Morgan, an Extraordinary Italian Artist
Morgan is one of the most important contemporary Italian musicians in the world of pop music. He is curious, intelligent and creative — never banal. After 5 years with the band Bluvertigo, Morgan, aka Marco Castoldi, made 3 albums of unpublished music. Castoldi, has a daughter with actress Asia Argento (director Dario Argento's daughter) and has been a judge and trainer on Italian X-Factor, with the singers he mentored winning each time. During X-Factor, Morgan introduced the audience to beautiful, but hidden gems from Italian and international composers, further showcasing his innate talent.
This year Morgan was scheduled to appear at the popular Sanremo Music Festival, but just a few days before the start of the show, an Italian magazine published an interview with Morgan, where he stated, “I smoke cocaine as anti-depressive. Even Freud prescribed for his patients.”
Organizers of the festival decided to expel him for his perceived “positive” opinion about illicit drugs. The subsequent debate in the media was controversial and it was clear many were incapable of separating the man from the musician. Staying true to the classic need to find a scapegoat, Morgan, was vilified as a poor role model for impressionable youth. It seems Sanremo Festival was looking for more exposure from media, and Morgan's statement has been largely exploited to that end.
The brand new song Morgan wanted to sing in Sanremo is called “La sera” (The Evening) and it’s a great piece. Almost without rhythm, it's classical music mixed with sixties Italian melody. It would have been a great experience listening to Morgan perform this song with a real orchestra at the festival, but sadly, Sanremo Festival organizers took the easy way out. Some might argue the real losers in this whole controversy was the festival audience who were deprived the opportunity of hearing a tremendously talented artist. Adding insult to injury, Sanremo has been the object of several debates about the actual quality of the performances.
I was at the Morgan’s concert last Saturday in Milan. A concert named “Piano Solo,” where he played “La Sera,” along with other songs from his repertoire, as well as, David Bowie’s “Heroes,” and even a piece of classical piano music.
My tip, for any curious music lover: discover Morgan’s music on iTunes or any video service like YouTube, he is among the best Italian contemporary artists around.
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