Lorenzo Gabanizza is an Italian singer, songwriter, and musician who has been creating, performing, and releasing music through numerous creative avenues since the early 1990s.
With his most recent single, "Someone Waiting at Their Door," seeing mass success by reaching the number one spot on the European Academy of Country Music Charts, and currently being on the top 100 of the official euro indie chart, it comes as no surprise that Lorenzo Gabanizza is taking great strides to release a quality product to his worldwide audience.
“Someone Waiting at Their Door,” is the title track and lead single from a three-track EP that Lorenzo Gabanizza released in 2020.
The single carries forth a traditional Folk sound that embodies components of Country music as he performs a passion-filled story. Telling the narrative in an enticing manner, Lorenzo Gabanizza has us immediately hooked on the storytelling progression that he delves into as he reflects on a tragedy that affected families deeply.
The soothing elements in his vocalization carry the story further in intensity than you could imagine. With the musical arrangement consisting of mandolins, banjos, and a Celtic flair, you hear the instrumentation effortlessly cascading with the remarkable harmonies provided by Lorenzo Gabanizza. Heartfelt in the way that he depicts the messaging heard, Lorenzo Gabanizza carries soul into the compositions that he releases.
If you’re still yet to hear “Someone Waiting at Their Door,” we encourage you to take in the masterpiece as you dedicate yourself to truly listening.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Lorenzo Gabanizza. Your release “Someone Waiting at Their Door,” is no stranger to success! Could you please take us into what inspired the story that we’re hearing?
Well, it happened last year. I was casually remembering President Obama's beautiful speech on the September 11th Observance Ceremony at the Pentagon. I especially recalled these words: "It has now been 13 years, 13 years since nearly 3000 beautiful lives were taken from us, including 125 men and women serving here at the Pentagon. 13 years of moments they would have shared with us. 13 years of memories they would have made." Such words were impactful on my heart and on my soul, since the first time I heard them. Because I could relate very much: back in 2014, I was losing my father because of a long illness so I often tried to cope with loss, searching for the best and less hurtful way to cope with what I knew was coming (Dad passed away 3 months later the President's remarks). Thinking of those men and women who lost their lives, led me inevitably to think about their families, surviving them. And how awful could be to say goodbye to someone you don't know that just in that very day he will never come back. Think about it: it's almost a suspended scenario, where the families behind their doors are waiting for their beloved ones which will be waiting too, on the other side, unable to ever come back. This was the main thought which inspired me to write the lyrics.
Could you please take us into the creative process that brought this single to life?
You see, there's a moment in someone's career where you should take sides or where you go back to roots. If you scroll over my discography, you will see a great amount of heterogeneous work. Country music, rock music, classic music, Celtic music...That's because I don't believe in barriers, not when we're talking about art: Seriously, for me, the creative process has no limits, so it doesn't even have a set sequence. I simply write in the way I feel comfortable in that specific moment. But there's a new perspective with this Ep: I wanted to make it sound as genuine and natural as possible and recreate an acoustic and true environment. I called the great fiddler Ian Cameron which surely adds a beautiful touch to the songs and as a third song, I just played by myself guitar and harmonica, as I did in the old days. And as many artists greater than me did (Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan, just to mention a couple of them).
With each artist varying in style, how do you personally know when a song is complete and ready for release?
I am very critical of myself, so I am never totally happy with what I hear, but there's a point I reach where I can sense the song is ready. Don't get me wrong, nothing is left to chance, I know exactly how the song must sound, but with me, it's always a matter of "feeling". I mean, isn't it true that many perfect songs are technically perfect but are less powerful than a blues song sung on a Tennessee porch by an old lone guy with tons of life experiences spreading out by his rough voice? What's the difference? What are we missing here? Heart. That's it. So, I finally say "OK" to the exhausted engineer when I feel I was true to myself, true and genuine, and not betraying the original idea of the song.
What has been your proudest moment explored in your career so far?
Well, I will never forget the day I met Donovan, the 60's icon. It was inspiring for me and I learned a lot from him. To be enclosed on his staff gave me interesting perspectives on a Star backstage...He is a true genius, a poet, or better, a true Bard. Another moment that made me proud, has been my collaboration with the late Vic Elmes. I was very proud to be on stage with him: he toured with Jimi Hendrix, wrote the soundtrack of Tv sci-fi "Space 1999", and had golden hits with the band Christie (Yellow river, San Bernadino, Iron Horse, etc). I've been a member of his band CHRISTIE AGAIN and I wrote two songs for their album which had a lot of success and were featured on the front cover of their following greatest hits albums. Who wouldn't be proud? We eventually became friends and unfortunately, we lost this great musician and awesome human being in April 2017.
What's next for you?
Well, I am actually working on a new album called “All the words we never said”. Two singles taken from this album have already been released (one of them is in fact "Someone waiting at their door") and they both did well reaching the top on the European Academy Country Music Charts. If I had to sum it up in 3 words they would be Disenchantment, justice, compassion - aside from Love, which can’t possibly be missing in a poetry workshop. Each song deals with known and lesser-known facts in the US chronicle, events that happened behind some dark Arkansas window, or more well-known news events such as the death of George Floyd. I can say it’s a protest album, even a revolutionary album, not from a strictly political perspective, but from a human perspective. Aside from its content, this album can and will be placed among the best of 2021. Arrogant? I don’t think so. I am talking from a musician perspective too: working on this project there are a bunch of musicians which count at least one Grammy each and are among the best you can find in Nashville and worldwide. Let’s start with the engineer, Don Tyler, who is that same Grammy and multi-platinum engineer who previously worked at the famous Precision Mastering Studios, Los Angeles. This guy is absolutely amazing and worked with Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Stone Temple Pilots, James Blunt, etc. Stefano Bedini, which is a well-known and respected professional, chosen by artists such as Bruce Sudano and Janet Gray. The musicians are Snake Davis (he worked with Sting, Tom Jones and that unknown boy from Liverpool called Paul Mc Cartney); Wanda Vick. Highly sought after in Nashville studios, she has recorded for an impressive roster of country, gospel, and pop artists: Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean with Alabama, Billy Ray Cyrus, George Jones, Dolly Parton, Wynonna, Uncle Kracker, Trisha Yearwood, etc. Gordon Mote. Outstanding musician and singer, who played with Lee Greenwood, Alan Jackson, Alabama, Trisha Yearwood, Tanya Tucker, Porter Wagoner, Bill Gaither, etc. His latest work “Love love love”, was Grammy-nominated as best roots Gospel album. James Mitchell. Great guitar player, he is a standing point on the Nashville scene. He worked with Cole Swindell and Willie Nelson, among the others. John Hammond. You can hear his drumming skills in many movies, including the animated feature Anastasia, Robert Duvall’s The Apostle, Steven Spielberg’s The Prince of Egypt, and Ellen DeGeneres’ Mr. Wrong. He has recorded or performed with such renowned artists as Vince Gill, Jewel, Faith Hill, Olivia Newton-John, Barry Manilow, Whitney Houston, Miley Cyrus, Cliff Richard, Christopher Cross, to name a few. Duncan Mullins. Besides his presence in hundreds of gold, Grammy, or platinum releases, he worked with Jerry Reed (Elvis guitar player) Crystal Gayle, Amy Grant, Steve Wariner, and Richard Marx. The album will be released under AOK Records and produced by Adam and Angel Knight. In Adam, I really found what I sought for years, not just for his professionality and skills in the music field, but because of his understanding, respect, and humanity. He really is a brother to me. Well, Don't you think this album is interesting after all?