Phase, my new start with ‘As you are’

From today – Friday 28 October 2022 – “Per come sei tu”, the new single from Phase in collaboration with Irene Sanguineti (prominent tiktoker, dealing with issues related to the theme of the song, is available in radio rotation and on all streaming platforms on the social profile). “As you are” deals with a very delicate issue, that of anxiety disorder in the form of panic attacks. The song written by Valerio Urti, underlines the moods, the past of life and the most hidden troubles of the Turin artist who, with this new single, embarks on a new artistic and personal path.

The historical collaborators and instrumentalists who appear in the project see Claudio Arfinengo on drums (drummer of Finardi and collaborator with Bunna, Zibba and others) and on the bass, also as co-producer of the song, Marco Lamagna (bassist of Finardi ).The video of “Per come sei tu” is intended to be a social experiment, where the leading actor alternates between parts sitting on an armchair to scrutinize the soul of the people who meet his magnetic gaze, to dances that represent the sense of freedom that harbors in each of us. Everything takes place inside a deliberately white room, which represents the purity, spirituality and wisdom of old age with strongly spiritual meanings.

Tell us about yourself and your path in music.

I am Valerio Urti better known to professionals with the name of Phase. I am from Turin, a “mother” city for me, which was able to pamper me and grow me musically with the 2000s scene present in that historical period (Subsonica, Linea77, Mao, Perturbazione and many other artists of the Italian music scene). The Phase project has its roots in 2016, with the first album “Elettroscopia”, produced by Alessandro Sgeccia and the Velvet in Rome (another mother city for my career). At that time we were a band and not a usual project, the record had gone well and a tour of 70 dates in two years for Italy had given us awareness of our means. In 2017 I released the Ep “Imperfetto” made in Turin, a work completely different from the previous one, with much more American sounds (I decided to also experiment with Hip hop in an Italian key) that winked at the songwriter. I must say this Ep despite the change of course has brought me a lot of satisfaction, a new tour of dates with concert openings and collaborations with friends such as Willie Peyote, Nuclear Tactical Penguins, Righeira, Perturbazione and others. An 8-date mini tour in Eastern Europe was also planned, then frozen with the advent of Covid and the pandemic.

In the pandemic I decided to continue the project alone, the musical ideas I had cultivated during the lockdown led me to this decision, and the single “Per Come Sei Tu” traces a clear line between what we were and what I am, with Italian sounds mixed with an English musical movement with that of Britpop that has always accompanied my journey.

How would you define your music?

It is varied. I chose this term because just as I explained previously, during the lockdown I developed my own writing style made from my musical background mixed with the thousand plays derived from that period and that is historical songwriters who gave life to my emotions from an early age: Venditti , Dalla, Battisti mixed with English bands such as Oasis, Blur, Arctic Monkeys and others.

Are there glimmers for a real and tangible “artistic” awakening of Italy after the years of the pandemic?

I really hope so, I hope so. Artistically there has always been turmoil, especially in Italy even if this is not often emphasized. I don’t think the artistic movement has ever fallen asleep, on the contrary I believe it has matured. So there is much more than an open crack, I would say that we can glimpse a completely open door.

What stage would you like to perform on?

Certainly Sanremo, it is part of Italian culture and I would like to be part of it maybe one day! Just to see my mother’s tear drop as she looks at me. But since I am a rock ‘n’ roll guy, I would say that festivals are my bread so how not to mention the Flower Festival or Sziget to move around Europe to play at home. I would say that all historical festivals are a desirable destination for anyone who lives live like me.

Phase, my new start with ‘As you are’