Un’altra vita

The song Un’altra vita sounds like a journey through time, with that milonga air blending jazz and swing. It’s not just a catchy melody, but a bridge between what Paolo Conte had already explored in previous albums and something more mature, where South American rhythms give it that unique touch. The recording at the Format studio in Turin —a place he already knew from his early works— gave it a warm, almost intimate sound, as if each note had been crafted to sound live, without studio filters. The contrast with the sessions at the RCA studios in Rome for the rest of the album Paris milonga (1981) reinforces that duality: on one hand, the freshness of a familiar space, and on the other, the technical precision of a place where he had recorded before.

What’s curious is that Conte worked again with Lilli Greco, the producer of his first two albums, after a break with Nanni Ricordi on Un gelato al limon (1979). That reunion wasn’t coincidental: the Format studio of Happy Ruggiero —where Un’altra vita was recorded alongside two other songs, Via con me and Pretend— already resonated with his style. The album Paris milonga, released on May 31, 1981, ended up being a turning point in his career: it not only solidified his fusion of jazz, swing, and Latin rhythms but also marked his return to a sound that, years later, would remain his signature. By the time he received the Laurea honoris causa in Painting in 2007, he had already spent decades proving that music could be as versatile as his initial training as a lawyer and pianist.