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Robert Miles

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For other people named Robert Miles, see Robert Miles (disambiguation).
Robert Miles
Birth nameRoberto Concina
Also known asRobert Miles, Roberto Milani, Miles_Gurtu
Born (1969-11-03) 3 November 1969 (age 55)
Fleurier, Switzerland
OriginFagagna, Italy
GenresElectronica, house, trance, trip hop, ambient, chill-out, nu jazz, dream trance, progressive house
Occupation(s)Composer, record producer, musician, dj
Years active1984–present
LabelsSalt Records
deContstruction/BMG Records
Arista/BMG Records
Shakti/Narada/Virgin/EMI Records
Websitewww.robert-miles.com

Roberto Concina (born 3 November 1969), better known by his stage name Robert Miles, is a Swiss-Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ.[1]

Early life

Robert Miles was born to Italian immigrants Antonietta Lauro and Albino Concina in Fleurier, Switzerland.

Miles became proficient at playing the piano during his youth in Friuli, Italy, in the small town of Fagagna, where his family moved when he was still a young boy, and has been in the music scene since 1984. He worked as a DJ in some Italian clubs and private radio networks and in 1990, he used his savings to establish his own recording studio and a pirate radio station.

Music career

1994–97: Breakthrough and Dreamland

External videos
video icon Robert Miles - "Children" (Dream Version)

In 1994, Miles wrote a trance/chill-out piece based on acoustic guitar chords and soft synthesizer effects, "Children", which was later developed into a dream trance song featuring a piano theme on top. The single picked up sales slowly, but within two weeks of its official release in 1995, it had sold more than 350,000 copies all over Europe and topped the charts in many countries. The single received an unprecedented "Essential Tune of The Week", three weeks in a row on Pete Tong's show causing a furious bidding war. It was then signed to Deconstruction Records in the UK by Giles Goodman of Dynamic Music (who represented Platipus Records the initial license). After occupying the Euro Top 100 chart number 1 spot for thirteen consecutive weeks,[2] by 1997, "Children" had sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. It earned Miles platinum records[3][4] in many countries, a Brit Award (Robert Miles is, to date, the only Italian artist who has received the award) as Best International Male Newcomer 1997,[5] a World Music Award as World's Best Selling Male Newcomer and various other awards. To this date "Children" is regarded as a Trance classic and is thought of by many as the track that kickstarted the Trance genre into the Global music genre it is today.

Miles' next single was "Fable". Part of this song was used in the theatrical trailer for the U.S. movie Ever After[6] starring Drew Barrymore and Dougray Scott. His debut album Dreamland was released on 7 June 1996 in Europe, and released in the United States about a month later, with covering "One and One"of Polish pop diva Edyta Górniak. This cover became very popular (it reached number 1 in the Euro Top 100 Singles Chart during the Christmas period and remained in the top spot for six consecutive weeks)[7] and was later released as a single in Europe and the U.S.

1997–98: 23am

In November 1997, Miles released another track, "Freedom", which was one of the key tracks on his second album 23am featuring vocals provided by Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge. Containing a different feel from the previously more club-oriented Dreamland, 23am incorporated more lyrics-driven songs than its predecessor while maintaining Miles' trademark piano sound from the first album.

1998–2002: Departure from label and Organik

After splitting from /deConstruction/BMG and his former management in London, he set up his own independent record label S:alt Records (with S:alt being short for suitably:alternative) in 2001 and released his third album, Organik,[8] featuring the new single "Paths" with vocals provided by Nina Miranda of Smoke City. Guests on the album included Trilok Gurtu, Bill Laswell and Nitin Sawhney. Music from Organik was used on various movie soundtracks such as The Bourne Identity, Derrida, and City of Ghosts. It was licensed to Narada Productions' Shakti Records label in the USA. In 2002, an album containing mainly remixes of songs found on Organik was released. The album, appropriately entitled Organik Remixes,[9] contained remixes by the winners of the remixing contest held on Robert Miles's Web site, as well as remixes from well known artists such as Future Sound of London, Riton, and Alexkid among others. The album also had one new track, "Bhairav", which featured the vocals of Amelia Cuni.

2004–05: Miles_Gurtu

In 2004, Miles released Miles_Gurtu,[10] his fourth album, which was a collaboration with percussionist Trilok Gurtu and included jazz and electronica elements. Also guesting on the album were Nitin Sawhney, Jon Thorne, Mike Patto and Paul Falloon.

2011–12: Th1rt3en

His fifth album entitled Th1rt3en[11] was released worldwide on Salt Records in February 2011, and featured guests such as Robert Fripp, Dave Okumu, Jon Thorne, Mike Patto and Davide Giovannini. For this album, Miles produced a blend of alternative and progressive rock with ambient and electronic soundscapes.

Miles has just finished to work on the soundtrack for the forthcoming movie documentary The Turn of This Century, directed by Peter Beyak and featuring the photography of Life Magazine.

In 2012 he has founded a new FM and online alternative radio station named OpenLab and broadcasting from Ibiza. A cutting-edge project bringing together culture, arts, media, technology and innovation.

Selected discography

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications
AUS
[12] 		AUT
[12] 		FIN
[12] 		FRA
[12] 		GER
[12] 		NZ
[12] 		SUI
[12] 		SWE
[12] 		UK
[13] 		US
[14]
Dreamland 12 2 8 6 2 3 2 6 7 54
  • UK: Platinum
  • US: Gold
23am — — — — 69 — 18 — 42 —
Organik — — — — — — — — — —
Miles_Gurtu
  • Release date: 10 February 2004
  • Label: Salt Records
  • Formats: CD
 — — — — — — — — — —
Th1rt3en
  • Release date: 15 February 2011
  • Label: Salt Records
  • Formats: CD
 — — — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds) 		Album
AUT
[12] 		FIN
[12] 		GER
[15] 		IRE
[16] 		ITA
[17] 		NED
[18] 		NOR
[12] 		SUI
[12] 		SWE
[12] 		UK
[13] 		US
[14]
1995 "Children" 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 21 Dreamland
1996 "Fable" 6 2 3 6 1 16 15 3 11 7 —
"One and One" (featuring Maria Nayler) 8 8 5 3 1 24 3 6 3 3 54
1997 "Freedom" (featuring Kathy Sledge) — 17 75 27 3 — — 41 59 15 — 23am
1998 "Full Moon" — — — — — — — — — — —
"Everyday Life" — — — — — — — — — — —
2001 "Paths" (featuring Nina Miranda) — — — — — — — — — 74 — Organik
2002 "Improvisations: Part 2" — — — — — — — — — — —
"Connections" — — — — — — — — — — —
"Pour te Parler" (Remixes) — — — — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Remix albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details
In the Mix
Renaissance Worldwide (with Dave Seaman)
Organik Remixes
Th1rt3en Remixes
  • Released: 2011
  • Label:
  • Format:

See also

References

  1. ^ IMO Records. http://www.imorecords.co.uk/house-2/house-artists/robert-miles-biography/ "Robert Miles Biography"], IMO Records' Retrieved on 29 March 2011.
  2. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles". Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  3. ^ "IFPI Awards 1997". Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  4. ^ "BPI Awards 1997". Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  5. ^ "The BRITs 1997". Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  6. ^ "Ever After Trailer". Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  7. ^ "MTV Top Euro Chart 1996". Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  8. ^ "Salt Records Discography". Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  9. ^ "Salt Records Discography". Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  10. ^ "Salt Records Discography". Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  11. ^ "Salt Records Discography". Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Intl. peak positions
  13. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  14. ^ a b "Robert Miles – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  15. ^ German peaks
  16. ^ Search for Irish peaks
  17. ^ Italian peak positions
  18. ^ Dutch Top 40 peaks
  19. ^ a b French certifications Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved 30 July 2008)
  20. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Children')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  21. ^ a b Norwegian certifications Ifpi.no (Retrieved 30 July 2008)
  22. ^ a b Swedish certifications Ifpi.se (Retrieved 11 September 2008)
  23. ^ Swiss certifications Swisscharts.com (Retrieved 30 July 2008)
  24. ^ a b UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved 25 September 2008)
  25. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('One and One')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
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