ALESSIO: "Music is a way of expressing myself, so whatever I write or record, I wanna release it and I hope it can resonate with or inspire the people listening to it."

Debut album 'INSOMNIAC' out Friday!

ALESSIO is an emerging dark pop Belgian artist based in Antwerp releasing his debut album 'INSOMNIAC' on 14 November, with 7 songs born from sleepless nights, heartbreak, anxiety and insecurities.

• How did you relation with music start?

I was always a very introvert and bullied child, I didn't have any friends for most of my years and always ended up spending time alone by myself (at school, at home - I do have a brother though I got along with very well). Over time I started finding ways to entertain myself and my favourite activity was ... you can guess it ... singing and listening to music. Also all the teenage Disney movies and TV shows of those times were all evolving around popstars and becoming famous so as I was watching all that I thought by myself... THIS is what I want, this looks so cool and good. And then I can sing like... every day??!

A part of me wanted it for the validation I think, being put in the spotlights so people would notice me and see me shine. But at the end of the day, music and singing is what brought me so much joy. Whatever I was doing at that moment, I just burst out in songs like I was part of my own Alessio musical. Unfortunately, my dad wasn't always a fan of me singing and many times he told me to shut up, which resulted in me having anxiety and small panic attacks every time I got onto a stage or was being put in the spotlight. I remember even singing on stage in high school and it was TERRIFYING. Can't also remember much details of that night as my brain just scared itself off. The combination of these remarks and situations, combined with not having friends and being bullied always made me believe I didn't deserve the spotlight so music needed to be a secret or hidden part of me that could only belong to me, in silence. I truly believe also that this was connected to me knowing I was gay but not being out yet, so these 2 forms of expressing myself were tied together. 

Luckily, I always stayed true to myself and surrounded myself more and more with some right people who inspired me to express myself more and more and also did a lot of inner work and instead of fear, I chose for love and said yes to many (musical) adventures and tried become as open hearted and minded as I could to express myself in a more natural way and grow into the person I wanted to be. it's also very healing to notice my dad being at almost all of my concerts cheering, clapping... alongside my mom and aunt who were always my biggest fans and I'm so grateful for that support. 

• And professionally?

I was always a bit steered in the direction of following a business course, which back then I didn't like. I started studying marketing, followed by a second bachelor and a masters degree in International Business Management. I LOVED spending my time with my friends but professionally, it didn't really resonate with me so I mostly partied or skipped class to earn money, most of that coming from working behind the scenes of the entertainment industry (yes, I knew what I wanted). After graduating, I started working in corporate life and didn't resonate with that at all, regretting not having done arts. 

When COVID-19 happened I quit my job (bad timing but I'm a Sagittarius so yes to adventure) and suddenly had lots of spare time so one day I wondered what would happen if I would invest all of my time in music right now? I ended up doing auditions for TV shows, movies and musicals (that was still allowed) and ended up being among the finalists for many of these projects, which was not only fun to me but also self-validating. Not much later, I ended up being in contact with a producer who seemed big and then wrote a song for his album and co-wrote for some other artists on it too. I was super excited about the project and the songs sounded fantastic. Unfortunately, he didn't give me any credits and the project turned out to be something very scammy. 

I moved on - being grateful for the opportunity (after consulting with lawyers first cause closure, right?) - and decided to start my own project as I then don't have to rely on any 'stupid' auditions or anyone else but myself. I started following some music courses at Trix and there I met many amazing artists - who now became friends -. One of the friends I made during that course, an artist called Ellora, recommended me her producer Emiel Lagrillière. I contacted him and we sat together and instantly connected. This was the beginning of my own professional project, resulting - 1,5 years later - in my first album 'INSOMNIAC'.

•Who inspired you to pursue a career in music?

Honestly every artist I've ever seen on stage inspired me so much to express myself through music and inspire others. One of my all-time favourite artists is Jon Bellion, I just look up to him so much and the way he writes music and performs, it just gives me CHILLS. Also all the people and friends I met that are doing music inspired me greatly. Especially growing up in a corporate environment, it was super inspirational to see people following their dreams and choosing that over money. I now often have people coming up to me saying they admire me for my career and mindset switch and then I feel so blessed that was able to escape that golden cage I wasn't completely happy in. I believe in following your own path, and the energies that align with you to get where you wanna be and not let your life being lived by fear or comfort only to exist.

I believe in following your own path, and the energies that align with you to get where you wanna be and not let your life being lived by fear or comfort only to exist.

And maybe it's corny or whatever but I feel like I also inspired myself mostly. Taking the step to actually going to my producer, writing songs together, felt like some inner dark and sad part of me wanted to step out of that darkness and express itself in a way I couldn't in daily life (at least not then). That's why most of my songs are also about dark topics like anxiety and restlessness, I have a multiverse of thoughts and unfortunately that dark side is also part of it and writing my thoughts on paper feels like therapy and I learned to embrace every dark part of me and look at it as inspiration.

I just know that many people these days go through a lot and it's not always easy to put that into words or understand each other, and I hope that in some way I can inspire people to talk about it or at least process it by listening to my songs. I express everyone also to just read my lyrics when they have the chance, as they have deeper meanings and are connected to much more than it seems at first.

• Was it easy for you to find your musical direction and style?

It was a whole roller-coaster honestly! I had always been into pop music but as for singing, I mostly sang country as this was the genre I vibed with the most and my voice also perfectly fit with. During music courses I also experimented with Dutch songs. All these options made me confused, weighing the options of what would suit me best vs. what I enjoy listening to. 

When I sat together with my producer for the first time I told him "help me, I need my own style but don't know what it is yet". I just knew country wasn't a perfect fit and pop suited me better but the average pop song is too happy for me or doesn't fit my voice the way I want it to. I was lucky and my producer was super open-minded and eager to work with me and we had like 5 creative sessions where we were experimenting with different music styles, eventually resulting in finding a dark / synth pop genre that fit 'who I am' (pun intended). I still have the old experiments somewhere in my files so I'm curious if they ever will show up on the surface, maybe a remix? 

In the end, I'm super happy with the direction we went into, it's a great basis for the direction I wanna grow towards to.

• Which role has fashion in your career?

Fashion is just like music, such an important tool to express yourself! At the beginning I didn't know how to link fashion to my music yet. All my visualisers and single/album covers are shot on the same day last year in March (I try to be efficient haha, I had the album already ready 1,5 year ago) and I remember being very nervous about the fashion part as I was integrating my own style and clothes in the visuals and that didn't feel right or didn't match the sound exactly.

Luckily, due to the special effects and focusing on the vibe rather than my fashion, the visuals worked but it was a sign for me to look for a style that matches my sound and also me - or at least my alter ego ALESSIO, and not Alessio the introverted and geeky guy.

I'm confident to say I have now found a dark/ mysterious style and vibe that matches the sound and I'm also super grateful to be surrounded by stylists who gave me advice, and designer Lars Mertens who lent me outfits to experiment with on this journey of mine.

• You work for music company Press Forward. What can you bring to the music industry and what are you learning from working in it?

What we do with Press Forward and what I, as an artist, can bring to the industry is helping other artists. And that is so important. 

Getting into this industry, I noticed many people are gatekeeping lots of information, being secretive over how they got where they are today. All the opportunities I had the chance of experiencing (like performing at OLT Rivierenhof, Het Depot, opening for artists all across Belgium and even one in the Netherlands) were based on a genuinely and open connection to the artist or organiser, no strategy, just an open-hearted/ minded conversation, connecting and helping each other where we can and I think that's so fun to experience. 

Working at Press Forward, I learned that all us artists go through the same stages and we all have our dreams and goals we wanna fight for and that should connect us and not be a reason to compete or have a secret agenda. Of course I get that, but in the end it helps and it's fun to help each other because we want to and then we can even reach further. The music industry has so much talent and I genuinely want everyone to follow and succeed in finding their dreams and goals. What's meant to be will be. 

The music industry has so much talent and I genuinely want everyone to follow and succeed in finding their dreams and goals. What's meant to be, will be. 

• You have already released several singles, most of them full of emotions. Are there times that your write a song so personal that you hesitate releasing it?

Good question! I honestly was doubting releasing 'HOURGLASS', one of the new singles that will also be on the album. It's a song I wrote for my ex when we were drifting apart (due to our long distance relationship and communication issues). I sent it to him on his birthday as a long distance gift. He loved it. Even though it sounds light and cute (and my most poppy song so far), the meaning behind it is quite sad and it makes me honestly tear up every time, as it reminds me of him and that time (both the good as the bad) still. The weight and heavy energy that I feel around the song is still there. But I always remind myself that music is a way of expressing myself, so whatever I wrote or recorded, I wanna release it and hope it can resonate with or inspire the people listening to it. 

• 'INSOMNIAC' is the title of your debut album, out on 14 November. How did the project start? Was it planend? Was it the natural step after releasing several singles?

The process was actually quite natural. After meeting my producer and experimenting with many genres, we found my own style and the songwriting process just went so fluently. We sat together twice a month, continuing jamming and vibing and before we knew, we had a few songs written and ready just like that, not thinking about a silver lining or theme. When we were experimenting with beats and sound and I heard the 'screams' of the beat for 'INSOMNIAC' and I was like... this feels like a scream at night and I should write around this. Which I did and it resulted in the 'INSOMNIAC' song. 

After having all the songs written and ready, it felt like it made sense to have 'INSOMNIAC' as the theme of the album and the project, as it summarises the album, 7 stories about me overthinking, having anxiety, laying awake. My lucky number is also 14 so I did want to have either 7 or 14 songs ready for an album as I think it will bring a lucky energy with it (yes, I believe in that). 

My natural plan 1,5 years ago was to release the album all at once but my producer told me that was a stupid idea so I held my excitement and released single by single (which in the end is of course a much better strategy!). After that, I just released 'WHO I AM' first as I'm obsessed with these lyrics and they felt like a great introduction to me and my music. After, it felt natural to release the 4 other singles as I was so excited about them. As my style is more dark and 'sad' I decided to release the album around this time of the year as it makes more sense to me. These cold, dark and rainy days are the best to sit inside and just listen to depressing/ sad music. 

• 'INSOMNIAC' is also the title track of the album. Was it clear that it would become the album title too?

Yes, definitely! It's the silver lining of all the songs on the album and it's in my opinion also a song that's so awesomely crafted and it deserves to be the main track and the album title. It just made sense and I knew it from the moment I heard the song for the first time. 

• Another new track, mentioned earlier is 'HOURGLASS'. What can you tell us about this song?

As mentioned before, 'HOURGLASS' is my most emotional song in its own way. Most of the songs on the album are actually my POV in a relationship that comes with anxiety. 3 years ago around this time I met a guy while traveling who caught my eye immediately. I live in Belgium, he lived in Switzerland. We started texting very intensely the day after meeting and immediately booked a flight to Milan for our first date. Ever since, we were inseparable and started this long-distance relationship adventure. It was so new to me and exciting but at the same time, very scary as it came with a lot of insecurities and new challenges.

After about a year of dating, we bumped into a lot of situations that made me anxious and made me redefine the relationship I had with myself and with others. We both felt like we were doing great but also drifting apart at the same time for many reasons. 'HOURGLASS' is about a person still being in your life and your chemistry is so strong they are and will always be nearby even though you know you're drifting apart. You start reminiscing about the good times you had and the moment you met and kinda wanna go back to that moment where everything seemed so light and perfect and you're wondering what would have happened if you could change something in this timeline. It's about love and how to fix something messy that still - and forever will - feels beautiful.

• You are a proud member of the LGBTIQ community and you performed at Antwerp's Opening Pride Ceremony 2025. How was the experience and what did it meant to you?

Yes, I'm so excited and grateful for that opportunity! It was in Antwerp where I've been living for the past 5 years now and OLT Rivierenhof has always been one of my favourite venues. This opportunity came up so randomly, honestly. On a random Thursday night I decided to go to a bar with my friend and as usual (when I'm out of my introvert phase haha) I just start talking to people (mostly it's deep conversations about traumas etc, I can't handle small talk haha) and eventually started talking to a very interesting person who turned out to be in the organisation of Antwerp Pride. We connected and I asked if I could apply to open and eventually they proposed my act (among many other acts) and I was so lucky being chosen. It's a great concept also that each year, they choose 3 independent queer acts to give them the opportunity to perform for a bigger audience. 

• You also performed already in other cities like Leuven or Rotterdam and you are presenting your album live in Antwerp's Cafe Corso on 17 November. What can we expect from this show?

I'm super excited (and stressed at the same time!) for the album release as it is a huge milestone and already many people RSVP'd. On 17 November I will introduce all of my songs of the album together for the first time. 7 songs that created 'INSOMNIAC' and also the meaning behind it. 

I'm also inviting a guest performer who will together with me bring an acoustic version of 'INSOMNIAC' which I'm super excited about! I will also introduce a charity event I'm hosting with Class Antwerp and also an amazing DJ will make a special remix of 'INSOMNIAC' (yes, this is an exclusive haha!) and we will play and introduce it that night for the first time! 

Also, I will introduce my merch for the first time. In short: lots of things to show and everyone's invited to be an 'INSOMNIAC' that night and celebrate the album by staying up (until 23h only so chill) and vibing and dancing to my songs. 

Pre-save/listen to ALESSIO's debut album 'INSOMNIAC' here. Discover and support Belgian artists with our playlist!

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