In 2018 I spent some time working with the legendary double bass player Danny Thompson. He taught me that nothing matters unless it comes from the heart. So this album is true and it all comes from the heart. “The moon (La luna)” explains how I was always quite weird and disenfranchised, but when I saw the moon as a child, it kind of made everything ok…nothing makes sense really, but I know it’s ok. “Milano, Estate 1998” is all in Italian; a little pseudo-reggae that follows me around Milan, exasperated by the heat and the not-fitting-in, hence deciding to emigrate. “Goodbye to mamma” paints the picture of me leaving my mum at Malpensa Aiport, never to return. I still haven’t recovered from that! “Kyer, 70 Maybank” tells you about my friend Kyer, a Jamaican young guy in Birmingham with profound disabilities. He gave me a roof in exchange for help with his personal care, and saved my life in the process. “And I’m in love” is the story of me and my wife Lara getting together. Blame the romantic air of Birmingham, the Venice of the north….and a few pints of Guinness… “I found my eyebrows on my pillow” happened when I had cancer and I was having chemotherapy. I consider myself blessed to have had cancer; not only because I survived, but also because it showed me how many people love me. I will never forget that, and live by it. “Lullaby for Ruby” is for my daughter. She is 6 years old now. It’s like a little photo album. “Ale’ Marino” starts at my dad’s funeral. He was barking mad, but absolutely lovely! My whole town loved him and I adored him too. He was so good that St Peter gave him his personal fluffy cloud and he regularly drinks wine and plays cards with St. Peter…it’s a big party in Paradise, as the song shows you…but we miss him madly down here. Finally “Oh!…L’amore!”, the title track is a reflection on what I have learnt thus far. By focusing on myself, I had built a little wall around my heart. The light was getting in through the eyes, but slamming against the wall, so I felt nothing… As soon as I meet the right people, the wall went down and when I looked at the world, bingo!…I was in love with everything. I still am!

I recorded the album with producer Andrea Gobbi at GloWorm studio in Glasgow. I played everything: guitars, double bass, percussions and whatever else crops up. It was done in 2 days. On every instrument, I played every track live from start to finish, no “dirty” tricks, not even a click track. I like it that way, because it’s true. The wonderful cover is an actual painting made for the occasion by an artist from my home town of Rivolta d’Adda, Antonia Provenzi. Roberto