Alex Giordani is a talented songwriter, a gifted singer and musician. He likes to define his music as “Pop-Rock with an Orchestral touch” influenced by a wide range of artists, from The Beatles to U2, from Muse to Coldplay. There are many ways to tell a story and Alex does it through his songs where he captures feelings, details and moments of real life that everyone can relate to. Most recently Alex Giordani’s new album “Shades of Morning Light” reached number #1 on the Italian Album Sales Charts and we had a chance to catch up with him on the road and talk about his new album, interests, influences and more.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with Celebrity Zones. We wanted to talk with you about your new album out now “Shades of Morning Light.”
My pleasure, it’s really an honor to be a guest with you. Shades of Morning Light is an album I really love because it represents a maturation of my songwriting process as an indie artist. After some years of recording my own songs in my home studio, I think I have progressively improved my production and arrangement skills, I have learnt from the mistakes of the past and made treasure of all critics received for my previous works. I am always searching for the “best” song and the “best” album ever so I won’t ever say that I am a hundred percent satisfied of this album. Nonetheless, in Shades of Morning Light I believe that the songs have the right “dress”. In the initial process of songwriting I simply start with a melody that’s in my mind and then I gradually try to sew the best “dress” for it, in the beginning with a simple guitar chord progression and then adding all the other instrumental parts. The final result is that the song has to shine in its “dress”, because it is the only way it can “reach” the audience. What I also tried to emphasize in this album is the vocal performance and interpretation, because the voice is the simplest and most direct way to reach the audience. I really worked hard to deliver the best vocal performances on the album and as far as I can see till now, the response of fans is really satisfying.
It’s a great sounding record. Can you tell us a little about your style and process with this album?
I am really happy to know you like the sound of the new album. I am a musician who always wants to experiment new paths and new sounds, so I think that my style is continuously evolving.
In Shades of Morning Light I tried to use a more direct and simple approach for the musical production. “The simpler is better” is probably the best way to describe it. For some songs I have chosen minimal arrangement to emphasize vocals and lyrics. I also tried to work a lot on dynamic alternating full instrumental parts and very basic parts with vocals and piano only. I think that this can create a more “surprise” effect to the listener. Whether the style may change from one album to the other, there is one thing that cannot ever change in my songwriting that is the emotional message of a song. It can be an uplifting song like “I Feel Emotions or a song about choosing the wrong person like in “Thoughts” or a song about troubled relationship like “Never Let You Cry”, but the process I have chosen in my songwriting remains the same. A song has to deliver a message to the listeners, trying to evoke emotions for them so they can identify with it according to their own personal experiences. I am aware it is a very difficult purpose, that may sound ambitious but I think is the reason why all artists express themselves through arts in general.
Did I read this is your 5th or 6th record? How does this album differ from the others?
Yep, this is the 6th record released. It’s actually another step in the long walk of my musical journey and as a new step I wanted to explore new territories, new sounds, new musical tools. Like the previous albums it has been almost totally recorded in my home studio where I played most of the instrumental and singing parts. For the songs ‘What I Need’ and ‘You Can’t Love Anyone’, I had the pleasure to collaborate with a great Italian composer and arranger Giordano Maselli which helped me to give in the best way that orchestral touch I have always been fascinated by. This album differs from the others because I wanted to obtain a more modern sound, that fix nowadays musical needs. You can listen that there are no “acoustic” drums on it but I used electronic loops and a lot of synth sounds. I really enjoyed working with those tools. I am aware that guitar is not a dominant instrument like it was in the past, but since it is my main instrument I tried to put it in each song whenever possible. I can also say that lyrically the album is more focused on relationships, on the different sides of love, on the consequences of being in love. In the past I was probably more focused on my own personal growth, the search for the place in this world and how the future will be.
Your based in Italy? Are you originally from there?
Yes I was borne in Rome and always lived there. I travelled a lot in all these years, playing music or simply for visiting interesting places around the world, but when in Rome I really feel like home.
I saw you are a big U2 fan? So much that you are fronting a U2 tribute band. How long have you been doing that?
Yes, I am loving the U2 music since their Joshua Tree album and I keep being a great fan since the late 80’s. If I am not wrong they are one of the few bands in the world that still perform live with the original members after 40 years of career….this really means something in music history. But I don’t think U2 need my words to say how great they are….as I said, the past and the present talks for them. Being in a U2 tribute band is simply a way to say “thank you” for being part of my life in so many years and I really enjoy singing their song in front of an audience. I think it’s a permanent school of how to get the best from a live show, evoking emotions and feelings for the audience. I think I have been attending this “school” for 8 years so far.
Growing up, was this your primary style of music that inspired you?
When I was younger… as John Lennon sings in “Help”, I was listening mainly to Rock music as it was the mainstream sound of the late 80’s and 90’s. I am a guitarist too, so in those years I really loved to play rock and blues songs. U2 music was surely a great source of inspiration, but it was in good company with the Beatles’ music and, it may seem a bit “out of context”, but also with Depeche Mode music for I started loving Electronic Pop sounds. So I was not mainly focus on the Rock genre, but loved the Dark Pop or New Wave sound of that era
Who were some of your inspirations growing up musically such as artists?
I have always tried to get the maximum inspirations from artists who really hit my emotional sphere, artists that I believe have something to “say”. I artistically grew up with pop rock bands, as said before, but throughout the years I fell in love with artist like Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons, Ed Sheeran and recently Billie Eilish…they are all amazing and they have their own different and unique style that brought them to be real superstars. I believe it does not matter the genre of the music…it is just a “label”…it can be a pop, a rock, an indie, a soul or a R&B song, the important thing is how the song gets to your heart and your ears and the consequences to your emotional universe. The best thing that happens to me is when someone listens to a song of mine and tells me that he or she’s been touched by it. This is the main purpose of music in my opinion.
Songs like ‘Mesmerized’ and ‘It Can’t Be Perfect’ among others have become instant favorites of mine. Is there a particular song that means more than others off this album to you and why?
I believe that when you record a new album all songs that are part of it can be defined like “sons or daughters” and so I feel affection for all of them. Obviously there are songs that really means a lot to me.
Mesmerized represents the “unconditional love”. It may happen in your life that you are so truly and deeply in love with someone that you don’t matter anything else, you can’t even see the negative aspects of the other person. I am aware it is a temporary situation, that love then evolves and you start seeing things from a more rational point of view….but being Mesmerized for love is something so precious, so intense and in some ways so dangerous as it may cause suffering for love too. But I believe it worth the while living that kind of emotions, it really does.
What I Need is another song I am really in love with. It talks about the difficult relationship between a father and a son, the “generational incomprehension”. I may say it has true connections with my youngness and my familiar situation. There was a time when me and my father were really distant and seemed to talk different languages. The lyrics “you should talk to me of love….it’s easily what I need” well describe the situation at that time. Now that I am an adult I am experiencing the other role, the role of the father, I see things in a different way and treasured what the past taught to me. And well, now I have an excellent relationship with my father too….so in the end everything went great.
It Can’t Be Perfect is a sort of experiment for I wanted to walk in the “pure pop” ground. I decided to write down simple but effective lyrics and change a bit my singing style to something more clean and less aggressive. The theme of the song is the teenage love, that can be considered somewhat “ephemeral” if you think about how young you are. But if you are emotionally involved in a relation the moment you lose it can really hurt you, disoriented you and all you can do is to rise up and go on in the search for the right person for you or simply cure your wounds.
Did you always want to be a musician? Any other careers ever interest you growing up?
I believe that music is part of our life since we were children and accompany us throughout the different stages of it. I remember when I was about 8 years old, came back from school and played the Beatles “vinyl” records for hours, trying to sing along with them. So the answer is Yes, I always wanted to be a musician and a singer, I worked hard in all these years trying to make the best songs possible and played… well, maybe more than 400 gigs trying to capture all the feelings of being on a stage singing my songs or even songs from other artists. I think that being a musician is something that comes out instinctively.
As for any other careers it would be great for me to collaborate with other artist as an author or composer of song for them. I am experiencing a great inspirational moment of my life so it would be great to share it with other artists.
Is there an artist you are looking forward to sharing the stage with one day or have you already accomplished this with an icon of yours?
There are so many artist I would really love to be on a stage one day…apart from U2, as I said I am a big fan of Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift so it would be a dream come true to share the stage with them…..especially Taylor Swift that for me is an amazing songwriter and a duet with her would be simply unbelievable.
Any special shows you guys would like to promote that may be coming up?
I am currently playing local shows in Italy in a “solo” acoustic setup…you know, a bit like “Ed Sheeran” style. What he does on the stage with just one guitar and a looper is simply extraordinary. As for my shows I think that this intimate situation is perfect to establish the right “emotional” link with the audience. I am also setting up a “full band show” to be performed in 2020. I have many requests from fans to play in South America, South Africa, Europe and I truly hope that this is going to happen soon
Your new album “Shade of Morning Light” is out now and available at retail outlets such as Amazon, iTunes, Spotify and more. Make sure you check out Alex Giordani coming to a town near you and visit his website at https://www.alexgiordanimusic.com and follow him on Facebook, Youtube and Instagram. Thank you for speaking with us today and best of luck with the new album!
Thank you so much John! It’s been a real pleasure to be featured in such a great magazine like Celebrity Zones! As for the new Album, in Italy we say “crepi il lupo” in response to good luck!!
I would also like to thank all the great staff at Spectra Music Group for believing in my music and supporting. They are fantastic partners and really believe we can do great things together.