Of The Story“

(theriver.it)

7 of 10 Pt.

Artverwandt: Marillion; Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd

Mit „The River“ hat der Italiener Marco De Angelis endlich seine eigene Musik realisiert, nachdem er Jahrzehnte lang für andere schrieb und produzierte. Der Chapmanstick-, Gitarren-, Bass- und Keyboardplayer hat seine musikalischen Wurzeln in den Endsechzigern und Siebzigern. Da kommt es ihm sehr entgegen, dass sein Leadsänger Marcello Catalano mal wie Peter Gabriel und mal wie Marillions Steve Hogarth klingt. Die Songs des Konzeptalbums, das sich mit den Themen Fluss des Lebens und Dualität beschäftigt, sind vorwiegend im Midtempobereich angesiedelt und besitzen allesamt eine nachdenkliche Note. Vieles erinnert an die ruhigeren Marillion-Stücke der letzten Jahre. Dafür bietet „One Love“ an Pink Floyd erinnernde Gitarren, lässt „What Do You Feel Now?“ an Alan Parsons Project denken und kommt mit „Regrets“ konzertante- sowie mit „Never Look Back“ gar ein bisschen Stadionrock-Stimmung auf. Die Stücke wurden detailreich und akribisch arrangiert, doch hätte das Drumming an der einen oder anderen Stelle durchaus variabler sein können. Dennoch ein gelungenes Debüt.

Top-Track: Snowbound

"Take It Away" on AFK MAX Radio (DE)

05/12/2013

MARCO DE ANGELIS (ITALIE) The River - Both Sides Of The Story (2013) ROCK PROGRESSIF   "Etonnant hybride entre Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel et Fish, The River/Both Sides Of The Story s'avère être une très belle réussite !"

by John A Wilcox

The River - Both Sides Of The Story (Marco DeAngelis)

The River is the brainchild of Marco DeAngelis. Out of Italy, DeAngelis is a very talented composer and multi- instrumentalist. Drummer Cristiano Micalizzi and vocalist Marcello Catalano round out the ensemble. Both are top notch.
If I were to give River's sound a "tag," I would call it progressive with strong melodies and interesting rhythms. Not out of place with Riverside or Porcupine Tree minus the crunch. Throw in a pinch of recent era Fish. A very nice blend. Songs like Tell Me Why, Black Stare, and Regrets are full of emotion and strong melodies.
Performances are immaculate. Very well crafted compositions with interesting lyrics. Radio friendly yet with an exotic tinge. Sonically incredible - the album sounds like it was recorded in the best studio you've ever heard! Quite a pleasant surprise and very much worth a listen!

"Tell me why" @ SBS&S on WBWC Radio - 26/11/2013

"This Time" on Downtown Radio - 26/11/2013

MARCO DE ANGELIS: The River - Both Sides Of The Story (2013)

ALBUM / AUTOPRODUCTION   GROUPES PROCHES : PINK FLOYD, PETER GABRIEL, FISH

(Recommandé) TRACKS : 01. Tell me why, 02. Black stare, 03. One love, 04. Showbound, 05. ever look back, 06. Regrets, 07. his time, 08. Take it away, 09. What do you feel now, 10. Fly high, 11. Our trail of tears FORMATION : Cristiano Micalizzi (Batterie), Marcello Catalano (Chant), Marco De Angelis (Guitares / Basse / Claviers) TAGs : Accessible / FM, Romantique, Concept-album, Choeurs Producteur confirmé, ingénieur du son, auteur de nombreuses musiques, entre autres, pour le cinéma et la publicité, Marco De Angelis sort aujourd’hui son premier album intitulé "The River/Both Sides Of The Story". Ce multi-instrumentiste de talent (guitare basse, stick, claviers, chœurs) a fait appel à Marcello Catalano au chant, Chistiano Micalizzi à la batterie et à quatre choristes. Les compositions proposent une musique qui ne manque pas de charme, basée sur un concept d’une grande vicissitude parlant du cycle de l’eau et de son importance. Le maître de cérémonie développe une approche très mystique autour de ce thème en utilisant un apologue sur la bataille illimitée entre le bien et le mal. Dès la première écoute de The River, plusieurs comparaisons arrivent instantanément à l’esprit, Fish et Peter Gabriel en tête. Le timbre de Marcello délicatement voilé est capable de belles modulations. Le jeu de basse et de stick de Marco sont parfaits ainsi que son jeu de guitare qui délivre de très beaux soli. L’opus offre ainsi de beaux passages de six-cordes, des nappes de claviers magnifiques et de belles partitions rythmiques. Un point marquant et remarqué viendra de la voix fragile et émouvante de Catalano, son chant chargé de feeling étant magnifié par des chœurs féminins à propensions floydiennes. Après une ouverture de 21 secondes avec les ondes de « Radio » l'album nous propose « Tell Me Why » et son magnifique refrain enivrant porté par des lignes mélodiques de guitares impérieuses. « This Time » est un étonnant hybride entre Floyd, Gabriel et Fish ; des éléments musicaux World Music et un chant très Fishien viennent accompagner de magnifiques chœurs. "Regret" constitue un authentique condensé d’émoi typiquement dans l’univers musical de Gabriel, avec des sections de cuivre, des parties de piano traditionnelle et une guitare électrique proche de David Gilmour. Marco de Angelis apprécie tout particulièrement les développements instrumentaux, et « What Do Feel Now" en est l'exemple parfait, proposant une atmosphère floydienne dispensée sous la forme d'un long instrumental planant qui en ravira plus d’un, avant d’offrir un très court couplet. Que dire enfin de l’introduction d’enfer de « Fly High » et des refrains entrainant de « Snowbound » et de « One Love » qui sont des morceaux littéralement taillés pour la radio. Avec une très belle qualité de son, un livret réussi, The River est un excellent album de rock progressif.  Marco De Angelis et son combo ont donné vie à un premier album agréable marqué par ses inspirations primordiales. Le groupe devra pour la suite s'affranchir quelque peu de ses références et peaufiner son caractère, afin de suivre sa propre voie à l'image de groupes comme RPWL, avec le succès que l'on connait.

 

 

Von: Thomas Kohlruß 

Die amerikanischen „Kollegen“ von Progarchives haben so eine Kategorie „crossover prog“, da landen so Alben wie „The River – Both sides of the story“. Nicht unpraktisch, denn bei „uns“ muss man da öfters „New Artrock“ oder „Postrock“ oder „Rock-Pop-Mainstream“ bemühen oder eine Kombination daraus... was ich aus „The River – Both sides of the story“ gemacht habe, dass kann man ja im Statistikteil nachlesen.
Marco De Angelis ist schon viele Jahre im Geschäft, als Komponist, als Produzent, als Ton-Ingenieur, als Musiker. Da war es an der Zeit für ein eigenes Album. Und trotz seiner Begeisterung für den klassischen Progressive Rock britischer Prägung Ende der 60er, Anfang der 70er Jahre versucht er nicht diesen zu imitieren. Ein Retroprog-Werk liegt also wahrlich nicht vor. Im Gegenteil „The River...“ klingt sehr modern, zeitgemäß in seinem Klanggewand. Rückbezüge kann man eher zu den Hochzeiten des Alan Parsons Project oder zu den späten Gilmour-Pink Floyd ziehen. Gerade „Take It Away“ klingt wie ein Überbleibsel aus den „A Momentary Lapse of Reason“-Sessions.
So trifft elegante, oftmals elegisch-verträumte Gitarrenarbeit (stilistisch immer wieder an David Gilmour erinnernd) auf epische Melodiebögen, unterlegt mit moderat vertrackter Rhythmik. Die mal kreischende, mal säuselnde E-Gitarre und sanft flirrende, flächige Tastenklänge bestimmen wesentlich den Klang. Die Songs kommen gefällig, nicht beliebig daher, sind aber eher weniger überraschend. Marco De Angelis, der die überwiegende Anzahl der Instrumente selbst spielt, und sein Drummer Cristiano Micalizzi agieren geradlinig, melodic-rockig, aber trotzdem auf charmante Weise nicht einfältig oder stumpf. Es ist halt irgendwie angeproggter Melodic Rock. Dem Hardcore-Progger sicherlich zu leichtgewichtig, aber wer gerne mal im melodiösen schwelgt oder einfach „nur“ gut, unblöde unterhalten werden will, der ist ziemlich richtig. Ein paar elektronische Sperenzken als Synapsenreizer gibt’s dann doch noch oben drauf, man muss ja auch Atmosphäre schaffen.
Unterstützt wird das Ganze vom hervorragenden Sänger Marcello Catalano. Dessen angenehme und ausdrucksvolle Stimme passt ideal zur Musik, sorgt aber nochmals für einen deutlichen Ruck in Richtung Melodic Rock. Die beunruhigende Anzahl an Background-Sängerinnen verhalten sich glücklicherweise recht dezent.
Wenn man nicht allzu puristisch an die Sache heran geht, ist „The River – Both sides of the story“ ein sehr unterhaltsames, moderat vertracktes, angeproggtes Melodic Rock-Album geworden. Macht (mir) Spaß!

The River has just landed on AMAZON!!!

Now, you can buy it on the following marketplaces

all around the world:

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From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

THE RIVER - BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY Marco De Angelis Crossover Prog 3.06 | 3 ratings

aapatsos Special Collaborator Prog Metal and Heavy Prog Teams

Both sides of the coin  Marco De Angelis decided to release his first solo album after many years in the music business, either as a performer or engineer/producer and this experience is reflected on "The River". Taking on board long-time friend and vocalist Marcello Catalano and a wonderful female vocal ensemble that goes by the name of 'Vocintransito', Marco produces a very professional and meticulous work in terms of presentation, sound and production. Being multi-instrumentalist, Marco handles almost everything on the album except for the drums, with the use of chapman stick standing out. Musically, "The River" is part of the new wave of "light", commercially-driven progressive rock with many references to (mainly 80's) Pink Floyd and Alan Parsons; especially the Gilmour-esque patters on the guitars show the big influence they had on Marco's compositions. Strong points are the performances of the accomplished Catallano, who reminds me at times of the modern Neal Morse "school", and Vocitransito, maybe a modern aspect of what someone experiences in Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon''. Lyrically, the album deals with the concept of duality in many aspects and makes journeys to the past and memories as the short radio spot samples confirm. What is most important is that it flows freely and everything seems to mix successfully, an indication of serious production work. Elements of innovation or intense variation are somewhat missing and the end result comes out polished and refined to the smallest detail but maybe lacking that extra "kick". Fans of crossover prog though, as defined here, will enjoy this to the full. Best moments: One Love, Take it Away

"Take it away" @ Birmingham Steel on Switch Radio 107.5

07/11/2013

GFreedom Team

MARCO DE ANGELIS

The River - Both sides of the story (2013, Italy) 

 

Marco De Angelis is an Italian composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer (he plays my favorite chapman stick too!) who although he was involved in the music business for many years, he hadn’t released any album under his name, and this is his first personal solo work.

Because he grew up listening mostly to the great bands of the ‘70’s such as PINK FLOYD, LED ZEPPELIN, GENESIS, YES etc, we can assume that his music will be influenced by this sound. Well, not exactly. His sound is modern & fresh, and although it reminds some other bands in certain occasions, truth is that his music style is rather an authentic one.

On this debut album he plays most of the instruments (with the exception of drums) and he participates in backing vocals as well. The singer is Marcello Catalano, and his voice matches music and style of the album very well. A very strong point worth mentioning is the backing vocals throughout the whole album. Marco De Angelis uses a very expressive female team doing the backing vocals, and the result is indeed of high quality.

Now a few info about the album: It contains 11 songs, plus 1 very small intro piece, and has a total running time of almost 67 minutes. The main instruments here aere mostly keyboards and guitar and this combination works perfectly! As for the influences I mentioned earlier, in my opinion the only I could find would be the sound of PINK FLOYD in their latest (mainly) albums such as ‘A Momentary Lapse of Reason’ or ‘The Division Bell’ (see the song ‘Take it Away’ for example).

Another very important fact I have to highlight is that the album is actually a concept one. Starting from the title, ‘The river’ refers to people’s lives as they flow like the river does and the sub-title ‘Both sides of the Story’ stands for the two river banks that represent, in a way, the duality that all human beings exist. The struggle between Good & Evil, the male & female life’s point of view, life & death, night and day etc… It is a really interesting idea, which is covered nicely by the music of Marco.

Concluding, this review I have to say that this is a qualitative concept album that combines touches of deep emotional elements with a highly pleasant prog listening experience! A rare combination!

• "One Love (New)" by @MarcoDeAngelis is on @morow! Listen to MOROW!

  
  

  Morow.com ! The Prog Radio ! The Best Progressive Rock of Yesterday and Today...

"What do you feel now?" and "Fly high"

@ MLWZ on Radio Alfa Krakow 102.40 FM

El músico y compositor italiano Marco de Angelis acaba de lanzar su disco debut bajo el nombre The River - Both Sides of the Story. Este trabajo conceptual se inspira en la temática del “río como símbolo de vida, con las dos orillas del mismo repesentando el dualismo en el que todos los seres humanos viven: el bien y el mal, masculino y femenino, vida y muerte, noche y día. Es el río en el cual navegamos y con el cual nos identificamos, eligiendo detenernos en una u otra de sus orillas”, según nos cuenta Marco.
El álbum ofrece doce temas, registrados con De Angelis a cargo de Chapman Stick (elemento fundamental y distintivo en el sonido del disco), guitarras, bajos y teclados, acompañado por Marcello Catalano en voces, quien realiza un magnífico trabajo con ricos y diversos matices expresivos (con las letras en inglés), Cristiano Micalizzi en batería y los coros a cargo de Désirèe Petrocchi, Simona Rizzi, Susanna Stvali, Fabiola Torresi y Sara Berni.
El tono de The River nos pasea por estilos cercanos al Peter Gabriel post So, con melodías muy agradables y emotivas e insistentes trabajos percusivos en sus temas iniciales, para luego, sutilmente, ensombrecer su clima, casi como si el disco se sumergiera lentamente en la noche, derivando en los últimos tracks en un mundo a lo Roger Waters de Final Cut o el Floyd de Meddle, aunque con un sonido contempóraneo. Este sonido es clave en el disco, gracias a que Marco es también reconocido productor e ingeniero de sonido para otros artistas y medios, TV, teatro, conciertos en vivo, etc. Estos detalles en la producción sonora del álbum son fundamentales, con sutiles matices que resultan esenciales para el magnífico resultado final del álbum.

Marco De Angelis — The River - Both Sides of the Story

by Peter Thelen, Published 2013-10-26



While De Angelis’ name may be new to most, his lifetime of experience as a studio owner (Soundtrack Studio Roma), sound engineer, record production (covering all styles of music), theater works and television soundtracks certainly explains why his debut album The River… sounds like the work of a seasoned veteran. A songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, Chapman Stick, keyboards, and piano), for this effort he enlists Marcello Catalona to handle the lead vocals, plus five backing vocalists and drummer Cristiano Micalizzi. The River contains a dozen tracks, but many are joined together into longer suites, all with an acute progressive rock savvy that is at once wholly accessible yet able to hold the interest of the discerning listener. The influences seem to be rooted in classic prog – Roger Waters era Pink Floyd is in evidence throughout, and to a degree contemporaries with the same influences – Porcupine Tree, RPWL, Riverside, and others. But this is not a knock off; De Angelis has created a highly original work that stands the test of repeated listens. The lyrics are all in English, and Catalona has great command of the language when he sings, bringing just the right emphasis where it needs to be. The writing and arrangements wield a lot of power throughout, but eschew the bombastic tendencies that often accompany post-classic period progressive rock. While The River… may reside on the accessible side of modern progressive rock and not challenge the listener with mind-jarring complexity in every measure, it remains as evidence that there is still plenty of room for forward growth within this genre. Highly recommended.

"Take it away" & "Regrets" @ MLWZ on

Radio Alfa Krakow 102. 40 FM

	Marco De Angelis – The River Eigenvertrieb / www.marcodeangelis.com (2013) (12 Stücke, 68:49 Minuten Spielzeit) Marco De Angelis stammt aus Rom und ist Musiker, Songwriter, Toningenieur und Produzent in einem. Nach zahlreichen Arbeiten für TV, Theater und im Aufnahmestudio legt Marco mit „The River“ nun ein eigenes Werk vor, das er zusammen mit Marcello Catalano (Gesang) und Cristiano Micalizzi (Schlagzeug) sowie den Backgroundsängerinnen Désirèe Petrocchi, Simona Rizzi, Susanna Stvali, Fabiola Torresi und Sara Berni eingespielt hat. Er selbst spielt Gitarren, Bass, Chapman Stick und Keyboards.
	Das Marco’s Wurzeln im Progressive Rock der späten 60’er und frühen 70’er Jahre zu finden sind, hört man der Produktion zwar an, allerdings klingen die Songs alles andere als verstaubt, ganz im Gegenteil. Die CD, die den Untertitel „Both Sides Of The Story“ trägt, beginnt mit dem kurzen, 22sekündigen Intro „Radio“, bei dem man hört, wie an einem alten Radio die Sender durchsucht werden. Daraus kristallisiert sich dann das erste „richtige“ Stück „Tell Me Why“, das sofort durch seine herrliche Melodie und den treibenden Rhythmus gefangen nimmt. Marco hat sich entschieden - nicht wie einige andere italienische Progbands, die in ihrer Landessprache singen - seine Texte von Marcello in englischer Sprache interpretieren zu lassen, was der Produktion sichtlich gut tut. Dieser erste tolle Song wird atmosphärisch und nahtlos in den nächsten, „Black Stare“, übergeleitet. Durch einige nahtlose Übergänge entsteht so ein kompaktes und komplexes Werk. „Black Stare“ beginnt mit einer sanften Pianomelodie und einem poppigen, proggigen Rhythmusmuster. Das erinnert ein wenig an Peter Gabriel. Und das soll nicht das letzte Mal sein, dass einem der Brite in den Sinn kommt. Sehr schön ist hier die Instrumentierung arrangiert (wunderbar wird hier der Chapman Stick eingesetzt) und auch Marcellos Gesang hat eine beruhigende, sanfte, unter die Haut gehende Art. Melodicrock und Prog der Marke Peter Gabriel finden sich dann auch im nächsten Song „One Love“. Leichtes Floyd-Feeling kommt dann (auch durch die Akustikgitarre) ansatzweise zunächst im nächsten Song „Snowbound“ auf. Der Song ist aber mit herrlichen Streichersounds verziert und hat einen sehr orchestralen, sinfonischen Anstrich, der dem Stück eine weitere Note verleiht. Dazu kommen dann AOR-Anleihen und ein eingängiger Refrain, der sich sofort im Ohr festsetzt. Marco schafft es die dichte Atmosphäre, die er von Beginn an erzeugt, über die gesamte Länge des Albums zu halten. Und das Marco oft Platten der Spätphase von Pink Floyd oder auch Roger Waters gehört hat, klingt an der ein oder anderen Stelle durch. Die CD erscheint im Jewelcase mit einem sehr schön gemachten 20seitigen Booklet. Für eine Eigenproduktion ist das sehr gut gemacht. Auch der Sound kann sich mehr als hören lassen, denn die Musik erstrahlt glasklar, transparent und dynamisch aus den Boxen. Marco zeigt, dass er sein Handwerk (Tontechnik und Produktion) bestens versteht. Mit „The River“ ist Marco De Angelis ein wunderbares Werk gelungen, dass Neo-Prog mit Melodicrock verbindet und das für mich eine der Entdeckungen des Jahres darstellt. Vor allem die eingängigen Melodien und der gut produzierte (glatte) Klang setzen sich schnell im Ohr fest. Antesten kann man die Stücke auch auf der Homepage www.theriver.it. Eine CD, die ich sehr empfehlen kann. Stephan Schelle, September 2013

De Angelis, Marco - The River-Both Sides Of The Story

Autor: Anna Sobótka

22.10.2013.

Ostatnio wpadł w moje ręce krążek noszący miano albumu debiutanckiego o tytule „The River – Both Sides Of The Story”. Pomyślałam, że skoro debiutancki, to musi się za nim kryć jakaś osoba stawiająca pierwsze kroki na rynku muzycznym. Nic bardziej mylnego, mianowicie Marco De Angelis to bardzo doświadczony (urodzony w 1962 roku) artysta solowy, kompozytor, muzyk, inżynier dźwięku i jeden z niewielu Włochów grających na Chapman sticku. Do tej pory działał on jednak głównie jako inżynier dźwięku i producent dla najbardziej znaczących firm produkcyjnych (nazwy Endemol, Mediaset czy Universal Publishing i Sony Publishing to tylko niektóre z marek, które ma on w swoim porfolio). Muzyka Marco De Angelisa jest mocno zakorzeniona w brytyjskim prog rocku późnych lat 70. Nie wiem, co spowodowało, że włoski muzyk postanowił wydać swój pierwszy album dopiero teraz, już jako dojrzały instrumentalista. Może spowodowały to lata doświadczeń i pracy od „drugiej” strony tej muzycznej machiny, a może chęć pokazania tego, jak on czuje i interpretuje muzykę? Dość powiedzieć, że chyba szkoda, że uczynił to dopiero teraz. W postaci krążka „The River – Both Sides Of The Story” otrzymaliśmy bowiem kawałek bardzo interesującej muzyki osadzonej w klimatach rocka progresywnego końcówki lat 70. i 80. Omawiany album nosi miano koncepcyjnego i pokazuje życie reprezentowane przez dobro i zło, kobiety i mężczyzn, dzień i noc, życie i śmierć… Stąd pewnie jego podtytuł „druga strona historii”. Całość materiału przedstawionego na tym wydawnictwie trwa blisko 70 minut - w moim odczuciu odrobinę za długo - i składa się na niego 12 kompozycji. Jeżeli szukacie Państwo brzmień inspirowanych twórczością Mike’a Rutherforda z czasów Mike And The Mechanics, Davida Gilmoura, Tony Levina, młodego Steve’a Hogartha i zespołu Pink Floyd, to z pewnością znajdziecie je na „The River…”. Pierwsza część albumu to bardziej dźwięki kojarzące się z Mikiem Rutherfordem, druga to już zdecydowanie wpływy pinkfloydowskie. Mnie najbardziej do gustu przypadły kompozycje zamieszczone w tej drugiej połowie wydawnictwa, a utworów oznaczonych indeksami 8 i 9, czyli „Regrets” i „Take It Away” słucha się wręcz wybornie i naprawdę trudno nie doszukiwać się w nich dźwięków znanych z płyt „The Division Bell” czy „The Final Cut”. Podsumowując, to naprawdę całkiem dobry album i nie pożałujecie Państwo, jak go posłuchacie, do czego serdecznie zachęcam. W celu uzupełnienia informacji o wydawnictwie „The River – Both Sides Of The Stories” warto dodać, że Marco sam zagrał na nim na gitarach, Chapman Sticku, klawiszach i pianinie. Do współpracy zaprosił także wokalistę Marcello Catalano (świetna robota!) i Cristiano Micalizzi na perkusji. Ponadto w chórkach swojego głosu udzieliły: Désirée Petrocchi, Simona Rizzi, Fabiola Torresi, Susanna Stivali i Sara Berni. Zatrudnienie tych pań do nagrywania albumu nie było zupełnie przypadkowe, bowiem kilka lat temu Marco nagrał w swoim studio wokalny zespół gospel o nazwie Vocintransito. Ten zespół to nikt inny jak wymienione wyżej wokalistki.

"Fly High" @ The Prog Mill on Stafford Radio - 20/10/2013

 



Marco De Angelis is an Italian songwriter, musician, audio engineer and record producer. He was ten years old when he got his hands on a musical instrument for the first time. A lot has happened since then and nowadays he has obtained a wide experience with musical instruments: from acoustic and ethnic instruments to the latest generation of electronic equipment. Moreover, he's one of the few Italian Chapman Stick players and he plays the guitar, bass and keyboards in a wide range of musical styles. However, his main roots hail from the late sixties and seventies British progressive rock. In the past he already created several soundtracks for both others and his own.

Marco De Angelis is an arranger and artistic producer for a multitude of indie albums recorded in Italy, Great Britain and Latin America. He spent the last fifteen years as a freelance sound engineer and producer for some of the most important production companies in Italy. He also has his own professional recording studio in Rome for more than two decades and between 1995 and 2005 he had his own music label. All those experiences in the music business finally made him decide to record an album inspired by his many musical influences and most of all for his hunger to create a concept album as was common in progressive rock for many years.

The River (Both Sides Of The Story) saw the light of day in 2013. This concept album deals with dualism: good and bad, male and female, life and death, night and day, and so on. Obviously De Angelis played and recorded the main part of the instruments on this album by himself. I guess it was a wise decision to ask guest musicians like Cristiano Micalizzi and Marcello Catalano to contribute on drums and lead vocals respectively. Together with several backing singers they created a magnificent album that mostly shows how much he was influenced by the music of Pink Floyd. Especially the great electric guitar parts are strongly related to those of Dave Gilmour. Particularly albums like A Momentary Lapse Of Reason (1987) and The Division Bell (1994) seem to be a great inspiration for De Angelis and in a way that also applies to the solo albums recorded by Peter Gabriel. The same kind of world music can be heard on The River (Both Sides Of The Story).

Although this album is a solo effort by De Angelis − his guitar parts are leading most of the time − I think singer Marcello Catalano deserves a lot of credits as well for his captivating singing on the entire album. The River (Both Sides Of The Story) is an album that contains only strong compositions and never gets boring. During the time I listened to it in order to write this review, I enjoyed it every time I gave it a spin in my CD player. And every time I heard new things that I haven't heard before.

I truly hope that people who listen to this album will have the same musical experience as I had. I thoroughly enjoyed this fantastic concept album which is strongly related to the music made by Pink Floyd and Peter Gabriel! So thumbs up for Marco De Angelis and the contributors who succeeded in creating an amazing progressive rock album!

**** Henri Strik (edited by Peter Willemsen)

The River (both sides of the story)

Hi everyboby out there, "The River" is approaching Greece!
This Saturday, October 12th, is Marco De Angelis "Prog Band Day" on JustIn Case Prog Radio. Meaning that a song from the album "The River" will airplay every half past hour (12.30, 1.30, 2.30, etc.) for almost the whole day! It will start by Friday at 22.30 BST until Saturday at 21.30 BST!
Don't miss it.
Thanks to Demetris and all the guys at Justin Case Prog Radio

JustIn Case Prog Radio

Σκοπός του JUSTIN CASE radio είναι η προβολή και η προώθηση ενός αντιπροσωπευτικού φάσματος προοδευτικής μουσικής. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, επιδίωξη του JUSTIN CASE radio είναι η μετάδοση μουσικής από όλο το φάσμα του προοδευτικού rock’n’roll καθώς και μουσικής πέρα από αυτό. Στόχος είναι η γνωριμία του κο...

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Marco De Angelis- The River(Both Sides of the Story)

• 08 Oct. 2013
• Artist: Marco De Angelis
• Released:
• Genre: Classic Hard Rock
• Posted by: Progradar

Being a child of the 80’s I was brought up a diet of electro pop and synth and good old classic rock. As I grew older I saw the light and metal and prog took over my life in a big style but, in my formative music days (we will forget that Smurf’s album purchase), bands like Genesis, The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen et al were my daily diet of music. The looming presence of Pink Floyd was always there in the background but, as yet, hadn’t had a huge influence on my aural journey. What drew me to the pleasures of classic rock was the concept of the whole song being conceived as complete piece of music where, in my opinion, the chorus, verse and music all contributed to the story telling nature of the artists. Song writing was key and king to the success of these bands and, in the modern world of music, this seems to have been forgotten, even in some of the genres we love. Yes, I love hard rock, metal and progressive music but, what I love above all else, is fantastic song writing, that’s why you will find records by Simon and Garfunkel, Paul Simon and The Beatles in my collection, I love songs that tell a story and use the whole composition to achieve that.

When I first heard about Italian artist Marco De Angelis’ new record The River (Both Sides of the Story) I was very intrigued because it seemed to hold dear those core values that I expressed previously above all else. Marco states that “In this era of liquid music, of songs that shuffled and bundled randomly in mp3 players, The River brings us back to the glorious, but almost forgotten, tradition of the concept piece and, is not a collection of songs but, a homogenous and coherent body of work in which lyrics, music and arrangements fuse together harmoniously. Here, The River represents life with the 2 banks representing the dualism in which we all exist, good and evil, life and death, male and female etc. It is how we identify ourselves, stopping on one or the other of the banks and sometimes yearning for and missing the other”. Well, after reading that, I was intrigued, who wouldn’t be?

Marco started his musical journey when he was 10 and has gained a wide experience in the musical instruments field and now plays guitar, bass and keyboards, his main roots being in 60’s and 70’s UK progressive rock and classic rock as well as enjoying a wide range of other musical styles. He has created soundtracks for 3rd parties as well as his own original works and has been an arranger and producer for many indie albums released worldwide. Marco ran his own professional recording studio as well as his own music label. In 2011 he returned to his first love, being a musician.

The River – Both Sides of the Story features Marco playing all the instruments apart from the drums which were handled by his good friend Cristiano Micalizzi. The backing vocals are sung by Vocintransito, an all-female gospel ensemble with whom he had worked previously. Lead vocals are handled by Marcello Catalano, whom Marco considers to be one of his best friends.

The River starts with the very short intro piece, radio, which is just 20 seconds of background radio before the delightfully coruscating guitar intro to Tell Me Why, a beautiful slice of 80’s rock that has brilliantly harmonized vocals blending in with the bass and guitar. This where you get the first listen to Marcello Catalano’s vocals and they are wonderful, perfectly suited to the song. The great harmony of the chorus with the sharp edged guitar kicks in again and I’m hooked already, this is the music I grew up on, a lovely verse and delightful chorus all held together by some great musicianship. A low key piano intro highlights the softer edge of Black Stare, heartfelt , soft and breathy vocals reminiscent of Savage Garden emphasise the 80’s feel again combined with a nice, gentle guitar riff. This is almost pop rock but with a much more mature feel to it, Catalano’s vocals are key to the softer style of the song before it all blossoms into a fantastic chorus, the vocal soaring high and backed with some powerful guitar playing before the slower groove rides out to the finish of the song. A classic 80’s Eagles riff begins One Love, there is an almost bluesy edge to the guitar before we have a fantastic chorus so reminiscent of 80’s anthem St Elmos Fire. The Eagles influence is enhanced by the brilliant little guitar run that follows the chorus, I am being transported to the era that shaped my life and the music that aided and abetted that process. More of the catchy chorus follows, another great vocal workout before an abrupt ending that flows straight into Snowbound, a nice acoustic intro and another enduring vocal backed by a decorous string sound, there is an American classic rock edge to this song, almost John Mellencamp or Bruce Stringsteen. The feeling is a bit more brooding and melancholic emphasized by another great chorus and a stylish guitar in the background as well as some brilliantly harmonized backing vocals. This meaningful track comes to a finale with a nicely laid back and mellow solo. Did I mention The Eagles before? The classy riff of the intro and harmonized backing vocals are the precursor to another great vocal performance which just screams Don Henley at you as we are treated to Never Look Back, some swirling Hammond Organ and nicely pared back guitar blending with the backing vocals before a sweet guitar solo that Glen Frey would be proud of, a pure piece of 80’s Americana. A nice fade out with the guitar and backing vocals front and centre finishes another alluring song.

A nice, gently strummed guitar overlaying the sound of a gently bubbling river is the low key introduction to This Time, those breathy vocals initially heard on Black Stare are in evidence again, lending an ethereal edge to the sound. The pace lifts as the vocals take on a stronger edge, backed by an insistent guitar sound. This is a nice song but not as strong as the other tracks on the album. I must admit I do like the dreamy sound of the strumming guitar though, contrasting with the almost reggae style edge to the rest of the track. Strong backing vocals again add to the quality of the song, it just doesn’t stand out like the other tracks we have heard so far and seems to meander to the finish, the classic, fuzzy radio that ends the fade out is a nice touch though. A nice piano intro and cultured vocals complemented by a great steel guitar are quintessential parts to the intro of my favourite track on the album, the Pink Floyd influenced Regrets. Acoustic guitar that could have been lifted direct from Wish You Were Here backed with a nice brass sound build up to a fantastic solo early in the song, Marco’s assertion that his major influence is Dave Gilmour is definitely in evidence here, the solo soars and really moves you, reminiscent of Gilmour’s recent solo disc, On an Island. We are brought gently back to earth by that great brass sound before another really mature vocal performance, this track is pure Floyd and almost appears an homage to the prog and art rock legends. As gentle piano takes over, the vocal is interspersed with short licks of guitar, the song ebbing and flowing as the tempo lifts before being drawn back down again, coinciding with another portion of that laid back piano and guitar. You think the song has come to an end before we get treated to one more amazing solo, the guitar almost talking to you, mournful, moving and heartfelt. Here the backing vocals are a perfect counter point, the piercing, soaring guitar fading out this highlight of the album. A short, piercing guitar note and then a low down and grungy guitar riff give a dark edge to that start of Take It Away, a nice low key vocal, slightly reminiscent of Genesis and matched with yet more of the great backing vocals carry on the harder edge to this song. It has a real strong Genesis vibe to it, the powerful chorus and more stringent  guitar note all adding to the drama. A really bluesy, distorted solo adds a hint of menace to the track along with a jam style session in the middle that adds a great blues feel to it. Another helping of the edgy, blues style guitar fades out this cool song. What Do You Feel Now has a very meandering intro, gentle keyboards and effects giving a real easy feeling to the start of the song before another great piece of guitar work, low down, grungy and almost industrial, a pulsating riff starting low and increasing to a powerful conclusion, that laid back vibe carrying on in an almost instrumental vein, some really classy slide guitar helping to give a dark, brooding feel to this track. Another coruscating, compelling guitar break before the vocals finally kick in, just as dark and dangerous as the rest of the song, it all comes to an abrupt end before we, literally, fly into Fly High, as light and fulfilling as the previous track was dark and brooding, the chorus soaring up to the heavens before a light and lilting verse backed by gentle piano, guitar and keys. I can’t help but sing along with the smile inducing chorus and it’s anthemic  qualities, although the backing vocalists probably do a better job. It has a real 80’s vibe to it throughout and feels like it traipses merrily along, a real feel good song. Another absolute belter of a solo and more of the sumptuous chorus round out what should be, essentially, the final track of the album, however, we lucky folk  are treated to a bonus track, Our Trail of Tears, it starts nicely with more of that 80’s vibe, a nice, gentle riff and great vocals leading to another fine chorus. A nice little bass run fleshes it out before the verse kicks in again and we are treated to another repeat of the chorus followed by a nicely laid back, elongated solo, again, nothing truly outstanding but a classy tune in its own right.  The song seems to round out at about the 6 minute mark before 2 minutes of silence and then, what seems to be, an acceptance speech.

Conclusions then, in the main The River is an excellent album with its roots in 80’s classic rock but a definite prog edge showing through, no more so than when Marco plays those epic Gilmour tinged guitar solos. I love the songwriting, the great vocals (both lead and backing) and the total construction of the album and it is only let down by a couple of weaker tracks. If, like myself, you are a child of the 80’s and loved the great classic and prog rock bands of that era or, if you just want to hear some fantastic songwriting and music, then you could, and should, listen to The River – Both Sides of the Story.

Podcast #28 (07/10/13)

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Home » Garden , Haken , Marco De Angelis , New Trolls , Ni , PFM , Podcast , Premiata Forneria Marconi , Protomythos , Robert Wyatt , State Urge , Tatvamasi » Podcast #28 (07/10/13)

Podcast #28 (07/10/13)

Hello again Proggers of the World! Here I am, Diego Camargo, ready to Prog with our hour of Progressive Rock in the episode of our Podcast number twenty eight.


Another week and another 10 great bands played in our show. Hope you like, please comment and share the episodes. Below the links commented on today's Podcast!

07 Oct. 2013

Marco De Angelis

Bio: Marco De Angelis, born December 1962, is an Italian solo artist, songwriter, musician, audio engineer and record producer.

Started his musical journey when he was 10 and puts for the very first time his hands on a musical instrument. Since that day he gained a wide experience in musical instruments field, from acoustic/ethno to last generation electronic gear. He is one of the few Italian Chapman Stick player. Plays guitar, bass and keyboards. Even if he enjoys a wide range of musical styles, his main roots are from the late ’60s and ’70s prog-rock UK scene. Created soundtracks for 3rd parties as well as his own original projects. Arranger and artistic producer for a multitude of indie albums released in Italy, UK and Latin America. Meanwhile, spent almost two decades working as freelance Sound Engineer/Producer for some of the most important production companies in Italy. Very experienced in different media and environments (Recording Studio, TV, Theatre, Live concerts).

Ran his own professional recording studio in Rome (Soundtrack Studio) for more than two decades as well as his own music label between 1995 and 2005. The River. With very few exceptions, titles in all forms of artistic expression are more than a mere piece of information on what the body of work is about. In the case of “The River”, the title introduces the actual meaning of the composition, the motivations that inspired it. It is a consistent theme throughout the various phases of its creation, execution, recording and in its future representation. In this era of ‘liquid’ music, of songs which are shuffled and bundled randomly in mp3player,‘The River’ brings us back to the glorious but almost forgotten tradition of the ‘concept’ piece. It is therefore not a collection of songs but a homogeneous and coherent body of work in which lyrics, music and arrangements fuse together harmoniously within this concept of a “river”, a place of influx of and at the same time an outlet for almost thirty years of Marco De Angelis’ music research as a composer, musician, arranger and producer and which finds its most accomplished expression in this work. A concept, an image, a suggestion – that one of the river – that lends itself to multiple interpretations, none of which excludes the others. Here it represents life, with the two river banks representing the dualism in which all human beings exist: a reality which is made up of good and evil, male and female, life and death, night and day. It is the river that we travel on and in which we identify ourselves, choosing to stop on one or other of its banks, sometimes yearning for and missing the other and in which we get dragged through by the current and by the whims of chance. This concept is further underpinned by the subtitle –“ Both Sides of the Story” – which bounces from one song of the album to another, and will be a key element in the live performance dimension, which is an integral part of this project. You are all welcome… the river awaits! Reading the main traits of my biography you might think of a person totally unstable and on the verge of schizophrenia…

I started studying classical guitar as a child. At age 20 I founded my first band that with various line ups accompanied me to my early 30. It ‘was a wonderful time! In 1992 I opened my own recording studio, in business till 2012. During that time I reduced a lot of my time as a musician, mainly working as sound engineer and music producer, both in the studio and on tour. In my spare time, however, I have produced soundtracks for movies and a couple of my own cd project. Some of the songs featured in The River have seen their raw form at that time. Then in 2011 I returned to my first love… being a musician.  As usual… Both sides of the story.

I could make a parallel, with very little modesty, between me and the much more famous Alan Parson…

Members: 

I played all the instruments on the album but the drums, so I just had to make a phone call to my friend Cristiano Micalizzi, (a well known drummer in Italy) and make him part of the project.

Some years ago I recorded in my own studio a great female gospel vocal ensemble called “Vocintransito”, so when the moment came to track down all the backing vocals I had written for The River, I called them back into my studio and… you can listen to the wonderful vocal works that they put on throughout The River.

Lead vocalist Marcello Catalano is probably one of my best friends ever – I call him my brother. He is such an incredible vocalist. I was fortunate to work with him many years ago when both of us were involved in Jesus Christ Superstar the musical – I was the sound engineer and Marcello played Hannas. In the same cast we had the one and only Carl Anderson, God bless him. So it didn’t take me more than a second to choose Marcello as lead vocal.

Genre:

 When I grew up and started to play guitar I was listening to the UK’s Rock /Prog bands in the ’70s (Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, but also Led zeppelin and Deep Purple on the hard side of the rock).

I’ve always been in love with the non-linearity of that kind of compositions. The continuous change of emotions that transmit, is something very close to real life. Is not plastic… is flesh and bones.

Those years have been a sort of musical imprinting, so it’s natural for me to use that kind of style in my writing process. I don’t feel it’s something to be ashamed about. I don’t try to hide it… It’s me!

Evolution of the initial musical and thematic elements:

 Basically there is not a standard way for me to write or develope a project. In the case of “The River”, the live performance aspect has always been part of the writing process. At that time I was working as sound engineer for most of the major Musicals acts touring Italy. So the theatrical aspect of a concept album began to take form. I started to have the idea of musical with a concept, an image, a suggestion, that one of the river, to represent life, with the two river banks representing the dualism in which all human beings exist: a reality made up of good and evil, male and female, life and death, night and day. It is the river that we travel on and in which we identify ourselves, dragged through by the current and by the whims of chance.

After a while I thought that the idea of the musical would have been too tight for me because of the constraints imposed by a script. So I decided to move towards a more “conventional” rock show but mantaining the visual side of the original idea. I may mention some of the Peter Gabriel’s gigs or, with the proper proportion, “The Wall”. I have most of the visual aspect of the future show clear in my mind.

As for the themes and concepts, there is something autobiographicall in The River… but I won’t tell you what…

Ideas about the album:

 I’m pretty happy with the artistic side. Even if, as usual, I think that something better can be done.

On the more technical side, well this is a mid-low budget production. So a bigger budget could have give results closer to the sound that I had in mind. But generally speaking I like it.

Reception:

 The cd has just been released, so it’s a bit early to speak about it. However, it seems that “the world out there” like it very much. That’s great. Will see.

Preference; live or studio:

 Two different kind of beast.

In studio i like to take all the time I need. Tweaking all the different sound ’till I achieve what I have in mind. And it can take days and days. I keep on giving me the opportunity to change something till the end of the mix. So it’s a long and complex work with hundreds of tracks opened in the final mix. Luckily I make most of the job by myself. Would be really difficult to have a sound engineer who can bear with this.

A live show is a one shot matter. I mean, I’m a kind of paranoid for the perfection, even in the live performances, and the show has to follow the CD lines, but you can’t know what will happen up there….. so, the approach is slighty different. On top of this recipe, you have to put a bit of human feelings, the emotion of that very moment, that make a show unique, different from the day before and the day after. And of course there is an audience to gratify and with who having an emotional exchange.

Both of them are great!

Next step; live or studio:

 As I’m a solo artist, there is no a real band in a conventional meaning. Of course Marcello will be part of it. I’m gathering some musicians i trust in, to setup a proper band and start the first rehearsal leg. This should be before the end of the year and I have in mind to shoot part of the rehearsal  to produce a sort of Making Of of the live show in a DVD.

What’s next?…Hopefully live shows 2014 and then next album…. probably 2015.

Future plans:

 God only knows….. The Beach Boys were right.

Composers:

 I wrote all the songs and lyrics, except the lyrics for “Snowboud”, that have been written by an English good friend of mine, Sham Hinchey, “Our Trail Of Tears”, the lyrics are by Marcello Catalano and “Tell Me Why” and “Black Stare” written by me with the help of Odette Albani a London based songwriter.

Inspirations: 

As I told you before, I love UK’s rock scene from the ’70s. But also some of the ’80s and ’90s like Tears for Fears and Peter Gabriel solo era. Their music is a great mix of pop and prog-rock. I love them.

Preference; cater to the audience or music for its own sake:

 Probably both situations I guess.

Greatest Accomplishment:

 Will answer at this when I will stop playing…