Artist, illustrator, author and musician, Maurizio Galia was born in Moncalieri (Turin) Italy, on the 28th May 1963 and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Turin, from 1978 until 1986, under the direction of Francesco Tabusso, Enzo Sciavolino and Sergio Saroni. From 1982 he worked for various agencies and specialized as visual designer and illustrator for comics and books.
Galia is also the leader of Aquael, a prog rock band founded in Turin in October 1979 that was amongst the last wave of Italian Progressive Rock of the Seventies. As a solo artist Galia recorded Ziqqurat nel Canavese (1997) and Eccitazioni Neoclassiche (2005), although both albums were recorded with Aquael bandmates, and using Aquael tracks. Aquael's Anthology has the best from those albums and a selection of previously unreleased tracks as a prelude for future Aquael albums. "if you enjoy melodic symphonic and neo-prog bands with a bit of the Italian flavor ... you may be richly rewarded for tracking this down."Galia's Prog 50: Progressive Rock Around the World in Fifty Years is an illustrated reference hand-book where the complete list of world-wide Prog artists of the musical genre are finally given their rightful place in History. With a Foreword by Peter Gabriel, this is a first true encyclopedia collecting over a thousand musicians, most of which have been forgotten over time, and more than two thousand images of sometimes very hard to find records, for the first time ever presented all together in the same book. The tangible proof that Progressive Rock is still alive and kicking even after fifty years.
This book has revived memories of seeing After the Fire and Neal Morse in concert, of listening to King Crimson and Rush and of discovering the music of Geoff Mann and Twelfth Night. Here are more recommendations:
Reviews:
"Even ardent fans will find artists in here he or she will never have heard about, and those not all that familiar with the genre will have a field day or decade) looking up all the artists referenced here. The book itself, and all the artists referenced, makes this production a good starting point for progressive rock fans though, and a hard copy alternative to websites such as Progarchives." - Olav "Pros messor" Bjornsen: April 29th, 2018"Last year when we reviewed an Italian-language breakdown of the 100 best prog albums, we had one wish: put it all into English. Curated by Italian prog collector Maurizio Galia, Prog 50 does precisely that, and with five other reviewers, along with a foreword by Peter Gabriel, it gamely tackles a huge task. Broken up with artwork and photos, although all in black-and-white, the text is clear, with notable references in bold, and a discography to go with each entry. The wizard hat goes off to translator Christine Colomo for making the content highly readable." - Prog 14 June 2018
"This book is stunning! Really recommended to everyone who wants to know everything about Prog Rock. Peter Gabriel's foreword is the best endorsement for this work. The English language is very good, modern and open to a light reading full of humour. It's almost impossible to count all the artists reviewed into this book. Groups, Songwriters and Bands from all the different corners of our planet. A fantastic 'Interstellar Overdrive' to the Prog Universe!" Baltazar Gloves, Reviews 2017
"In his foreword for this book, Peter Gabriel doffs his cap to a genre which doesn't follow the normal conventions on composition. He describes progressive rock as a rich and quirky vein of music that, at least in his own experiences was born out of letting our musical minds wander far and wide and straight out of any boxes we were thrown in. These words echo throughout PROG 50's deep-drive into the old genre brave enough to incorporate elements of them all, dissecting key artists by country in order of importance (ranging from Kings, then Knights to finally the more obscure Troopers) with notes on their triumphs and releases. It's no surprise the English, Italian and German sections are substantial brimming with names of defiant rule-breakers, many of whom have been forgotten over time though what makes PROG 50 such an invigorating study is its dedication to the visionaries hailing from further afield. Aditus from Venezuela, anyone? While some of the descriptions are perhaps a bit basic, it certainly leaves no stoned unturned in its quest through prog history." AMIT SHARMA, Planet Rock Magazine
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Aquael - Murat Begins.
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