Could you please say a few words about why you chose the name Alio Die?

I've choose it for the sound of the word as well as for the meaning. Alio die is a greeting to a better time in old latin language and It is like a propitiatory evocation.

Did your studies at university play an important role for the way you compose/create music?

Absolutely not in a direct way. Yes I could have had some input with my studies in electronic or art, but my approach to music was coming from different inspiration ,that was more from dream in the nature and throw listening to music ,but for find a personal proper language, for me not to have a classical musical training was helpfully and better, I think

It's a kind of tradition in our magazine that musicians are asked how they would call/describe their music. Have you got any idea (when I listen to some of your works I get the impression of some kind of 'ethnic' ambient)?

Music is for it's nature not easy to bring easily into words.. dark, tribal ambient as well as drone and meditative music, introspective, mystic /atmospheric... can be used to describe my music and to speak about it, like a lot of other words that can tell about that special quality of poetry that music can show. Electronic is also related in the descriptions often with my music, also if I rarely use sintesizers, but mostly acoustic sources and an electronic feeling can be found in it for the treatments I use, with effects and delays and for the editing of the sounds that characterized the final composition.

A lot of your tracks have a soothing and calm atmosphere whereas 'The Way of Fire' has a rather disturbing quality (it reminded me a bit of Lustmordís 'Heresy'). Can you say something about the sound sources because some of them sound rather scary (animals?)

Sound sources are something like the ingredients that are used in a composition to find a particular taste sometime simple and direct and in some other more complicate and layered. I think is very important the choose of these ingredients as well as the treatment that are added later, during the process of organisation of sounds. I like, in the first step, recording with a DAT portable rec. environmental sounds, animals in nature or inspired improvisations played with acoustic instruments and objects. Every sound have his quality that reflect his vibration in poetry, evocative symbolism , colours and forms, and is in the right quantity, that every sound with the proper cooking can be useful at the some point. A sound with scary quality can have an awake and excite function on some level.

On 'Password for Entheogenic Experience' the liner notes are by Ralph Metzner. Did you use these to express a notion that is very important/central in your work, a kind of reuniting nature and man?

Yes sure, it's important to find a key that can open our channels of perception and sensibility, and in the nature is contain all what we need. Approach is very important to find better solutions in our personal life's consciousness. Studies of Ralph Metzner look in an area of activities that goes in this direction.

This question has something to do with the last. You like to include quotations on the albums. Do you try to push the listener in a certain direction (on 'Asparas' for example) because (mainly) instrumental music is always rather open to interpretation?

I think it's natural that visions and interpretations that music can give could be very different for the different listener. Sometime to give an input with special quotations in an album can help to introduce the listener to connect to the music. Also the artwork can give a good passport to the worlds that are evocated and I like to take care personally of it also throw special editions and ritual packaging with seeds, leaves, etc.

Would you say that in some cases your music is just a means to an end to achieve something (for/in the listener)?

The process that music, throw a complex ensamble of vibrations, induce or support in the listener is sometime surely an experience like that. This can be related to the healing power of sounds and as well to some evocative quality that have something to do with energies around at the time of the realisation of the track. As the process of creation is a complex feedback of consciousness between the body and mind in an amplified attention while the sounds going on, to make a Tabula rasa_ is just to return to the source of an hidden spring, and there accept the end as well as to be able to find inspirations for a new start.

I sometimes get the impression that your work has to do with (inner) development/change (e.g. when you think of your album 'Password for..' or some of the track titles on the compilation 'The Hidden Spring' like 'An Instant in Transformation', 'The Flight of Real Image' or a track like 'Brace di Transformazione' on 'Il Tempo..'). Is that true?

It could be, the flowing of time is the witness of our life perception ,it is the filter for our mind and senses running, a sound expression that observe and respect time finding silence can be like a mirror lighting inside, describing the delicate changing of the experience that the soul have, from a space where time have a totally different meaning. In this way my music is not describing special inner changing but look to some passpartout that can introduce and give stimulation going into this dimension. In this case music can have a function to counterpoise the stress of our day life.

Is the artwork on your albums an important part of the whole concept?

Yes I like that the visual aspect have some quality of microcosmos , artisan/mandala composition with an handmade feeling and with a classical touch in graphic.

On 'Apsaras' you worked together with Amelia Cuni. What can you tell me about the way you worked together and have you got other plans to incorporate vocals into your music?

Technically we worked on Apsaras recording Amelia's voice improvisations (by some raags) on some of my basic tracs,and in other case there, the music was added later. As I find his voice amazing and in respect of the old tradition of Dhrupad from north-India, it was a special step for me to work with. The idea was to support the quality of her voice give to that a different context from the classical traditional music, but in accord with the taste of the compositions.The CD had a great feedback also from different artists and musicians. Next step in this direction will be a cd with Jack or Jive, from Japan. Also in this case, voice of Chako is very particular in tuning and expression, some tracks are already mostly finished and there will be an acoustic quality more strong on that, with the use of tubes, flutes, zither etc.

When you work with other people (e.g. Ora, Robert Rich, Vidna Obmana) is that a necessary inspiration, because often musicians making ambient or drone music work on their own and might be isolated?

It's not a problem of isolation, I think collaborations are very important occasion to learn and share visions and technique,and to me these happen usually after mutual esteem when there is the interest and the occasion to create something together.

What role do 'real' instruments (like flutes or accordion on ‘Il tempo magico di Saturnia Pavonia’) play? Are they just an additional sound source?

Both role. On some tracks the primary source was done with acoustic improvisation, and on some other to give a live touch to the loops and drones. On this cd the original Alio die_s atmospheres are little more 'played' with real instruments than as usually done with samples and loops, but I like that apart from this change, the dream-poetry rest the same, perhaps with some more real quality in it. On the new cds that are out right now: 'Sunja'_ (with Zeit)and 'Khen introduce silence'_ I've investigate more about the possibility of this resource.. all sounds are improvisations with zither,khen (mouth-organ from Thailand), accordion ,than editing these with more long loops and adding environmental recordings done around the world. The result is a very relaxing music with a life perfume to forget time,and fly away on a coloured tapestry.

How important are source sounds for you? Do you think itís necessary to inform the listener about the sounds that were used or does it only make sense when you are still able to realize what the original sound was/is ?

The choose of sounds in this creative process is for sure very important,but it's not necessary to inform the listener about every sound is there, also if sometime it's nice to know about that.

What are your plans for the future?

Different works are on the way to be released.The Cd 'the Sleep of Seeds'_ with Saffron Wood is out now,too. I've also ready different new cds like Sol Niger that will be out on Spkr, 'Aquaplanning'_ with Werner Durand ,and another CD with piano and zither processed sounds. There is also a cd with Francesco Paladino with collaboration with In Gowan Ring and Chako, that is mostly finished, the cds will be out in combination with a DVD of the sessions we had in 2003, realized by Francesco Paladino 'Cutting wings of a sleepy angel'_. I plan to do some more concerts in the future, some with Opium(partner in Sola Traslatio project..),it is a different space for this music but the live give some good input, too .

Is there anything you would like to add?

Finally I_ll have a personal site at <http://www.aliodie.com/> in a couple of weeks, here you'll find more info about the different release of the last twelve years of activities, and other curiosities.

Thanks to Equinoxe equipe and readers for interest about my music, still hoping good in a better season...