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by Zeljko Vujkovic and Mark Knight

Domino : Thank you, it is a privilege for me !

My real name is Alessandra Gatti. Mirka is a nickname given to me by my father. What can I say… music has been in my blood since I was little, I used to sing all the time, all kind of music, even at school, where I was continuously punished by my teacher. My mother asked our parish priest to please let me sing in the church choir; I sang in my first concert as a soloist when I was 9, it was a musical organised (by the parish priest) in the village. Music was in my blood, and still is. I could not live without it ! My star sign is Scorpio with a Capricorn ascendant (practically a "rock")... I live in Mantova (a small city in northern Italy) with the Great LOVE OF MY LIFE : my son Federico who is 13 years old ; he is a Fantastic mix between me and his father Dave Rodgers ! The son of my dreams.

Ok…What Dave said is true ! I was a great fan of him... I always followed him everywhere because I loved to hear him singing. I started working with him in 1985, as a back vocalist, also because my voice as a soloist was not suited to the music of the ‘80s… When I started at 16, I loved Italian Disco music, I grew up with this kind of music, I remember I adored RAF and his song Self Control, and the amazing Spagna with Easy Lady, Radiorama, Aleph, Sophie, …. I think it was a revolution in the Italian way of making music. Even today in discotheques, pubs, etc…. wherever youngsters or adults go, this type of music has made a huge comeback! P. Lion with “Happy Children”, and also Spagna, Raff,…. Everyone is having a great time !!

I met Farina and Crivellente for the first time when Aleph made Fire on the moon. I did the spoken intro and the back vocals, and until Dave worked with them I stayed and did some choral work, but nothing more than that. Farina was a great singer and a “special” writer. I was fascinated by his way of switching from the songs he sang to those he was writing and then to artists he was organising in the studio … Crivellente was nice and creative. I was very shy, when I walked into the studio they would really try to make me feel comfortable. Ah… lovely memories …

Well, let’s say it was the start of my career...

As I said earlier, I started working with Giancarlo in 1985, as a back vocalist, because my voice as a soloist was not suited to the music of the ‘80s ; I suffered a lot because I couldn’t understand what was wrong with my voice ; I remember that whenever an experienced girl used to sing in the studio I would watch her for hours in silence, concentrating on her performance...

Eurobeat has really pleasant melodies and lyrics that are easy to listen to … I think that this was the reason why I was attracted to this type of music ; I think that eurobeat, produced for the Japanese market, could also work very well in Europe, perhaps with some minor adjustments like softening the “beat” for example… My Italian friends who listen to what I do first told me I was crazy, but then I catch them humming some Eurobeat song … The most “popular” is My Sweet Banana...

Yes, the crucial moment at the beginning of my career was when I sang Fever for Discomagic. Giancarlo choose for me the name Domino ; At that time the Pet Shop Boys were singing Domino Dancing and both Giancarlo and I used to sing it often; this is how he gave me my Domino stage name … Nice! I addition I’m rather “complicate” just like the domino game...

The label A beat C was created from an idea of Giancarlo’s, by Alberto Contini and me … and, yes, it was successful !

Let’s say I didn’t have a specific role. I was free to do everything I could; from chorals to public relations and even graphics,…the first few years were really difficult because Giancarlo sometimes had to work until dawn to keep Avex happy, we worked hard, but we had incredible rewards. If I had to do it all again, I would do it the same, if not better and more.

Talking about my way of singing, I had to keep precise rules, I had to change the timbre of my voice, from very "warm" and "soul" tones to tones that were "slight and pungent" ; this was the request of the Japanese market ; but as a songwriter and composer, there were no limits !

Everything I write goes through the suggestions and opinions of Alberto Contini, I like it this way. He is a great producer, author and editor, who has never limited my work in any way, but is continuously giving me good advices. He was the one who suggested that I try to write Eurobeat songs; Giancarlo was then in charge of the final production of the song.

I think that part of the “Eurobeat” secret comes from “natural” melodies, immediately remembered and that can be straightforward associated to a cartoon...

No, I have never worked as a model, but regarding the choice of “aliases” I wasn’t the one who decided.

You know, there is a small part of me, of my life in each one of my songs… sometimes Domino, sometimes Alias… I can only leave you the choice of my best.

Mickey Mouse March is a very famous song edited by Walt Disney, in 1999 Avex bought the distribution rights for Japan for the Disney trademark and suggested we re-write some famous songs in Eurobeat style. We accepted and the first song was Mickey Mouse March; Alberto Contini and Giancarlo asked me to sing it. So I sang and they did the rest.

I have a number of projects that I can’t mention right now because they are still in the experimental phase, and I don’t want to spoil the surprise… I’m sorry but everything is Top Secret for now!

As regards SCP, I am on excellent terms with the entire team and I have been friends with Stefano (Castagna) for a long time, we also worked together on some projects, Stefano has been able to create a really special team of work !

I have great respect for Delta Records, but I have never thought of working with them because as a team I think they are complete.

I don’t think it is significant that there are less “BPMs” these days; I rather think that in order for the Eurobeat style to evolve there must be love, writers, composers and producers who believe more and more in what they are doing.

The “Para Para” phenomenon is just incredible… The first time I saw a group of Japanese youngsters doing it, I thought they were using sign language, but then I realised that it was not the case. I think that the reason behind the success of “Para Para” is that it’s a dance that joins youngsters together in a group and it helps them enjoy themselves in the company of others. Think about a typical day in the life of a Japanese youngster, “very tough” schools that aims to create great brains but often seems to neglect the human relations aspects, than computers-internet chats-cyber games and comic strips ! Anyone instinctively can question himself: Why shouldn’t a dance like “Para Para” work ?

I like seeing how these youngsters manage to move well together when they are dancing, I have also learned a few steps, but believe me, it’s really complicated ! I prefer learning Japanese...

Speed production has very little to do with quality... BUT, can you remember Mozart ? In one day he composed most beautiful songs... so what can I say ? And you , what can you say ?

The wonderland of Mantova is a mixture of ancestral traditional roots in the spicy modern world, where quality of life is twice as good as elsewhere, just think : nice people, great friends, and gorgeous food from the first cappuccino... not talking about the architecture... in such a paradise working seems just twice as difficult as elsewhere !!... This is why I need 12 hours to work, 10 hours of sleep, and all the rest is jam packed in a couple of hours. I think my fans are getting the best part...

I would like to thank all my fans for supporting me all these years. Your suggestions are very important in order to maintain an exceptional level of quality for future Eurobeat productions... Just think : when you hear one of my songs it will contain a small part of each of you ! You are fantastic !

You most welcome and I’m very much thank you for your warm wishes ! Sayonaraa !

© February 2005 Zeljko Vujkovic - All rights reserved
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