Robert Miles

Early life

Roberto Concina, known professionally as Robert Miles, was born in Fleurier, Switzerland to Italian parents. His family relocated to the small town of Fagagna in Friuli, Italy when he was young, where he developed strong piano skills. He entered the music world in 1984, working as a DJ in Italian clubs and on private radio networks. In 1990, he invested his savings to build his own recording studio and launch a pirate radio station. He first performed as Roberto Milani before switching to the anglicized name Robert Miles, a change he made with international recognition and the musical path ahead in mind.

Music career

In 1994, Miles wrote a trance and chill-out piece based on acoustic guitar chords and soft synthesizer effects, "Children", later developed into a dream trance song featuring a piano theme. The composition was created because Italy had been experiencing deaths from car crashes due to victims being high after rave parties; it was meant to calm rave attendants before driving home. Within two weeks of its official release in 1995, it sold more than 350,000 copies across Europe and topped charts in many countries.

The single received "Essential Tune of The Week" three weeks in a row on Pete Tong's show, causing a bidding war. It was signed to Deconstruction Records in the UK by Giles Goodman of Dynamik Music. By 1997, "Children" had occupied the Euro Top 100 chart number 1 spot for thirteen consecutive weeks and sold more than five million copies worldwide. It earned Miles platinum records, a Brit Award for International Breakthrough Act 1997 (Miles was the only Italian artist to have received the award until its final award for that category in 2012), and a World Music Award as World's Best Selling Male Newcomer.

His next single was "Fable"; part of it was used in the theatrical trailer for the U.S. movie Ever After. His debut album Dreamland was released on 7 June 1996 in Europe and about a month later in the United States. It included a cover of "One and One" featuring Maria Nayler, which reached number 1 in the Euro Top 100 Singles Chart during the Christmas period and remained there for six consecutive weeks. In November 1997, Miles released "Freedom", a key track on his second album 23am, featuring vocals by Kathy Sledge. 23am incorporated more lyrics-driven songs than Dreamland while maintaining Miles' trademark piano sound.

Death

Robert Miles passed away at age 47 on May 9, 2017, in Ibiza, Spain, due to metastatic cancer. In his memory, a Facebook campaign sought to return his track 'Children' to the charts. His OpenLab radio station went off the air soon after, as its future was being discussed. Following many upset messages about the suspension, the station was confirmed to return in 2019. It first resumed with a live internet stream in January of that year, then relaunched on Ibiza's 106.4 FM frequency in April.