Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

  Alice - Nata ieri In 2012 Alice released her first studio album with new original songs in 14(fourteen!!!) years, Samsara . Among them a song Franco Battiato had written especially for her (Eri con me), a first since 1982!, a couple from Tiziano Ferro including this Nata ieri. The album included also three covers from Lucio Dalla, Giuni Russo and Califfi. Her fans had been waiting for this album and it entered the Italian charts straight at number 10.  Se la vita è migliorata dopo ogni ferita, è grazie a te. Tra le grigie ceneri dei giorni neri, lì sono nata ieri. If life has improved after every wound, it is thanks to you. Among the gray ashes of the dark days, there I was born yesterday.

Listen to the album trailer Alice's new album Weekend is released today. The title comes from the fact it has been recorded over the weekends the past two years, after the release of her previous Samsara album. In many interviews she has given for the album she also talks about her relationship with Franco Battiato and the music business.  "With Battiato we have always stayed friends and I have continued singing his songs, even recording some like È stato molto bello in 2003. I asked him to write me a song for Samsara and he gave me Eri con me . Now in this album he sings duet with me in late Claudio Rocchi's La realtà non esiste , and he wrote also Veleni , a song sent to Sanremo 2014 and luckily not accepted, The lyrics are by late Manlio Sgalambro, propably his last text" she now says. "Working with Battiato is always a pleasure and comes naturally. He has also written the Italian lyrics to Tante belle cose , a Francoise Hardy cover , masterfully a...

Now it's official. Alice will release a new album titled Weekend on November 11, 2014 that follows Samsara that was released only two years ago. The album will be also released as limited edition vinyl later. She's back, back, back! Before the album, on October 24 or this Friday the new single Tante belle cose will be released digitally.  It features longtime collaborator Paolo Fresu. She has also finally joined Facebook and her official page is here . Join in!

As incredible it may sound, Carla Bissi aka Alice turns 60 today. She has been this blogger's favorite female singer since 1981 and the soundtrack of my years. She may have not been the most productive  recording artist over the years but the good news is she's coming out with a new album soon! Can't wait!  She's been in the business since 1971 when she won the Castrocaro music festival for new voices that lead her to Sanremo and winning the La Gondola d'Argento in Venice the year after. All this under her real name Carla Bissi. In 1975 change of name to Alice Visconti and new production team and a song to remember, Io voglio vivere . The real success comes however after meeting Franco Battiato - and this magical collaboration continues on and off until these days - and scoring her first megahit in 1980 with   Il vento caldo dell'estate , dropping Visconti and being simply Alice. The next year she wins Sanremo with Per Elisa, conquers parts of Europea...

Alice will be a special guest in Cervignano Film Festival this week and she will be awarded Saturday a special award for her career, Premio speciale alla carriera Michel Gondry . This festival is for short films, documentaries and videos and the entries come all over the world. Alice will pick up her award with all the other winners of this festival and maybe also perform. A nice birthday gift for her as she turns 60 on Friday! But the more important news is she is releasing her new album still in 2014 it seems! Over the spring and summer we have heard rumors and some news about collaborations (including her apparent exclusion from Sanremo festival with songs written by Franco Battiato) but knowing her times of releasing music ( Samsara was released only two years ago, and that 14 years after Exit , her previous studio album with new material) one has learned to be patient so this news is almost unreal. This will be her 13th album with original songs since 1975. Meanwhile she...

They never have stopped collaborating, every now and then in a way or other over the years but this is the first time they will be giving a joint concert! This miracle happens this July 30, 2013 in Latina. Three hours of music, started by Alice, followed by Battiato and finally both of them together for the past part of the concert. Alice has recorded albums with Battiato's music, songs he wrote and produced for her, or she made covers of his other songs. They have also dueted in various times, including Chanson egocentrique , Come un sigillo and of course I treni di Tozeur . For Alice's latest album Samsara that came out last year, Battiato wrote Eri con me , that he also recorded for his new album Apriti, Sesamo that was released only weeks after.... How I wish I was there! Here are some of their latest songs: Nata ieri , Cambio casa , Orientamento , Quand'ero giovane , Testamento , Passacaglia (originally published May 24, 2013)

Not only Alice is touring with her latest album Samsara , but also Battiato is hitting the road. Apriti Sesamo Tour will start next week from Bergamo and go on until April. There are 34 concerts in Italy and the last leg of the tour sees dates in Barcelona (20.3), Madrid (21.3), Burgos (22.3), Paris (24.3), London (25.3), Brussels (26.3), Berlin (2.4) and Zurich (4.4). Meanwhile Alice's tour hits Milan tomorrow, then Rovereto (20.1), Verona (21.1.), Genova (22.1), Roma (24.1), Pescara (26.1), Udine (30.1), Torino (1.2), Bologna (2.2), Asti (9.2), Livorno (10.2) and Nova Groca, Slovenia (22.2). The tour will continue to the south of Italy and abroad next summer and autumn. Some dates have been already pre-confirmed in Switzerland and Germany. FInland is under negotiation with several other countries.

Last Thursday night Alice had the very first date of the new tour, so called Date Zero while the tour officially started last night from her home town Forli where the sold out theater saw her receive the city keys from the Mayor. Apparently she's in great form and the concerts are great, if you judge the fan comments here and there. And what I can see from the track list, it's fantastic. The first part of the concert features mostly songs from the new album Samsara and in the second half the older classics have space. And no, there's no I treni di Tozeur in the list this time!  It looks like the track list is following, someone correct me if wrong (no Cambio casa ?!): Morire d'amore - Tempo senza tempo - Nata ieri - Orientamento - Eri con me - Autunno già - L'era del mito - Chanson egocentrique - Sui giardini del mondo - Come il mare - A cchiú bella - Anin a gris - La recessione - Nomadi - Il contatto - Prospettiva Nevski - Il sole nella pioggia - Il...

Franco Battiato wrote Eri con me for Alice when she asked him to write him something in the lines of Battiato 's  L'Oceano di silenzio . You can here Alice's Eri con me in her new album Samsara and indeed it's arrangement and style is very similar to that one. Franco himself liked the song so much the decided to record it for his freshly released album Apriti sesamo as well, but in a true Battiato style arrangement, here . Which one do you like more? Comment in the box! And while we at it, here are some Alice & Battiato duets for you to enjoy: Chanson egocentrique , Come un sigillo , I treni di Tozeur . 

Alice's new album Samsara has been hitting the various download charts in top placings (#2 in 7digital, #3 in iTunes pop and #8 in Amazon for example at least) and we can expect a good placing in the FIMI official charts as well. It seems like this is becoming her biggest success since 1985's Gioielli rubati ! There has been some distribution problems at least on the day of release but hopefully they've now been sorted out. The fans have welcomed the album with open arms as well as the critic praising it as one of the best albums of 2012 and definitely worth the wait and continuing her level of style and quality. Here is a trailer for the album, and here are the both Tiziano Ferro penned songs: Nata ieri and Cambio casa .  To support the album she will be meeting and greeting the fans in various FNAC stores: 25.9 Verona (6pm) 26.9 Torino centro (6pm) 27.9 Milano (6pm) 29.9 Firenze (4pm) She will be touring 2012-2013 Italy first, Europe after. Here ar...

Alice's new album Samsara , her new with new material since 1998 will be out next week and now you can hear snippets in Amazon here . Seems to be very, very nice :-). There's also a special version of Tiziano Ferro penned Cambio casa remixed by Michele Canova, who has worked with Ferro, Eros Ramazzotti, Giorgia, Jovanotti, Biagio Antonacci and Giusy Ferreri, just to name a few!

Alice's new album Samsara , her first since 1998 with new material will be released on September 18, 2012. Before that, the new single Nata ieri will be on radios August 24 and the day after in iTunes! Nata ieri or Born yesterday is written by Tiziano Ferro. She is supposed to go on tour later this year. Listen a sample here . And here's a bit of the video .

Franco Battiato's new worth coming album may be called Apriti sesamo! but Alice's is equally "exotic" Samsara (a term meaning continuous flow in Buddhism)   Release date September 18, 2012. The album includes the two songs she already performed live this summer, Morire d'amore and the Lucio Dalla cover Il cielo. Included is also 'A cchiù bella, her tribute to late Giuni Russo she's been performing live for some years now. One song by Franco Battiato, two by Tiziano Ferro and two by herself and the rest mostly by Di Martino.... Can't wait! :-) 1- MORIRE D'AMORE (Di Martino) 2- UN MONDO A PARTE (Di Martino) 3- AUTUNNO GIÀ (Di Benedetto / Di Martino) 4- COME IL MARE (Di Benedetto / Di Martino) 5- NATA IERI (Ferro) 6- CAMBIO CASA (Ferro / Canova) 7- ERI CON ME (Sgalambro / Battiato) 8- ORIENTAMENTO (Alice) 9- SUI GIARDINI DEL MONDO (Alice / Pancaldi) 10- ' A CCHIÙ BELLA (De Curtis / Giuni Russo) 11- IL CIELO (Bardotti...