★Schema Records
Beat Drammatico Underground Pop Elettronico 1973
Simply mindblowing, absolute tip! "A fantastic obscure record, whose tracks simply anticipate Techno and generally Electronic music of the early 70s, including Kraftwerk’s milestone Autobahn, Heldon and Lard Free. A mind-melting opera. While Kraftwerk released Ralph & Florian, and about one year before the releasing of the milestone Autobahn, maestros Sandro Brugnolini and Giorgio Carnini were already experimenting the deep sounds of analogue synthesizer ARP 2600.The set provides some blending F…
Mr. Diabolicus - Mr. Mysterious
**CD version** Given his fascination with obscure and esoteric topics, an interest that lasted throughout his whole career as a composer of library music, Fabio Fabor must have been diabolic and mysterious for real. The Milan-born composer, who passed away in 2011, had always showcased a darker side compared to other fellow musicians of his era. A side that is well portrayed in works like the famous masterpiece “Pape Satan”, or “Satanas”, which is included in the very accessible “B 81” (Serie Us…
Dramatest 1974
**CD version** Absolute music composed for keys which sound is processed in order to obtain particular effects, timbre and soundscape. There would not be other words needed to describe “Dramatest”, a release of experimental library music published in 1974 by Fonovideo and signed by Oscar Rocchi (and his moniker Chiarosi) and Fabio Fabor. Rocchi, an excellent pianist and composer, had worked with heavy weights of Italian jazz such as Dino Piana e Oscar Valdambrini (on their amazing album Afrodite…
I miei stati d’animo
**CD version** Lelio Luttazzi was a multifaceted artist who shined and left his mark as a pianist, musician, conductor and com- poser. A jazz lover, Luttazzi reached fame and success thanks to his brilliant and undoubtable talent. During a career spanning more than 50 years, he established himself as a master of several disciplines such as music, literature and cinema.He started his career in Trieste right after the Second World War. In 1948 he moved to Milan to take on the role of Director at t…
Musica per Commenti Sonori
**CD version** Amleto Armando Roelens, also known under the moniker of Puccio, had a musical career almost entirely devoted to jazz; he was one of the first in Italy to play jazz music with his orchestra at the end of World War II, a genre that at the time was regarded as a vulgar import from the states. After some collaborations with RAI, the Italian national public broadcasting company, the fortunate encounter with the composer Armando Sciascia led him to write arrangements for many albums rel…
Nell'Anno della Luna
**CD version** A deep mystery surrounds the movie “Nell’anno della Luna” (In the year of the Moon) and its soundtrack, which was released one year later. A beautiful work that lingers in between swing and melodies, in a fad that was popular a few decades earlier, complemented by some elements of novelty borrowed from beat and rock. The title track, “Alla brasiliana” and “Samba Querida” sound more traditional, while titles like “Afro Swing”, “Underground”, “Beatmania” (all featuring the vocal ens…
Musica per Commenti Sonori
CD version. “Musica per commenti sonori” is a cult series within the diverse world of Italian library music. In the late sixties and seventies, the small record label Costanza Records has published several releases precisely focusing on ‘background music’, including works of great composers such as Peppino De Luca, Roberto Pregadio, Franco Micalizzi, Vito Thomas, Giancarlo Thomas, Puccio Roelens, Riccardo Luciani, and by the protagonists of this long-time due reissue: Sandro Brugnolini and Stefa…
B85 - Ballabili “Anni ’70” Pop Country
**CD version** Although library music has always had the purpose of accompanying TV and radio shows, documen- taries and TV news, it is difficult to track down most of these masterpieces composed by some of the greatest composers of those years. Anonymity is one of the distinctive traits of this music genre, being in most cases difficult, if not impossible, to find out where these tracks had been used. The liner notes of these works often spark the reader’s curiosity: the notes are in fact detai…
B82 Ballabili Anni 70 Underground
**CD version** Due to an overwhelming number of reissues and to the steady and meticulous work of collectors and passionate music lovers who have been spreading the word about it, the realm of Italian library music has moved from being some kind of hidden cult to becoming a well defined niche. Authors such as Alessandroni, Umiliani, Sciascia, Tommasi and Sorgini have become more accessible to the uninitiated, while prices of the original presses of their records keep surging.Among the multitude …
B81 Ballabili Anni 70 Underground
Due to an overwhelming number of reissues and to the steady and meticulous work of collectors and passionate music lovers who have been spreading the word about it, the realm of Italian library music has moved from being some kind of hidden cult to becoming a well defined niche. Authors such as Alessandroni, Umiliani, Sciascia, Tommasi and Sorgini have become more accessible to the uninitiated, while prices of the original presses of their records keep surging.Among the multitude of composers th…
Codice d’amore orientale
**CD version** “Codice d’amore orientale” had been often labelled as one of the lowest points reached by the b-movies from the ’70s. Essentially, it is just a genuine attempt to exploit the success of the erotic genre, very popular at the time: the movie tells the story of two young lovers, running away from their families that were against their union. The two are given shelter by a minister of love, who introduces them to the secrets of Kamasutra.Definitely not an art-house film, and surely di…
Sway
**CD version** Sante Palumbo was born in 1932 in Cerignola, a small village near the city of Foggia, in southern Italy. After studying at Foggia’s conservatory, he moved to Milan in 1954. Unlike other musicians who were rapidly recognised by the local jazz scene, Palumbo started to be noticed only at the end of the 60s. At the beginning of his career he was one of the most in-demand pianist for studio sessions. When in 1969 he became part of Giorgio Buratti’s trio, the critics praised him as one…
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 …
La Conquista di Luna
**CD version** A journey into space with a wonderful sound – served up here as a set of cosmic instrumentals from Luciano Michelini, most of which have a pretty groovy vibe! The mix of 60s instrumentation, spacey touches, and light electric moments peppered with cool keyboards or woodwinds, and occasional wordless vocals – all in this way that provides a wonderful 60s fantasy of the moon, and one that's actually a lot more exciting than any of the real moon landing records out there. There is on…
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…
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…
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 …
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 …
Temi Ritmici e Dinamici
**CD version** If you are among those who own the two previous Braen's Machine LPs, Underground and Quarta pagina, you're probably already well aware of one of Italian library music best kept secrets, that is the real identities of those hiding behind the pseudonyms Braen and Gisteri. These were the monikers of Alessandro Alessandroni and Oronzo De Filippi, directed by Piero Umiliani and his record label Liuto. With Temi ritmici e dinamici (Rhythmic and dynamic themes) the plot thickens and give…