Alessandro Raina
| Alessandro Raina | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Alessandro Raina |
| Born |
29 June 1977 Voghera, Italy |
| Genres | Singer-songwriter, Indiepop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1999 – present |
| Labels | Cane Andaluso, City Living |
| Associated acts |
Giardini di Mirò (2003–2006) Amor Fou (since 2005) Casador (since 2008) |
| Website | Official blog |
Alessandro Raina (born 29 June 1977) is an Italian singer/songwriter.
Former journalist and wannabe writer, he embraced the path of songwriting by chance. In 2003, Alessandro took part in the recording sessions of a track which will be later featured in the album Punk... Not Diet! by Giardini di Mirò, one of his own favourite bands. Right after this collaboration, the band asked him to lend his voice to the whole LP, to which he contributed also as main lyricist.
His personal style features a heavy use of metaphors, twilight-intima, literary-poetic and ethical-political inspired lyrics, with mixed references – mainly in his Italian songs – to current events, classical mythology and history. Alessandro's self declared references are the acclaimed Italian singers (Tenco, Battisti, De Gregori, De André, Ciampi) spiced with love for cinema and literature of the twentieth century.
His solo projects are influenced by indie-electronic moods and artists such as Jeff Tweedy, Sufjan Stevens, Feist, Cat Power, The National, Bat for Lashes.
Possibly born in Soledad, Falkland Islands, Alessandro Raina achieved Italian citizenship as his parents desired. He grew up in Voghera but he left his parents' home around the age of 18, spending many years in London, Milan, Paris, Caen, Rapallo and Hamburg, finally settling in Italy in 2001.
He attended classical studies but dropped out of college in order to work. Throughout these years, Raina found himself involved in various job situations, working in a hospice for two years. Here, he had the chance to take care of many elderly men and people affected by neurological problems, as well as getting in touch with literati, ex gangsters and journalists who would later inspire some characters depicted in his lyrics.
From 1999 to 2003, Raina worked as a freelance journalist for some of the most relevant Italian music magazines (Blow Up, Rumore, Rockstar) and for the literature magazine Pulp Libri. He even wrote some reviews for the Italian edition of the literary magazine Time Out, dealing with culture and costume.
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Wikipedia