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Piero Umiliani

Country: Italy

Piero Umiliani (1926 to 2001) was a Florentine composer, arranger and bandleader whose work ran from jazz to lounge to early electronics. His score for Mario Monicelli's I soliti ignoti (1958) was the first true jazz soundtrack in Italian cinema, and ten years later "Mah Nà Mah Nà", written for a documentary about Sweden, became a novelty hit worldwide. He scored dozens of westerns, spy films, gialli and soft erotica in the 1960s and 1970s, and in his Sound Work Shop studio in Rome he was among the first Italians to use the Moog and other electronic keyboards.

Aliases: Moggi, M. Zalla, Rovi, Tusco
La Schiava Io Ce L'Ho E Tu No
Thanks to the triple alliance of the Roman labels and distributions Cometa Edizioni Musicali, Beat Records and Four Flies Records, finally one of the most iconic and long-awaited works of Maestro Piero Umiliani emerges from the archives. Recorded in September 1973 in the Ortophonic studios in Rome, La schiava I have it and you do not, soundtrack of the homonymous film by Giorgio Capitani with Lando Buzzanca and Catherine Spaak, has for years been one of the most sought after titles of the Floren…
Bollenti Spiriti
Cinedelic Records present a reissue of Piero Umiliani's sound track for the 1981 film Bollenti Spiriti. Bollenti Spiriti is a film by Giorgio Capitani, one of the most prolific directors of the Italian sexy comedy genre, starring Johnny Dorelli and Gloria Guida. Maestro Piero Umiliani recorded the soundtrack in his innovative Suono Work-Shop Studios in Rome, fusing his love for jazz -- a genre that since the '50s has been a leading figure in Europe -- and his unmistakable arrangements. Cined…
Al Cinema Con Piero Umiliani
**Available on late April. Limited edition of 300 copies only** Sonor is proud to announce the reissue of one of the true rarities of Italian discography out there and an absolute grail of Italian Film music. Originally released in 1968 on the legendary RCA Italiana SP 8000 series (promo-only) on only 100 copies, here's an Impossible jewel by maestro Piero Umiliani that contains various themes from original scores of the '60s - "Il Comandante", "Extraconiugale", "Tutto Il Bello dell'Uomo", "La B…
Musica Dell'Era Tecnologica
Dagored present the first time reissue of Piero Umiliani's Musica Dell'Era Tecnologica, originally released in 1972. This killer experimental LP recorded by maestro Piero Umiliani in his legendary Soundworkshop Studios in Rome is on every serious electronic/Italian library wantlist. Enter the fourth dimension with Musica Dell'Era Tecnologica! 180 gram vinyl; Edition of 500."Piero Umiliani has taken things too far with Musica Dell'Era Tecnologica. Way too far. And since he dares to visit inne…
Suspence Elettronica
Tusco is one of the many pseudonyms that legendary composer and producer Piero Umiliani uses to not overcrowd the synchronization market with his name. Umiliani was a well-known Italian soundtrack composer and jazz musician. He was one of the pioneers of styles such as exotica and lounge and used a lot of funk moves in his soundtracks, too. He also composed a lot of library albums, covering genres such as Spaghetti Western, Giallo, sex films, and documentaries. They were all self-produced in his…
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Requiem per un agente segreto
A groovy little soundtrack by the great Piero Umiliani! The score is for a b-grade spy film from the late 60s – starring Stewart Granger as (according to the notes) "a seasoned secret agent, but always ready to kiss and to bang!" A lot to live up to, we know – but Umiliani more than does the job, with a wonderful mix of tunes that run from Barry-esque Bond to swinging Milan, blending electric guitar, bubbling organ, and exotic themes into a 17 track package that sparkles with the best o…
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Continente Nero + Africa
**very last copies around** This is a dream come true. First time available since their original release, remastered sound, 500 copies only for these two Piero Umiliani gems exploring not only the traditional African music but also several other musical branches (jazz, funk....), with raw percussions, marimbas and a sunny vibe overall. The two albums sound like a spooky documentary that invites you to an unforgetable adventure: the music is completely wonderful throughout, and a great mix …
Studio Umiliani
Four Flies Records strikes again, releasing their first archive compilation of Piero Umiliani’s work and the first compilation focussing on the Maestro’s legacy in years.  “Studio Umiliani” is a collection of sunken treasures and hidden beauties yet to be re-released, and of stunning unpublished works surprisingly unknown for quite some time. The project, born from the initial effort of Andrea Fabrizi, who has far and wide been exploring Umiliani's soundtracks before anyone else, led Four Flies …
Produzione
“Produzione”, originally released in 1973 on Piero Umiliani’s LP “Problemi d’oggi”, is an amazing mix of acoustic percussion and electronic experimentation, considered by some as the first example of techno trance music ever recorded. This song, along with “Attività”, another excerpt from “Problemi d’oggi”, has been ‘reworked’ by Gerardo Frisina, who cleverly extends the original content by mixing it with contemporary electronic sensations. The result, packaged in an artwork inspired by the ori…
Storia E Preistoria
Esteemed composer Piero Umiliani released scores of music in his lifetime from the famous to the obscure, but his forays into jazz continue to be a delight for diggers the world over. Here Galaxy present Storia E Prehistoria, recorded under his alias Rovi and originally released in 1972. It's a stirring collection of music that touches on soundtrack themes throughout, capturing the sound of the era impeccably while sporting Umiliani's inimitable touch in the same breath. The album is full…
Smog
The long-forgotten soundtrack to a hip early 1960s Italian cult movie, with music by Piero Umiliani and the legendary Chet Baker. Helen Merrill's vocal theme is just outstanding, rarely bettered -- the jazz is playful, mysterious and charming. This is just inspired and incredible music. Limited edition of 500 copies.
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Gli Italiani e L'Industria
In stock now! From the legendary Omicron label secret archives, one of the rarest and nearly impossible to find album signed by Piero Umiliani. Awareness of Piero Umiliani’s genius is widespread nowadays,not least on this incredible Gli italiani e l’industria, a soundtrack of a mysterious TV documentary by Romolo Marcellini broadcasted in 1967, and never appeared again from then, which was focused on virtue and vice of Italian post-economic boom industrialization. The music perfectly reflects th…
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Percussioni ed Effetti Speciali
**CD version** The long and prolific career of Piero Umiliani, also consisting of dozens of collaborations for television and cinema, has given (and is still delivering, given the amount of material that is finally coming back to light) a long series of experimental albums and music libraries that showcase his songwriting skills, as well as a natural curiosity towards avant-garde and more ‘difficult’ sounds. We can attribute to the second category this “Percussioni ed effetti speciali”, a title …
Suspense
**CD version** Among all the aliases used by the great Piero Umiliani, M. Zalla is perhaps his richest and surprising: mainly used to produce experimental records that had little commercial appeal, this ‘nom de plume’ (along with Moggi) is tied to memorable episodes of his career, releases such as “Problemi d’oggi” (literally “Today’s Problems”), “Mondo inquieto” (i.e. “An Unsettling World”), and also “Suspense”, now reissued by Schema Records. And if titles such as those mentioned above may som…
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Audace Colpo Dei Soliti Ignoti
First ever issue in its entirety for this indispensable score by Italian cinematic jazz- father Piero Umiliani, obtained by having access to the original reels with the complete soundtrack's recording. Top class Italian crime jazz composed for a 1959's comedy directed by Nanni Loy (sequel of "I Soliti Ignoti", realized by Mario Monicelli just the year before, with almost the same artistic cast of "Audace"). Chet Baker, who was at that time in Italy, joined Umiliani's octet with his unmistakable …
Switched On Naples
Sonor is glad and proud to announce the reissue of a very underrated Piero Umiliani's masterpiece. "Switched On Naples", originally released in 1972 on ‎OmiCron LP 0023, is an outstanding ‪‎library with pure touch of genius: Maestro Umiliani revisits Naples popular songs in an electronic way with the use of synthesizer. The record is entirely carried out with electronic sounds. Edition of 500 copies.
I Piaceri Proibiti
**blue vinyl** A beautifully jazzy soundtrack from the great Piero Umiliani – one that features solo work by some of the key members of the Basso Valdambrini sextet! The style here is very much in the mode of the best jazz soundtracks used during the French new wave years – simple themes that burst out boldly, and allow plenty of space for jazz improvisation – often along highly rhythmic lines! The music would be very much at home in a Roger Vadim film – and includes plenty of trumpet and tenor …
Due Temi con Variazioni
Many words were spent on the long and fruitful collaboration between Piero Umiliani and the director Luigi Scattini: new light has been shed recently on some of their works, in lieu of the reissue of soundtracks such as “Angeli bianchi... angeli neri”, “Questo sporco mondo meraviglioso” along with “La ragazza fuoristrada”, “Il corpo” and “La ragazza dalla pelle di luna” (the famous trilogy starring Zeudi Araya as a main character).In 1977 Scattini, a world famous Mondo Movie author, directed “Bl…
L'uomo nello spazio
MILESTONE!!!!Fantastic space themed music from the great Piero Umiliani, released in 1972 on his own Omicron record label and finelly reissued in a limited edition of 500 copies on transparent clear blue vinyl. These tracks, which utilise a range of electronic instruments are generally claustrophobic and tense and experimental. "I have dedicated these compositions to the spaceman, this new, modern Ulysses going adrift on the galaxian oceans..." ~ P. Umiliani, 1972. The words of the great Pi…
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Genti e Paesi del Mondo
The mid 70s presented mature, fertile grounding for maestro Piero Uimiliani’s Sound Workshop Studio, exploring side ways explorations in to gravitational soundscapes and beyond.... Released in 1975 via his prolific Omicron imprint, Genti e Paesi Del Mondo (‘Peoples and Countries of the World’) is a return to the ethnic flavours so beloved of Umiliani’s zeitgeist. Umiliani turns anti-clockwise launching a left field mental audio pad to uncharted territories. On Genti e Paesi Del Mondo spa…
Mondo Inquieto
Maestro Piero Umiliani returns in the alter ego guise of M. Zalla for the 1974 compositional library piece Mondo Inquieto (‘Restless World’) via his far reaching, experimentalist imprint Sound Work Shop. Ambient tensions are represented via a dramatic cross fertilisation of orchestral strings, layered synths and primeval percussion with the Maestro on moody, reflective compositional duties. Stand out cut Strategia (‘Strategy’) harnesses the dopest Wu Tang Beats alongside swathes of high end …
Tensione
The comparable Piero Umiliani (under his mysterious Moggi moniker) weighs in with another AWOL library gem of 1979. Maestro goes resolutely left field and off track with an intra-personal exploration of the disturbed inner psyche within the human condition. Distressed electro beacons are unleashed as de-tuned predatory Carpenter-esque synth patterns come to the fore (check Clavinet Suspence for primal audio blastings to a lost unnamed 80’s slasher movie). With the electric eighties buzzing on …
The Folk Group
**CD version** Piero Umiliani’s rich and diverse discography got us used to bold experimentalism, to excursions into popular music as into avantgarde. Nonetheless, while “The Folk Group” makes no surprise, it still represents a peculiar work within Umiliani’s seemingly endless career. Originally published under the name of M. Zalla, an alias he especially used for those albums that were difficult to classify – and among which we must mention the extraordinary “Mondo Inquieto” and “Problemi d’ogg…
Questo Sporco Mondo Meraviglioso
**CD version** “Questo sporco mondo meraviglioso” is one of the numerous collaborations between the director Luigi Scattini and Piero Umiliani, and one of the most interesting and varied soundtracks within the composer’s repertoire. Produced in collaboration with Piero Loy, the picture falls into the Mondo Movies genre, documentaries dedicated to controversial and shocking topics (without aspiring to be journalistic or adhering to scientific evidence). In this case, Scattini’s direction focuses …
La Ragazza dalla Pelle di Luna
“La ragazza dalla pelle di luna” is the first chapter of Piero Scattini’s acclaimed movie trilogy,completed by “La ragazza fuoristrada” (1973) and “Il corpo” (1974), whose soundtracks were all entrusted into Piero Umiliani’s expert hands. With a title taking inspiration from the fame of Seychelles’ indigenous beauties (a myth later dismissed by Scattini himself) the film found its protagonist thanks to a casual encounter between the director and the beautiful model Zeudi Araya, the first element…
Psichedelica
**CD version** Before talking about Psichedelica, one of the many and rare library albums signed by Piero Umiliani, we must step back in time, until June 1968, when Umiliani was working on the score of Svezia Inferno e Paradiso (Sweden Heaven and Hell), one of the many collaborations between director Luigi Scattini and the Maestro. In fact, a large part of the music recorded for that movie, one of Umiliani's most popular works, would be later selected for this library release. Originally issued …
Il Mondo dei Romani
First vinyl reissue. Limited edition of 500 orange LPs (vinyl only; no digital release). Remastered from the original reels. The sought-after experimental gem Il Mondo Dei Romani, by soundtrack and avant-garde maestro Piero Umiliani, is now available on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 1972. Originally recorded for a TV documentary about ancient Rome and released on Umiliani's Omicron label, Il Mondo Dei Romani finds Umiliani experimenting with electronic instruments (Suoi …
La Legge Dei Gangsters
First complete vinyl edition of the great Piero Umiliani's jazz score for La legge dei gangsters (Gangster's Law), an obscure 1969 Italian crime film starring the mighty Klaus Kinski. Featuring a large ensemble of the country's strongest players (including Oscar Valdambrini on trumpet), the score is full of sophisticated, groovy, and romantic tunes. Two LPs on colored vinyl, released in a limited numbered edition of 1000.
Effetti Musicali
Effetti Musicali is a 1968 Piero Umiliani homemade album that exposes his art and his versatility. Listening to this album seems to show him among his keyboards and other implements to overlap sounds and create situations with no outside producer influence, in full artistic freedom. The result is an experimental psychedelic electro-acoustic album. From the original Umiliani family master tapes. Limited edition of 500 copies in a glossy cover. We all love a bit of Umiliani, and here on this excep…
Svezia Inferno e Paradiso
*2022 stock* One of the greatest soundtracks ever from the mighty Piero Umiliani is finally available again, in a faithful replica of the original edition on Omicron. A sublime mix of erotic elements, playful funky numbers, and warm jazzy tunes – all supposedly scored for an exploitation documentary about sex in Sweden – but music that really stands strongly on its own! There's a number of cuts with those cool Hammond organ tricks that Umiliani does so well – and lots of others have cool female …
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La Morte bussa due volte
A stellar cast doesn’t always guarantee a magnificent film and, from a strictly cinematographic point of view, “La morte bussa due volte” (Death knocks twice) is one of many examples of this kind; This thriller was in fact quickly forgotten at the time (1969), despite the presence of the charismatic Adolfo Celi and the beautiful Anita Ekberg.However, even for less ‘important’ productions, the likes of Morricone or, in this case, Piero Umiliani, were sometimes bothered: composers but also …
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Le isole dell'amore
A groovy erotic film score by Piero Umiliani – his soundtrack for 1970's Le Isole Dell'Amore – and it's a wonderfully arranged one by the maestro! Raw percussion and a sunny vibe overall..."In the late '50s and throughout the next decade and beyond, among the underground most ridden film genres there was the so-called ‘mondo movie’, basically made of a collage of several scenes with a commenting voiceover. To this category belongs “Le isole dell’amore” (The islands of love), a film that’s practi…
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Synthi Time
*2022 stock* Synthi Time is perhaps one of the most suitable albums - within Umiliani's incredibly vast discography - to fully appreciate the composing and experimental genius of the Maestro. For once away from the classic soundtracks that made him popular, this project veers away also from refined works of library music such as Genti e paesi del mondo (People and countries of the world) or Problemi d'oggi (Today's issues), released under the moniker of Zalla. In this case, we like to imagine hi…
Fischiando in Beat
*2022 stock* Due to a perhaps too buoyant and unfitting title and to a ridicolously limited distribution (even at the time of its original release), Fischiando in beat (Whistling in beat) has often been ignored despite being one of the most entertaining works signed by Piero Umiliani (here accompanied by his orchestra). Originally released in 1969, Fischiando in beat presents twelve gems of instrumental beat music, fabulous specimen of that music genre often labelled with the much-abused term 'l…
Tra Scienza e Fantascienza
2015 restock - "Tra scienza e fantascienza", is an album of histrionic Piero Umiliani recorded under the pseudonym Moggi. A Master gifted with a never ending passion for music, innovator by vocation, experimenter in his genetic code now at ease with synths in order to forge sound that could be reductively termed as avantgarde. Timeless atmospheres, alien hypnotic sonorities, modern and charmingly retro, minimal and complex arranged with an impressive taste for the unknown substance the Maes…
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Intrigo a Los Angeles
Hold your breath. This is the soundtrack to the 1964 spy movie directed by Romano Ferrara (Roy Freemount) and starring Carol Walker, Luciano Marin and Mary Luger. Composed and directed by Piero Umiliani, Intrigo A Los Angeles is one of the best and rarest soundtracks he ever did, with original copies sold for around 600 euro. This de-luxe double lp reissues comes in a beautiful gatefold sleeve that reproduces the original artwork outside and has a reproduction of the original movie poster insi…
Angeli Bianchi... Angeli Neri
**CD version** “Angeli bianchi... angeli neri” is one of the best results of the collaboration between Piero Umiliani and director Luigi Scattini. Filmed in Brazil, “Angeli bianchi... angeli neri” (also known as “Witchcraft 70”) is one of Scattini’s most popular mondo films. However in an exagerated way, as was common at the time, the aim of the movie was to document the world of black magic, devil worshipping and pagan rituals. Through the years it has reached the status of “cult movie” along w…
Il Corpo
*2022 stock* “Il corpo” is the last movie of Luigi Scattini’s trilogy, which started with “La ragazza dalla pelle di luna” (1972) and then continued with “La ragazza fuoristrada” (1973), all skillfully orchestrated by maestro Piero Umiliani. Here we are dealing with an erotic-noir film which has many elements in common with movies like “Ossessione” (“Obsession) or “I diabolici” (Les Diaboliques) and it centres on the relationship between Enrico Maria Salerno and the sensual Zeudi Araya. Inevitab…
Omaggio Ad Einstein
Deluxe LP edition pressed on yellow vinyl and presented in custom "big hole" jacket“Omaggio ad Einstein”, among the many albums of electronic music composed by Piero Umiliani, has a very relevant place. In this homage to the German physicist, Umiliani subverts the rules of space and time in music and creates an album with 23 compositions, all of them less than 2 minutes long, instead of following the traditional 7-10 tracks usually present in an LP. This is an original and experimental albu…
Una Bella Grinta
n amazing set of modern jazz – penned by Italian film composer Piero Umiliani, but also played by a very hip group headed by a young Gato Barbieri! Although Gato's probably best known for his late 60s appearances on the American scene, and his 70s dates for Impulse and Flying Dutchman – his earlier work in Italy is all pretty darn great, and this set shows the budding modernist to be in very strong company with a lineup that includes Enrico Rava on trumpet and Franco D'Andrea on piano, plu…