Roberto Concina, known professionally as Robert Miles, was a Swiss-born Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ. 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 young, and had 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.
In 1994, Miles wrote a trance piece based on acoustic guitar chords and soft synthesizer effects, “Children”, which was later developed into a dream house 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 Dynamik Music (who represented Platipus Records the initial UK licensee). After occupying the Euro Top 100 chart number 1 spot for thirteen consecutive weeks, by 1997, “Children” had sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. It earned Miles a platinum disc 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, a World Music Award as World’s Best Selling Male Newcomer and various other awards.
Miles’ next single was “Fable”. Part of this song was used in the theatrical trailer for the U.S. movie Ever After 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 Gorniak. 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) and was later released as a single in Europe and the U.S.
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. After splitting from Deconstruction and his former management in London, he set up his own record label Salt Records (stylised as S:alt Records, with S:alt being short for suitably:alternative) in 2001 and released his third album, Organik, featuring the new single “Paths” with vocals provided by Nina Miranda of Smoke City.
In 2004, Miles released Miles Gurtu, 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. His fifth album entitled Thirteen (13) was released worldwide on Salt Records in February 2011. For this album, Miles produced a blend of alternative and progressive rock with ambient and electronic soundscapes.
