When we met for the first time, Raul had just completed a long in-depth study of music theory. After taking a diploma in music theory and solfeggio under the guidance of Federico Mompellio, he began studying composition. In the same year he dedicated himself to didactics, teaching in Milan in working-class cultural centers like ARCI and in special junior high schools.
His debut in the music world, as for almost all the young people of his generation, dated back to his teenage years.
In the mid ’60s his contact with music – a manifestation of the deep renewal shattering the social, political and cultural world – brought Raul and other thousandths of young people closer to the possibility of living life and artistic experiences which would eventually bear long-lasting fruits.
Approximately 10 years later – after coming back from a stay in Greece and England – Raul formed a prog rock band called “I Gramigna” together with Alberto Mompellio (gifted musician, keyboards player and arranger), Maurizio Martelli (a competent guitar player) and others. The group played in many concerts and in 1977 recorded a long-playing called GRAN DISORDINE SOTTO IL CIELO (A GREAT CHAOS UNDER THE SKY).
This human and professional experience deeply influenced his musical production thirty years later.
