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- Dreamstate Entertainment Group
A Gothic Rock Tribute by Agata Aquilina ft. Alessia Priolo
by Stéphanie Richard
Both from the small town of Ribera, in Sicily, Agata Aquilina and Alessia Priolo bring to life a beautiful remote collaboration and tribute to Gothic Rock by an iconic band they both grew up with: Evanescence.
Coming from a musical family, Agata Aquilina has been singing in various Gothic Rock and Pop bands, landing on TV in 2016 with The Voice of Italy. From there, her musical journey began. Her passion for live concerts continued over the years, as she had the opportunity to share the stage with renown Italian artists. During the lock-down, Agata has been busy releasing many musical collaborations with various musicians, among which the Italian-Canadian keyboardist and composer Alessia Priolo. Alessia studied at the Musical Conservatory Arturo Toscanini in Ribera, and then relocated to Montreal with her family to pursue her studies and career in the music industry.
The two, given their shared passion for the genre, decided to do a remote international cover collaboration (Alessia from Montreal, and Agata from Ribera), of the song “Lost in Paradise”, by Evanescence. The song is one of the most important songs on the band’s third instalment. It almost didn’t make it on the album, as the singer, Amy Lee, who wrote it, wanted to keep it for herself. It is safe to say that on this cover version, Agata and Alessia do the dark and elegant ballad justice.
Agata’s voice is clear, sweet and soulful, and shows her influences in her similarities with Amy Lee’s own voice. Listening to her sing instantly calms your mind and brings you inner peace. As for Alessia, it is mesmerizing to watch her hands float skilfully over her keyboard. Her passion for her instrument transpires through her fingers caressing the keys so fluidly. In this video, Alessia plays an extremely rare curved keyboard made by NUmotion, a Montreal-based company that endorsed and made their unique instrument available to a handful of high-calibre musicians worldwide.
Although the video was filmed remotely, its strong production gives a sense of togetherness; it feels like the two artists are in the same room, instead of oceans apart. Just like the song, which it fits perfectly, the music video is simple, elegant and all in all pleasing to the ear, and to the eye. Overall a great international collaboration that is definitely worth a listen!
“Lost In Paradise”, by Agata Aquilina featuring Alessia Priolo, will be out on YouTube on Friday March 19th! In the meantime, you can follow Agata and Alessia on their social media pages.