Italian Experimental Progressive
Palepoli
* Deluxe LP reissue on 180 gr. Clear Red vinyl * Third album, and Osanna best one, "Palepoli", from 1973 sees the band at their peak. The album only contains three long tracks and is housed in a nice gatefold whose inner picture is based on the band live stage background. 18 minutes of sheer heavy progdom is 'Oro Caldo', a raw jambalaya of moody atmosphere, experimental samplings, greasy garage dirt, and some flat out classic symphonic prog with a great-sounding mellotron - and other unique and…
El Tor
* Deluxe LP reissue on 180 gr. Clear Red vinyl * Another band from Naples, and also connected to Osanna, formed by Lino Vairetti and Massimo Guarino when that band split in 1974. But Città Frontale were in fact two different bands, the first one being active in 1970 before Osanna were formed with four of that later band members and Gianni Leone, that left to join Balletto di Bronzo. After first Osanna's split up in 1974, former members Lino Vairetti (vocals, guitar, mellotron, harmonica) and Ma…
La Valle Dei Templi
** Limited edition red vinyl 180 gr. numbered edition ** Perigeo were founded in Rome in 1971: five professional musicians, all of them already largely active in the jazz and rock circuits of those years, who gathered in the studio to wisely blend together the two aforementioned music genres: this is probably the first example of jazz-rock music in Italy, admittedly influenced by Miles Davis and that legendary “Bitches Brew” that just two years earlier had shocked the jazz scene worldwide.Purist…
Non E' Poi Cosi' Lontano
* 45th Anniversary. 180g pressing, Coloured vinyl, numbered edition of 600 copies * A heavy-hitting, full-on jazz-rock progressive record from this Italian group – and probably their most underrated effort of the early years! Perigeo is in great form throughout, with a talent for time and chord changes that displays many years spent woodshedding solos from their biggest influences. Claudio Fasoli's reeds are nice and choppy, and work very well with Tony Sidney's strident guitar parts. Frando D'…
Suddance
High quality vinyl reissue with remastered sound. Osanna are considered one of the best bands to emerge from the fertile Italian prog scene of the 1970s known not only for their excellent blend of various musical genres but equally for the live performances that made them stand out from the pack from the getgo. This band from Napoli formed all the way back in 1970 and was known for changing things up radically on each album with the 1973 magnum opus "Palepoli" still considered one of the greates…
Giro Di Valzer Per Domani
Temporary nicer price * 500 copies, numbered edition. Clear Splatter Vinyl * Originally released in 1975 on Cramps. This is Arti E Mestieri's second album. More dynamic and inspired than their debut title, The sound has not changed much in comparison to the previous album, but it is slightly less raw and vocals prevent from getting much focus on instrumental prowess. Arguably, there is less space for brass instrument and more vocalized sections. Drums are usually more aggressive and fast than …
Juke Box
*White vinyl repress* The highly neglected record by Franco Battiato! Originally intended as the soundtrack for TV movie 'Brunelleschi', it was rejected — allegedly, for being "not appropriate enough". Their loss. It is also the first official collaboration with Giusto Pio, at the time engaged as violinist in the RAI orchestra of Milan, as well as first violin at Orchestra - Teatro alla Scala. Over the following decades, Pio and Battiato formed a close collaborative relationship – chasing each …
Gudrun
* 180 Gr. Vinyl Transparent Red Vinyl. Numbered Edition* Along with the likes of Franco Battiato, Opus Avantra and Piccho dal Pozzo, Pierrot Lunaire were one of the artists that contributed to the small, but artistically significant, avant progressive scene of Italy in the mid-70s. The second album of Pierrot Lunaire of 1977, long out of print, is finally reissued! One of the most important Italian electronic progressive, formed in Rome in the early '70s by Arturo Stalteri and Gaio Chiocchio, th…
Event '76
Wonderfully varied Free Improv, with a nice balance of different elements to keep it interesting (and not overly self-indulgent). One of those elements is Demetrio Stratos' voice, which is put to good use as a wild instrument (complete with duck quacking). It's rare for a band, that features Steve Lacy and Paul Lytton, to pull off free improv so completely convincingly when it is not within their normal milieu, but this performance is a testament to their musicianship and their listening skills.…
Mattanza
* 600 copies, numbered edition. Remastered edition, Orange vinyl *. Napoli Centrale were formed in Naples in 1974 on the initiative of James Senese (sax, vocals) and Franco Del Prete (drums) after their experience in another band called the Showmen 2. They joined forces with American keyboardist Mark Harris and British bassist Tony Walmsley and in 1975 released an eponymous debut album blending in an original way Mediterranean roots and jazz rock. James Senese’s father was an American soldier wh…
Pierrot Lunaire
** Limited edition Yellow vinyl 180 gr. numbered edition ** Stunning 1974 debut album by Pierrot Lunaire full of fantasy in the real sense of the word: sense of wonder, a feeling of journeying through worlds and states of imagination, playful experimentation, and melody above all. An overlooked gem.
Metrodora
180 gr. Red Vinyl. Digitally remastered at 192 khz and 24 bit. From the original master tapes * From the original master tapes, 1st time rpressed on LP. Mere words can’t describe the impact of an album where the only instrument is the voice of Demetrio Stratos (actually, there are few synthesizer inserts played by Paolo Tofani). Originally released in 1976: a unique work where Demetrio Stratos makes any kind of experiments and sounds with his voice, reaching and going over the limit of human cap…
Andre sulla luna
* Edition of 500, remastered * The mastermind behind the sublime Italian cosmic rock group Pierrot Lunaire, Arturo Stalteri's work both within Pierrot Lunaire and here on his solo debut (1979) occupies a perch in that rarified strata of Italian kosmiche godhead that also includes Franco Battiato, Franco Leprino, St. Tropez, Luciano Cilio and a mere handful of others. Absent the contributions that Gaio Chiocchio or vocalist Jacqueline Darby brought to bear in Pierrot Lunaire, keyboardist Stalteri…
Suspiria
This is possibly one of the best experimental progressive records ever made in the Italian golden era. This legendary soundtrack combines elements of electronic music and sound scary effects going far beyond traditional background scoring, becoming an integral part of the film. As critics say nowadays, Suspiria music "is so perfectly integrated into the film, fares less well as a stand-alone item. All that pounding, howling, thumbing, and wheezing is enough to send chills down your spine even w…
Roller
* Limited edition on crystal vinyl. 180 gr. Gatefold Cover * Roller was the second record for Goblin, originally released in 1976, just after the successful score of Profondo Rosso, and is one of the very few Goblin records that was not intended to be a soundtrack. By many considered their best effort, in Roller the band develops their dark, hypnotic and totally instrumental sound, but with an always vivacious and dynamic edge. The record also features new members Agostino Marangolo (from Flea) …
Maxophone
* Limited edition on crystal vinyl. 180 gr. Gatefold Cover * Maxophone, from Milan, formed in 1973 as a six-piece with an unusual assortment of instruments, due to their past experience as music students. A band of great talents and musicianship, their only LP, released in 1975, came too late to compete with the most important Italian bands of the genre and went sadly unnoticed. "Maxophone", released on the Produttori Associati label (along with Duello Madre one of the few ventures in rock reco…
Concerto delle menti
There isn't probably a single fan of Italian Progressive Rock in the world that has never heard of Pholas Dactylus and their only opus (not just a simple 'record', in fact) "Concerto delle menti" (Concert of the minds), originally published in 1973. Pholas Dactylus have left, with Concerto delle Menti, a unique example of avantgarde prog containing only spoken lyrics that can be appealing to the most adventurous listeners even because the musical background is intense and mesmerising; the album …
Dedalus
* Crystal Clear vinyl 180gr. * One of the most experimental bands of the Italian Prog scene, Dedalus were founded at the beginning of the '70s by Michele Bonansone (keyboards, cello, vocals) and Marco Di Castri (guitar, saxophone) in Pinerolo, near Turin.Their first eponymous LP consists of instrumental jazz-rock compositions, influenced by artists like Nucleus, Miles Davis, Soft Machine, Stockhausen and many other musical innovators of the time. "Dedalus" was originally released in 1973, and i…
Aktuala
Red Vinyl. Milestone! Faithful reproduction of the original release! 1973 Aktuala debut, a stunning overall work where you can hear a lot of different musical influences : avant-garde folk, mediterranean blues ,jazz improvisation, minimalism, african percussions, indian ragas all played with a true psychedelic feeling. The album was recorded in a few days in a totally acoustic dimension and the line-up seems to be a quintet of contemporary music more than a progrock group (although this music is…
Agora' 2
Tip! After the moderate success of the debut album "Live in Montreux", Agorà published their first and only studio work in 1976. The possibilities offered by the recording studio seemed more congenial to their proposal, which turns out to be a deeply matured LP, technically flawless and with songs that still belong to the best Italian jazz-rock, with a more intense jazz component at the expense of the progressive one.Unfortunately, both "Agorà 2" and the single "Cavalcata Solare" taken from thi…