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Alessio Miraglia: “WHISPER OF THE RAIN” – an intense concept album based on a true story!

Produced and Mixed by Tim Starnes (Lord of the Rings, Avatar, King Kong)

The new album by Alessio Miraglia, the talented Italian composer living in Los Angeles entitled WHISPER OF THE RAIN, is an intense concept album based on a true story. Recorded in Los Angeles, the album was produced and mixed by Tim Starnes (Lord of the Rings, Avatar, King Kong etc).

Miraglia himself explained how the concept for the album came about: “I was in Boston, March 10, 2014, trying to protect myself from the rain, I took shelter under a bridge near the railway station. Suddenly a beautiful voice caught my attention: an elderly homeless man stood in a corner between blankets and broken suitcases, singing the American national anthem. Overcome with curiosity, I went up and started talking to him. He began to tell me his story, just like a wise grandfather would. I was fascinated by those words in which I could see his life. Step by step he walked me through every moment of pain and tragedy with which fate had decided to guide him under that bridge…”

alessio-miraglia-400
Back cover artwork

The album, WHISPER OF THE RAIN is divided into five parts (plus the Overture and Outro) and each part chronologically follows the path taken by the story – from 1945 to 2015. The album which plays like a movie soundtrack is a delicate and grim reminder of a young black boy, who with the passing of years became a poor, old homeless man abandoned by society. In spite of the “American Dream”!

I really don’t know how to describe exactly what I experienced during the duration of the album, but I can say that it left such an emotional impact on me that I was still shaking after it finished. The music swells and boils and builds to an eruption that flows over you like hot molten lava. The lava then cools and solidifies before the next outpouring engulfs you…again and again, as Miraglia assails your emotions and sensibilities.

The music feels uniquely personal especially by being able to isolate and pick out the solo instrumentation. While this is an electronic and rock heavy score it never feels synthetic and is organic in every sense of the word. Emotionally it can be aggressive and at times extremely harsh, but it has a gentle side of incredible beauty…just like the story of the homeless man.

Alessio Miraglia
Alessio Miraglia

Within this particular narration, the work is a wide-ranging one. There are slow, melancholy and introspective pieces as well as a great deal of pulse-pounding adrenalin chasing music. The arrangements do exactly what they were intended to do; drawing the listener into the evolving storyline, just like a movie would.

Artistically and technically, all the performances are impeccable and of superb quality, while the mixing and production by Tim Starnes brings out all the sublime dynamics Alessio Miraglia and the other participants infused into the recording of this album.

Credits: Alessio Miraglia composed all the lyrics and music, as well as arranged and played  all the instruments, except for the drums which were programmed by Mario Contarino. The voices of John Clinebell and Eva Mahgrefteh can be heard on the album as well as the participation of Granpa Murashige on the ukulele and Patrick Shade on the violin. The Black & White cover images for the cover artwork was completed by the talented photographer and artist Irene Fittipaldi.

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