Brought together under the curatorial vision of Four Flies’ Reloved series, Autumn 2021 / Autumn 2001 forges a transgenerational dialogue between eras and continents. The A-side stands as a testament to Gianni Safred’s distinct approach to library music; his 1978 composition, originally conceived on a host of analog synths and sequencers, channels the utopian possibilities of space-age jazz and early electronica. Safred, a Trieste-born adventurer in sound, built his pieces from the nuanced interplay of Minimoog, Polymoog, and Arp Odyssey textures, advancing proto-house and kosmische ideals decades before their wider recognition. His music here pulses with ingenuity, inviting listeners back to a time when electronic experimentation was an act of both imagination and manual dexterity.
On the flip side, Free the Robots—alias of Chris Alfaro—approaches Safred’s material not as museum artifact, but as fertile ground for transformation. Known for his cross-pollination of beat culture, jazz, and psychedelia, Free the Robots employs drum-heavy layers and spatial wizardry, amplifying the driving, loop-based pulses beneath the original’s space-disco patina. His interpretation acts as both homage and update, preserving the elegance of Safred’s motifs while accentuating their hypnotic, future-facing potential. This fresh cut offers a taste of LA’s storied Low End Theory scene filtered through the lens of Italian library music—a fusion that is neither pastiche nor confrontation, but genuinely collaborative in spirit.
The single’s release as part of the Reloved series underscores a commitment to conserving and renewing classic sounds, pairing seasoned pioneers with contemporary innovators. Autumn 2021 / Autumn 2001 is neither a dry exercise in nostalgia nor an arbitrary remix, but an invitation to discover how far electronic jazz and atmospheric grooves can travel beyond their original context. In an era when analog and digital worlds intersect ever more fluidly, this release is a modest but confident statement: that the conversation between yesterday’s dreamers and today’s explorers not only remains open, but can still yield unexpected resonances.
