Education
Cortini was born in Bologna, but raised in Forlì. Cortini moved from Italy to the United States to study guitar at the Musicians Institute. After graduating, and straying away from the guitar, he decided to focus on keyboards and synths.
Cortini was born in Bologna, but raised in Forlì. Cortini moved from Italy to the United States to study guitar at the Musicians Institute. After graduating, and straying away from the guitar, he decided to focus on keyboards and synths.
He was a touring member of The Mayfield Four from 2000 to 2002. Cortini was also a founding member of Modwheelmood, an Electronic-Alternative band from Los Angeles, California along with former Abandoned Pools guitarist Pelle Hillström. He recently completed a small Canadian tour under the guise of his solo project, blindoldfreak. From 2001 to 2002, Cortini acted as touring guitarist for The Mayfield Four in support of their album Second Skin. While briefly teaching at the Musicians Institute, he saw an ad for open auditions for Nine Inch Nails.Reznor stated that Alessandro Cortini "fit in immediately."
2007: Beside You in Time (live DVD/HD DVD/Blu-ray, 2007)
2007: Year Zero Remixed - "The Great Destroyer" (remixed by Modwheelmood)
2008: Ghosts I-IV
2008: The Slip
Cortini is also the frontman of Los Angeles band Modwheelmood, which he leads with former Abandoned Pools guitarist Pelle Hillstrom. Together they have released two EPs, ? (2003) and Enemies & Immigrants (2006). In 2007, they released Things Will Change, the companion remix disc for Enemies & Immigrants, and they released the first part of their new album Pearls to Pigs, Vol. 1 on December 25, 2007 exclusively as a digital release.
In fall 2006, Cortini contributed to the Musicians Institute's Recording Artist Program by acting as advisor for one-on-one training with students. In 2009, he filled in for Morgan Nicholls of Muse while Nicholls took a leave of absence to be with his newborn son. In 2010, he recorded a song called Birds of Prey with pop artist Christina Aguilera, produced by Ladytron. The song is featured on the deluxe edition of her fourth studio album Bionic.
In summer 2010, Cortini formed the band SONOIO. The band name SONOIO comes from the Italian phrase “sono io”, which means “it’s me”, as it is a solo project consisting solely of Alessandro Cortini. In July 2010 SONOIO released the album "SONOIO Blue" which was followed up by a remix album in December 2010 "NON SONOIO". In June 2011 SONOIO released the album "SONOIO Red".
