There was something strange and disturbing going on in Italy in the ‘70s. It was a tumultuous and visionary period of (post) psychedelic excess. One that was defined, on the one hand, by random acts of terrorism and a heavy military police presence throughout the Italian territory, but also by strobe lights, shattered taboos and extreme gestures. A singular atmosphere that reverberated throughout every aspect of life - from fashion, to design, to television, to fi lm, to literature, to the visual arts, to of course, music.

However, perhaps the area in which this feeling was most pervasive was that of the television soundtrack, made to accompany the TV programs of a country that, although in turmoil, was still vital and creative. The tracks found here are a perfect example of this feeling, and come from the large catalog of what is perhaps the most important Italian label in the industry, Flipper Music, which by the end of the ‘60s had published, through its many labels (RTV, Canopo, Octopus, Deneb, Flower, Flirt), hundreds of now very rare and long out-of-print albums. This music has the unique ability to remind us of that feeling of euphoric tension that permeated an entire country. Musical fears and obsessions…straight from the most absurd decade of the most absurd country in the Western world.