It is important to underline that my long collaboration with Mauro Pertosa was born from a sincere friendship. We shared a passion for music that took root in our early teenage years. We weren’t joking around: we had a clear goal — to become part of history.
We listened to everything: from blues to rock, from psychedelia to Italian singer-songwriters. Pink Floyd, The Doors, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, all the way to De André and Branduardi. Around the age of 16–17, we recorded the first drafts of Cantico dei Cantici vol. 1. He was the singer-songwriter, with a warm voice and intense lyrics; I was the musician, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist. This combination proved to be winning.
Our collaboration, which lasted more than fifteen years, gave birth to several projects: Cantico dei Cantici vol. 1 and 2, followed by the albums Non ditelo a nessuno and Terra Bruciata. I believe the Cantico can be considered our masterpiece: a monumental work involving more than twenty musicians and several recording studios. At that time, home recording didn’t exist: everything was recorded on tape, without editing, with the tension and energy of having to play everything perfectly. I remember our first times entering the studio: we would walk out of Minirec Recording by Gigi Guerrieri with the feeling we were making history. Perhaps it was an adolescent delusion, but our passion and the force of our dreams made us feel part of something unique.
To pursue our dream, I moved to Turin, where we founded Perenne Symposio. The lineup was of the highest level: my brother Giuseppe Bortone and I on guitars, Fabio Brunetti on drums (a truly extraordinary talent), Maurizio Migliore on bass, Mauro on vocals, and Josiane on operatic vocals. Our live style was theatrical and filled with symbolism: we often performed in disguise, wearing English-style flat caps, blank expressionless masks, fake beards and wigs. In songs like Caligola, we used spectacular and unsettling Venetian masks. It was our way of turning concerts into theatrical experiences.
Winning the Biella Festival marked the peak of Perenne Symposio’s artistic journey: an epic milestone and one of the most emotional moments of my life.
Mauro is an extraordinary writer. His songwriting is defined by a syncopated rhythm and a meticulous attention to words. It is rare to find this level of quality in today’s musical and singer-songwriter scene. I encourage anyone to listen to his songs: they are the clearest proof of what I say.
The magic of the past — that of young bohemian dreamers speaking about the world, society, God, and humanity — may be gone. Today we are more mature, of course, but the collaboration with someone who has been fundamental in my artistic life remains. We are currently working together on a new project: an album inspired by the biblical book of Qohelet, signed Mauro Pertosa & Nicola Bortone. Proof that even if times change, certain roots always remain alive.