9+1 Q&A with AGA

What inspired you to first start making music? And how did you come to be in your current incarnation? Or if you prefer, a brief bio about you.

Music has always played a huge role in my life, I’ve been a drummer and drum teacher for over twenty years, after graduating at Middlesex University in London.
I had the chance to collaborate with the late Maestro Ezio Bosso, so when composing music as AGA – which is simply the acronym for my full name, Alessandro Gomma Antolini, I always wanted to mix my experimental background with more accessible sounds. So far, I’ve composed
and published 4 albums : R[Evolution], Dream On and more recently Imagine and Short B-Movies.
Lately I played many shows both in Italy and Europe, and I like to remember most of all the opening sets for Tom Barman from dEUS and Blaine L. Reininger from Tuxedomoon.

Provide us with some info about your latest release…

School is the second single taken from the SPOT EP, which will be released October 22nd on Drummer Cafe’ Records, the label I started and manage with a great team of friends.
With this track I wanted to pay an homage to the sound of the ’80s, but it’s also a consideration about how much real communication is lacking in schools, where notions often halt a real growth.

Which ones would you consider your main influences both music-wise & non-music-wise?

Listening daily to music, going to concerts frequently, photography, graphics, theater, cinema, exchange, and discussion are influences and experiences that have enriched me as a whole. Making music is a constant quest for me; I always remain amazed by what is yet to come.

In what way does your sound differ from the rest genre-related artists/bands and why should we listen to your music? In other words, how would you describe your sound?

The authenticity of AGA is dictated by its form, which deconstructs itself according to expressive needs. Music critics often describe the music I’ve composed as a collection of many influences that, by distancing themselves from the ir core, become an original texture. The sound is consistently dreamy, but not necessarily relaxing.

Please name your 3 desert islands albums, movies & books…

Too many possible and worthwhile choices to name a few!

Do you prefer studio or performing live and why?

It’s hard to say what I prefer. The contact with the audience during performances is essential for generating different and/or new nuances in the songs composed in the studio, while the studio remains a self-contained process with schedules, and this is of extreme importance. Deep down, however, I prefer live performances.

Is there any funny-unique story you would like to share with us, always in relation to your music ‘career’?

I still think about that time when Maestro Ezio Bosso gave me an extremely difficult score to play, which I cursed at the time. Today that sheet of music is a picture hanging in my house, in memory of the great musician and, above all, of the incommensurable pleasure of collaboratin with him.

Which track of your own would you point out as the most unique and why?

To date, I think the most unique song is the one I haven’t written yet, so I would ask the answer to my listeners. I consider all the songs unique, but none of them essential.

Would you like to share with our readers your future plans?

We’ll start touring in October to coincide with the release of the EP, and then I’ll finish the album.

Free question!!! (Ask yourself a question) you wish to answer and haven’t been given the opportunity…

What is your goal as an artist?

To reach as many people as possible in every part of the world….

Curated by: Christos Doukakis

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