Prelude
I opened the shutters and it was a beautiful sunny day before my eyes.
I got up a little later than usual because the night before I had gone to bed late.
The concert at the piano bar “Broadway Pub” went very well. The audience had asked me for an encore several times, and it gratified and amused me at the same time.
That morning, as I was making the mocha coffee, I thought to myself that without Biagio Pagano, a friend who had a record store, I would never have auditioned for the BMG label. He had insisted so much that I finally decided to do it. He often repeated to me:
– You have a fantastic voice, it reminds that of Claudio Baglioni, pass this damn audition!
A few days later, I was returning home after an exhausting day and had just slumped into the chair when the phone rang.
– Hello? I replied.
– Roberto Scozzi? on the other end of the line, a warm male voice.
– Yes, it’s me!
– I am Michele Mondella, artistic director of the BMG. With my colleagues, we reviewed a few songs from your audition and we thought about making a proposal. I wanted to ask you if you could come and discuss the project.
– I could spend Saturday morning at 10 am, is that okay?
– OK perfect. We see each other on Saturday.
As soon as I hung up, I called Biagio to let him know the good news.
I arrived on time for the scheduled meeting.
– Hi Roberto, it’s Michele, come sit down!
– As I said on the phone, we thought of a project for you.
– What is that? I replied.
– Since we found your tone of voice very special, we would like to offer you a 5 years contract for 5 albums!
A shiver ran through my back and I tried in vain to hide the very strong emotion I was feeling.
– Well! That flatters me … I replied with eyes almost shining with happiness.
– We just have to review the stage name, because Roberto Scozzi doesn’t work.
And that’s how my professional story began.
Roberto Scozzi, whose stage name is Anonimo Italiano, burst onto the musical scene in December 1994 with the song E così addio, a slow single. The song was an immediate hit, confirmed a few months later with the release of the album Anonimo Italiano which reached 120,000 copies sold, with a masked face and a voice similar to that of Claudio Baglioni. Such a resemblance led the great Roman singer to be wary of his record company of the time, which continued to finance the Anonyme Italien project. A warning that was not followed up because, apart from the vocal resemblance, there was no plagiarism.
In 1995, he presented Anche questa è vita and the album Anonimo Italiano thus obtained the “Disco di Platino” (highest award for the number of copies sold). The album was also recorded in Spanish and conquered other Latin countries such as Cuba and Costa Rica.
The great French master Richard Clayderman realized his talents and therefore wanted to record with him a duet on E così addio and insert it into his album In Amore. In 1997, with his second album Buona Fortuna, he toured Poland, Russia and Costa Rica.
After the termination of the contract with BMG, in 2002, he published Dimmi che ami il mondo which contains several collaborations with very important artists. Then in 2006 follows an orchestral collection L’infinito dentro noi with two unpublished titles entitled Senza di te and Più che puoi and collaborating with great musicians such as Toni Carnevale, Maurizio Dei Lazzaretti, Roberto Gallinelli and Rodolfo Maltese. Seven years later, he brought us Five, an album produced by the well-known drummer Roberto Mezzetti, who died suddenly on the last day of the recordings. It is a duet with Amedeo Minghi, also upset by the event, that Anonimo Italiano decided to dedicate L’aquilone to his missing friend. This is his last complete unreleased work. The following year, in 2014, he presened Diario di un amore, a more mature and calm collection of eight old hits with two unreleased ones: one that gives the title to the homonymous album and the other E mi manchi sempre tu.
After a 6-year break, Anonimo Italiano returns to the studio to carry out his new project.
How would you define your musical style?
I try to offer poetic music, made of feelings like the Italian music of the 70s and 80s, that comes from the heart, which makes you hum but above all move. I breathed the artistic feeling of those years and tried to make it my own, in a way.
But how is a song born?
The most common situation often happens when I travel by train or plane. In the old days, there was a Dictaphone, where we recorded a melody, then at home we evaluated it and worked on it. As for the text, it was a bit more complicated because you had to insert the words with the melody. Usually, I start with an idea I want to tell and from there, I develop the project. I start with a scenario that I modify by cutting and adding.
Do all of your songs represent you or is there one in particular that represents you a little more than others?
Mi mancherai is an autobiographical piece and sincerely reflects me a lot, as does E così addio where I photograph a particular moment in my life, which represents me a lot.
You have been accused of plagiarism by the great Claudio Baglioni, what can you say about it?
I’ve always been a fan of Baglioni, his songs and music from the 70’s – 80’s. The Baglioni I love the most is the one from those years when they called him Agonia, the most nostalgic and dark. I cannot deny the vocal resemblance and the interpretive soul. This is not a caricature, this is not an imitation, and that’s why I never wanted to record his songs. I never wanted to do an official Cover Band. I was offered the opportunity, but since I couldn’t sing my own songs, I refused. I couldn’t give up being a songwriter.
Is there an Italian song that you would have liked to write and sing?
Without a doubt: Ancora by Eduardo De Crescenzo. In addition to the text, I find the performance spectacular. Of course, the songs of Battisti, Cocciante and Alunni del Sole with Paolo Morelli also brought me a lot.
Are the lyrics or music of a song more important to you?
Both are born together, and especially those born instinctively are always the most beautiful.
How did the collaboration with Richard Clayderman, the great French pianist come about?
He looked for me and said, “He has a voice!” So, honored by that, I went to France.
He made me record on his album In Amore my song E così addio, sung by me and arranged by him. A piece which was then engraved in Spanish under the title Ultimo Adios.
What are your short-term goals? And what do you think is the key to success?
To embark on this career, I advise everyone to be authentic with what you do and express the music you feel. You don’t have to make music because it’s trendy, but you have to focus on music that comes from within. The experience will then mature on stage. It is also important to choose a trustworthy manager. Michele Mondella was a big one, for example. These great producers are missing today. Today, we focus more on appearance, performance and less on quality.
And your new project?
The single that will be released in the spring will be called Non è mai finita (It’s never finished). The text was written by me and set to music with Valentino Prato. It describes the story of two exes who meet again and suddenly relive a past period. One of the sentences in the text actually says “Già sei anni e sembra un secolo (Already six years and it looks like a century) …”
Subsequently, the second single that I wrote with the young singer, Sanremo Critics’ Award, Enrico Boccadoro, was released.
Anonimo Italiano with his music and his songs moves us by expressing the language of the soul, this language which cannot be translated, but which can only be felt internally.
“No è mai finita”
(A.Italiano / V. Prato)
Executive production, arrangement for piano and strings: Valentino Prato for “Prato Production”
Artistic production: Anonimo Italiano and Valentino Prato
Drums: Michele Avella
El.Bass: Pippo Matino
El.Guit: Alessandro Vitiello
Piano and keyboards: Valentino Prato
Sound engineer, mastering & co-production: Angelo Coppola
Recorded and mixed at “Prato Production” Studios in Naples on the “Prato Production” label All rights reserved
I really love the music with Richard Clayderman – In amore – and the song ” E cost addio ”
sung by Anomino Italiano, but unfortunately I can not find it on Spotify?