Carmelo Alfano Teams Up With AJ Lambert on a New Mix of ‘Is This You?’
Sicilian-English artist Carmelo Alfano is back with ‘Is This You?’, now in a brand-new mix featuring London singer-songwriter AJ Lambert.
A collaboration that began with a camera
The partnership started at Rough Trade East, where Carmelo photographed AJ on stage. The pictures led to a friendship built on live music and shared creative projects. In 2025 AJ invited him to a screening of a short film she had made, and later asked him to sing backing vocals at one of her London shows.
Now the favour has been returned, with AJ adding her voice to the new mix of ‘Is This You?’. It’s a natural next step for two artists who have been swapping ideas for years.
Pavarotti’s teacher, Sky News and a dial-up gig
London-based with family roots in Sicily, Carmelo studied voice in Modena for two years with the teacher of the great tenor Luciano Pavarotti, before building a career as an artist, actor and television sound engineer.
More than 20 years ago he became one of the early pioneers of live music streaming, broadcasting a London gig over a dial-up connection. It was unusual enough that Sky News sent a crew to film it.
From Alfano to Sundae Club
His band Alfano supported James Blunt and played venues across London. Its keyboard player, Hamstall, went on to form Sundae Club with producer George Shilling. The project landed a publishing deal, released the album Technostalgia, had music used on GMTV, wrote for ITV’s UEFA Champions League Weekly and co-wrote a track recorded by French Fame Academy winner Nolwenn Leroy.
The song that nearly went to Tom Jones
In 1993 Carmelo sent a demo to Tom Jones, convinced one of the songs would suit him. Ten years later Mark Woodward got in touch: he had been trying to track down the Carmelo who sent the tape. A song from it had been considered for Tom Jones, but the contact details had been lost along with the cassette cover.
Keep creating, keep experimenting and never give up: that’s the lesson Carmelo has taken from it all. ‘Is This You?’ with AJ Lambert is the latest chapter, and a fine example of how a single photograph at a London gig can turn into something much bigger.
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