Biography

MY CAT IS AN ALIEN (MCIAA) is the audiovisual improv duo formed in late 1997 by the brothers Maurizio and Roberto Opalio from Torino, Italy. They primarily play electric and acoustic guitars, voice, toy microphones, various toy instruments, electronics and percussion. Roberto Opalio and MCIAA's work range over many artistic activities: musical performance, films and videos, audiovisual installations, photography, painting and drawing, poetry.

On their own Opax Records, they release vinyls, tapes, cds and dvds, whose unique handmade art-edition style represents the esthetics of the duo, giving a strong and peculiar visual aspect to all MCIAA's artistic works.

MCIAA have set up multimedia collaborations with vanguards such as Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, Christian Marclay, Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke, Loren Mazzacane Connors, Jackie-O Motherfucker, Nels Cline, Text of Light, Steve Roden, Mats Gustafsson, Enore Zaffiri and many more.

MCIAA's prolific works have been released by Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) on his own Ecstatic Peace! label, as well as by Atavistic Worldwide (USA), Les Disques VICTO (CAN), Important Records (USA), Very Friendly/ Cargo (UK), PSF (Japan), Staalplaat/ Mort Aux Vaches (NL), Eclipse Records (USA), Starlight Furniture Co./ Revolver (USA), Last Visible Dog (USA), Time-Lag Records (USA), PseudoArcana (NZ), Sloow Tapes (B), Ikuisuus (FIN), A Silent Place (ITA), Foxglove/Digitalis Industries (USA) among others.

Between 1998 and 2009 MCIAA toured several times in Europe with Sonic Youth, and have performed at many prestigious international festivals: Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville (Canada), ATP Nightmare Before Christmas curated by Thurston Moore (UK), Music Lovers' Field Companion festival at Sage Gateshead in Newcastle (UK), CCA Center of Contemporary Arts di Glasgow (UK), K-raa-k Festival (B), State-X Newforms (NL), Feedback Festival in Dijon (F), Stimul Festival in Prague, All Frontiers in Italy, among many others.

In 2005 Roberto Opalio has been commissioned to design a t-shirt for The Wire magazine.

Roberto Opalio and My Cat Is An Alien are currently taking part to the ongoing Sonic Youth etc.: Sensational Fix museum exhibition, scheduled in Europe, America and Asia for the next three years. For the first opening at LiFE museum (F) in June 2008, MCIAA set up a live performance collaboration with Lee Ranaldo and Micheal Morley of Dead C, published by Starlight Furniture Co. USA in September 2009.
Other than the official exhibition catalog published by Walter Koenig, curator Roland Groenenboom will present a spin-off limited zine at Malmo Konsthall, featuring exclusive artworks by Roberto Opalio and MCIAA.

MCIAA's articles, interviews and extended reviews are featured on the most important international music magazines like The Wire (UK), The Sound Projector (UK), Dream Magazine (USA), Arthur Magazine (USA), The Ptolemaic Terrascope (UK), Brokenface (SWE), Dusted Magazine (USA), Foxy Digitalis (USA), Studio Voice (JP), Stylus Magazine (USA), Noiseweek (USA), Industrial (USA), Brainwashed (USA), Kwadratuur (BE), PanPot (CAN), Blow Up (ITA), Rumore (ITA), Il Mucchio (ITA), Gaz-Eta (PL), His Voice (CZ), and many more.

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DISCOGRAPHIES

MY CAT IS AN ALIEN

- s/t cd-r (1998/ Opax Records)
- Hypnotic Spaces ep cd-r (1998/private press Opax Records)
- “Alien cats’ attack!” on “Tracce” Comp cd (1999/ Wallace Rec)
- “World War” (The Cure) on “La Cattedrale vs the 80’s” Comp cd (1999/ White&Black)
- Landscapes of an electric city cd-r (1999/ Opax Records/ ZZZ Prod.)
- Alien dissolving ep cd-r (1999/ Opax Records/ ZZZ Prod.)
- “I sold an alien to the F.B.I.” on “Related ProZZZect” Comp cd + cd-r (1999/ ZZZ Prod.)
- Production and appereance on Viggiu Vortex Orchestra debut cd-r (2000/ Capanno Rec)
- The alien cd-r attack series! Vol. I - Alien Holland Invasion - cd-r (2000/ Opax Records)
- The alien cd-r attack series! Vol. II - Infinite lights above us - cd-r (2001/ Opax Records)
- The alien cd-r attack series! Vol. III - “...Ascends The Sky" - cd-r (2001/ Opax Records)
- Landscapes of an electric city/ Hypnotic Spaces 3-sided LP (2002/ Ecstatic Peace!)
- Out of the Blue___Into the White 3x cd-r set (2003/ Opax Records)
- The Cosmological Eye Trilogy pt.1 - Into the Sleeping Beauty galaxy - cd-r (2003/ Opax Rec)
- Il Segno LP (2003/ Starlight Furniture Co.)
- The rest is silence 2xLP (2004/ Eclipse Records)
- The first flame of tomorrow cd-r (2004/ Opax Records)
- The Cosmological Eye Trilogy pt.2 - Into the Sombrero galaxy - cd-r (2004/ Opax Rec)
- “Brilliance in the outer space” on From the earth to the Spheres vol.1 (Thurston Moore/ My Cat Is An Alien) split LP (2004/ Opax Records)
- “When the earth whispered your name” on From the earth to the Spheres vol.2 (Thuja/ My Cat Is An Alien) split LP (2004/ Opax Records)
- floating in the Void – cd-r (2004/ Opax Records)
- “Blank view” on From the earth to the Spheres vol.3 (Jackie-O Motherfucker/ My Cat Is An Alien) split LP (2004/ Opax Records)
- “Brilliance in the outer space“ on From the earth to the Spheres vol.1 (Thurston Moore/ My Cat Is An Alien) CD (2004/ Very Friendly/Cargo records)
- “When the earth whispered your name“ on From the earth to the Spheres vol.2 (Thuja/ My Cat Is An Alien) CD (2004/ Very Friendly/Cargo records)
- On air at Sound Projecting cd-r (2005/ Opax Records)
- “Winter will burn out yr wings” on From the earth to the Spheres vol.4 (Jim O’Rourke/ My Cat Is An Alien) split LP (2005/ Opax Records)
- Through the reflex of the rain CD (2005/ Free Porcupine Society)
- Everything is here lathe-cut 7" (2005/ Gold Soundz)
- When the windmill's whirl dies LP (2005/ Eclipse Records)
- Different shades of blue/ U-Sound Archive Vol.19 cd-r (2005/ U-Sound Archive)
- "Hear the voice of the Cosmos" on "The Tone of the Universe (= The Tone of the Earth)" Comp 2xCD (2005/ Pseudoarcana)
- "Alien substratum 1.0/1.2" on "Time and Relative Dimensions in Space: Long Form Works" Comp CD (2005/ Rebis)
- “Blank view” on From the earth to the Spheres vol.3 (Jackie-O Motherfucker/ My Cat Is An Alien) CD (2005/ Very Friendly/Cargo records)
- "The circle of life & death" on From the earth to the Spheres vol.5 (Christina Carter&Andrew MacGregor/MCIAA) split LP (2005/ Opax Records)
- Black shadows from Jupiter LP (2005/ Opax Records)
- Alien Minds C60 cassette (2005/ Sloow Tapes)
- "Elegy for all the extinct alien species" on "The Invisible Pyramid: Elegy box" Comp 6xCD set (2005/ Last Visible Dog)
- "After the Meteor Shower" on From the earth to the Spheres vol.6 (Glands of External Secretion/MCIAA) split LP (2005/ Opax Records)
- Plutonian flames 2xCD-R (2005/ Opax Records)
- "The circle of life & death" on From the earth to the Spheres vol.4 (Christina Carter & Andrew MacGregor/ MCIAA) CD (2005/ Very Friendly/Cargo records)
- The Cosmological Eye Trilogy 3xCD set (2005/ Last Visible Dog)
- Astral Key CD-R (2005/ Esquilo)
- Folclore Alieno CD-R (2006/ Opax Records)
- Different shades of Blue LP+7" (2006/ A Silent Place)
- There's a flame___sometimes LP (2006/ Rococo Records)
- "After the Meteor Shower" on From the earth to the Spheres vol.5 (Glands of External Secretion/MCIAA) split CD (2006/ Very Friendly/Cargo Records)
- Listen before Black falls LP (2006/ Root Strata)
- "Beyond the limits of the stars/ Beyond the limits of the grooves" on From the earth to the Spheres vol.7 (Christian Marclay & Okkyung Lee/MCIAA) split LP (2006/ Opax Records)
- Introducing the Cosmic Blues 7 inch (2006/ Important Records)
- Cosmic Light of the Third Millennium CD (2006/ Important Records)
- "Space Fluxus" on My Cat Is An Alien/ Tony Herrington "Joint Multiples 04" Box/CD-R/Painting/Polaroid/Painted Photograph (2006/ no label)
- "Astral Enlightenment" on Dream Magazine #6 Comp CD (2006/ Dream Magazine)
- "Cosmic Distance"on Yellow Gold Comp C20 Cassette (2006/ Gold Soundz)
- The secret of the Dancing Snow CD (2006/ Ikuisuus)
- "...Ascends the sky" CD (2006/ Rebis/Whitened Sepulchre)
- "Transmission from planet KFJC" on My Cat Is An Alien/ Corsican Paintbrush split 10" lathe cut (2006/ Opax Records/ Foxglove)
- "Everything falls like cosmic debris" on From the earth to the Spheres, Vol.6 (Christian Marclay & Okkyung Lee / MCIAA) split CD (2006 / A Silent Place)
- "Heart of the eartH" on For Alan Lomax (Fabio Orsi / MCIAA) split CD (2006 / A Silent Place)
- Greetings from the Great Void 2xLP (2006/ Eclipse Records)
- On air at Sound Projecting LP (Opax Records/ 2006)
- Everything falls like cosmic debris on MCIAA/ TEXT OF LIGHT "Cosmic Debris, Vol.I" split art-LP (2006/ Opax Records)
- Aliens in the Crowd on V/A "Random Sounds Vol.2" CD-R Comp (2006 / Indie Workshop)
- Leave me in the Black No-Thing CD (2007 / Important Records)
- Into the White Vortex 1-sided ART-LP (2007 / Opax Records)
- "Extraterrestrial Call" on MCIAA/FAMILY UNDERGROUND split LP (2007 / Reverse)
- "Everything falls like cosmic debris" on MCIAA/ TEXT OF LIGHT "Cosmic Debris, Vol.I" split CD (2007 / A Silent Place)
- "Everything waves like cosmic debris" on MCIAA/ STEVE RODEN "Cosmic Debris, Vol.II" split art-LP (2007 / Opax Records)
- Different Shades of Tape Box set (2007 / A Silent Place)
- "Everything crashes like cosmic debris" on MCIAA/ KEIJI HAINO "Cosmic Debris, Vol.III" split art-LP (2007 / Opax Records)
- Il Segno CD (2007 / Starlight Furniture Co. - Revolver USA)
- "Speak, alien, SPEAK!" 3xC20 cassette set (2007 / Opax Records)
- "Everything waves like cosmic debris" on MCIAA / STEVE RODEN "Cosmic Debris, Vol.II" split CD (2007 / A Silent Place)
- "Everything crashes like cosmic debris" on MCIAA / KEIJI HAINO "Cosmic Debris, Vol.III" split CD (2007 / A Silent Place)
- "Blue Beings" on MY CAT IS AN ALIEN / VALERIO COSI "Stories From The Vacuum" split 7" (2008/ Black Horizon)
- Sotto le Stelle etched LP (2008/ Lost Treasures of the Underworld)
- There's a flame___sometimes LP (2008/ Opax Records
- "Everything burns like cosmic debris" on MY CAT IS AN ALIEN / MATS GUSTAFSSON "Cosmic Debris, Vol.IV" split ART-LP (2008/ Opax Records)
- "Everything tears like cosmic debris" on MY CAT IS AN ALIEN / LOREN CONNORS and his Haunted House band "Cosmic Debris, Vol.V" split ART-LP (2008/ Opax Records)
- Alien Blood LP (2008/ Opax Records)
- 8inch triangular lathe cut record (2008/ Pseudoarcana)
- For the tears of the Land_Prayers from the outer space 2xLP split MY CAT IS AN ALIEN / PRAXINOSCOPE (2009 / Important Records)
- "Everything burns like cosmic debris" on MY CAT IS AN ALIEN / MATS GUSTAFSSON "Cosmic Debris, Vol.IV" split CD (2009 / A Silent Place)
- “Solar Anarchy” on MY CAT IS AN ALIEN / PESTREPELLER split picture disc LP (2009 / A Silent Place)
- Through The Magnifying Glass Of Tomorrow (MY CAT IS AN ALIEN & ENORE ZAFFIRI) CD+DVD (2009 / Atavistic)
- Mort Aux Vaches CD (2009 / Stallplaat, Mort Aux Vaches series)
- Live @ Sensational Fix (M.MORLEY, MCIAA, R.PONZINI, L.RANALDO) LP (2009 / Starlight Furniture Co.)
- "Diatomic Molecules" on MOONMILK / MY CAT IS AN ALIEN "Paseridae I" split 7" (2009 / Sound&Fury)
- For the tears of the Land_Prayers from the outer space - Vol.1' CD (2009 / Elliptical Noise)
- Black Shadows from Jupiter, Vol. I & II 2CD (2010 / Elliptical Noise)
- Photoelectric Season 2CD (2010 / Elliptical Noise)


ROBERTO OPALIO

- Chants from isolated ghosts cd-r (2005/ Opax Records)
- Chants from isolated ghosts lathe-cut LP (2005/ Opax Records)
- voice with no guitar/ guitar with no voice C20 cassette (2005/ Opax Tapes)
- The last night of the Angel of Glass DVD-R + CD-R set (2006/ Foxglove)
- "Transparent moods" on Orange Gold Comp C20 Cassette (2006/ Gold Soundz)
- Whispers of the last Light DVD-R (2006/ Opax Records)
- The last night of the Angel of Glass, Vol.I & II 2xCD (2007 / A Silent Place)
- Chants from isolated ghosts CD (2007 / Important Records)
- Whispers of the last Light, part I & II lathe cut LP + DVD-R (2007 / Opax Records)
- "In the Middle of the Air" on ROBERTO OPALIO / MAURIZIO OPALIO split LP (2009 / Important Records)
- My Alien Notes (Escaping the Void?) art book + CD (2009 / Opax Press)
- The last night of the Angel of Glass 2x lathe cut LP + DVD (2009 / Opax Records)
- "Blue Ether" on M.MORLEY, MCIAA, R.PONZINI, L.RANALDO Live @ Sensational Fix LP (2009 / Starlight Furniture Co.)
- Liquid Spring (with MAURIZIO OPALIO) CD (2009 / Elliptical Noise)
- The Hexagram on Grace CD (2010 / Elliptical Noise)

MAURIZIO OPALIO

- Way up to Enfer CD-R (2006/ Opax Records)
- Way up to Enfer lathe-cut LP + book (2007 / Opax Records)
- "Glacier Sommeiller" on ROBERTO OPALIO / MAURIZIO OPALIO split LP (2009 / Important Records)
- ''Passo Galambra" on M.MORLEY, MCIAA, R.PONZINI, L.RANALDO Live @ Sensational Fix LP (2009 / Starlight Furniture Co.)
- Liquid Spring (with ROBERTO OPALIO) CD (2009 / Elliptical Noise)

PAINTING PETALS ON PLANET GHOST (Ramona Ponzini, Maurizio Opalio, Roberto Opalio)

- s/t LP (2005/ Time-Lag Records)
- "Oceano" on Red Gold Comp C20 Cassette (2006/ Gold Soundz)
- Oounabara 1-sided 12" lathe cut + DVD-R (Opax Records/ 2006)
- Oounabara C20 cassette (Opax Records/ 2006)
- s/t CD (2007 / Time-Lag Records)
- Fallen Camellias 1-sided 5x10" lathe cut Box (2008/ Opax Records)
- Fallen Camellias CD (2008/ A Silent Place)
- "I lose consciousness" on PAINTING PETALS ON PLANET GHOST / MYKEL BOYD split 7" (2008 / Somnimage)
- "Haru no kuni" on Dream Magazine #9 CD comp (2009 / Dream Magazine)
- Haru no omoi CD (2009 / PSF)