Alex Britti è nato a Montevecchio Verde vicino Roma il 23 Agosto del 1968 ed a ricevuto la sua prima chitarra all'età di otto anni. La sua carriera professionale iniziò all'età di diciassette anni con la musica blues. Il suo primo album "Alex Britti" usci' nel 1992 con la casa discografica Fonit Cetra Lable. Nel 1998 ebbe il suo primo disco platinum vendendo piu di 350.000 copie. La sua carriera continuo ad andare avanti con tanti successi come "La vita sognata", "Lo zingaro felice", "Prendere o lasciare", "Quanto ti amo" e "7000 caffé".
To those fortunate enough to know of Italian recording artist Alex Britti, one cannot imagine him without his trusty six-string at his side. Born Alessandro Britti in Monteverde-Vecchio, a neighborhood in Rome on August 23, 1968, he received his first acoustic guitar at the age of eight and later his first electric guitar at fourteen. This love affair between him and his instrument of choice continues to this day and has taken him on a magical adventure throughout all of Italy and Europe. Along the way, he has performed with many notable international artists while still finding the time to release eight albums in an award-filled career that has spanned nearly twenty years.
His professional career began at the age of seventeen as he formed his first musical group that specialized in blues. His band became a popular act in clubs all throughout Rome and he eventually found himself collaborating with the likes of American music legends Louisiana Red, Buddy Miles, Billy Preston and Rosa King. His first album "Alex Britti" was recorded in 1992 on the Fonit Cetra label and remains somewhat of a mystery as it was never actually scheduled for release and therefore never truly promoted by the label. It would eventually be "accidently" released in limited quantities and remains a collector's item. To this day, Alex refuses to acknowledge it as a legitimate recording and he does not include it in his official discography.
He In October 1998, he released his first "official" recording "It.pop" which would achieve platinum-selling status and go on to sell over 350,000 copies. For his efforts, he would be bestowed with two awards; "Miglior debutto dell'anno" (Best debut album of the year) and "Miglior artista esordiente" (Best new artist). The album displayed elements of blues, jazz and pop and served to introduce his unique blend of styles to a diverse cross-section of listeners. He would close out the decade by appearing at the 1999 Sanremo Music Festival and his entry "Oggi sono io" captured first place in the "Nuove Proposte" or Emerging Artists category. Later in the year he would appear at the prestigious "Pavarotti & Friends" Charity Music Event, performing his new single "Mi piaci" with the legendary tenor and Joe Cocker. The song would also capture the "Premio Rivelazione italiana" (New Italian revelation) award at the 1999 Festivalbar music competition.
Alex began the next millennium with the release of his second album "La vasca" (2000) which again achieved sales of over 350,000 units and yielded two hit singles "Una su 1.000.000" and the title track, both of which remained on the charts for an extended period of time. His tour that followed in support of the recording was his first and featured stops in stadiums and arenas throughout Europe and culminated with a memorable performance at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. He returned to Sanremo in 2001 and presented the song "Sono contento" which finished in seventh place. Afterwards, he sought a brief respite from the music scene and vacationed in Amsterdam. He returned on January 5th of the following year and participated in the broadcast of the RAI Uno "Un Ponte tra le stelle" television special which sought to raise funds and awareness for children who were victims of war and terrorism. His performance of Bob Marley's "No woman, no cry" accompanied by female Italian recording artist Elisa, was considered one of the highlights of the event. Alex would return to the stage at Ariston as he competed at the 2003 Sanremo Festival and his song "7000 caffé" finished in second place. Shortly thereafter he released his third album entitled "3", which contained this song, as well as the hit singles "La vita sognata" and "Lo zingaro felice". The tour that followed was dubbed "Kitarra, Voce e Piedi" (Guitar, Voice and Feet) and saw him forgo the full band ensemble and instead present a "one-man show" that featured his guitar-playing skills and vocal talents. Alex released his fourth album "Festa" in September of 2005. After the great commercial success of his last album, he chose to return to his blues and jazz roots on "Festa" and he was rewarded with critical accolades that he so desired. The three singles "Prendere o lasciare", "Quanto ti amo" and the title track showed Alex at his very best as these became staples on the radio and television. He made a triumphant return to Sanremo in 2006 as he presented the ballad "Solo con te" and captured third place in the "Uomini" (Men's category). In the summer, he and Edoardo Bennato released the smash hit "Notte di mezza estate" which was followed by a joint-tour by the two throughout the Italian peninsula. For his next project, he chose to capture his acoustical 2007 performance broadcast on the MTV Italia Unplugged Show and release it as a special CD/DVD package in February of the following year.
His most recent releases include ".23" (2009) which featured the smash hit advance single "Piove" and featured the talents of numerous international artists; and his first greatest hits compilation entitled "Best of" (2011) which contained the previously unreleased hit single "Immaturi" which appears on the soundtrack of the Paolo Genovese movie of the same name. Alex just recently released his first instructional DVD video on guitar playing techniques entitled "Nelle mie corde". He is a "tifoso" (fan) of A.S. Roma soccer club. For more information you can visit his website at www.alexbritti.com.
Photo courtesy of www.alexbritti.com
