David Rhodes Strolling the Galaxy: "An Extraterrestrial Concept Album"

Milan – Son of the stars (and great-grandson of his majesty Peter Gabriel), The Fermi Paradox is the recording project that David Rhodes, historic guitarist of the former singer of Genesis and collaborator of a host of Italian artists including Battiato of “L'imboscata”, presented in recent days in Milan together with the keyboardist Giovanni Amighetti, then accompanying the release of the related concept album on the platforms with a couple of his live samples in Parma and Tavazzano con Villavesco, in the Lodi area, together with E-Wired Empaty, a collective coordinated by Amighetti himself. Enrico Fermi 's paradox was born in the face of the multiplication of UFO sightings in the 1950s, and concerns the probability of coming into contact with forms of intelligent extraterrestrial life. "If there are so many advanced civilizations in the galaxy, why haven't we managed to have scientific proof of it yet?", wondered the Roman physicist transplanted to Los Alamos. A question around which the most wild theories have revolved for seventy years.

Where did this new recording adventure come from? Rhodes: "It all started with an idea from Giovanni, who asked us to improvise some pieces reflecting gravitational waves, interstellar travel and human identity. Then he and Stefano Riccò started cutting and sewing these improvisations in the studio, which were quite rambling to be honest, to make some songs out of them".

Amighetti: "The project originates from a collaboration with astrophysicists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena and in particular with Michele Vallisneri. This is because we wanted the work to have a real scientific basis".

The album took shape here and there. Amighetti: "We started working in Ligabue's former studios in Correggio, and then again in Nashville and Rubiera. The mastering, instead, was done by Alessandro Marcantoni at Metropolis here in Milan".

How did you form the band? Amighetti: "Working with Mari Boine, a Norwegian singer who records for Peter Gabriel's label Real World, we got in touch with Paolo Vinaccia, an Italian drummer who lives in Oslo, and then with Jeff Coffin, saxophonist of the Dave Matthews Band. Gradually the others joined, even the clarinetist Moreno Conficconi (ex Orchestra Casadei and ex Extraliscio, ed.) who last September invited David to the Notte del Liscio in Gatteo a Mare to compare different sounds and musical cultures".

And now? Rhodes: "To these first two exploratory concerts, put on the road to understand what we were capable of doing, another summer one has been added at the Arena del Rubicone, in Romagna, with the Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu as a special guest". Amighetti: "We are going step by step to see if we like this formula, if it makes sense, and in the future we do not exclude inviting astrophysicists from NASA on stage to combine music and stories on the theme".

And you Rhodes, what else do you have on your agenda now? Rhodes: "In February I recorded some songs with Peter Gabriel for his next album. I'm also working on some guitar tracks for the Macedonian singer Yova, who does a rather eccentric pop, but she collaborates with an old friend of mine so I'm helping him out."