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PIERO UMILIANI
The sound of today. A very strong statement. Yet, fifty years later, it remains undisputed. Today’s sound is Piero Umiliani's manifesto, his will to demonstrate to the world that he always has his finger on the pulsating vein of the world, ready to embrace the heartbeat of the future.
In the summer of 1973, Piero Umiliani, in his futuristic recording studio in Rome, much like Miles Davis for his 'Bitches Brew,' gathered an extraordinary collective of musicians, both old and new guard to measure themselves against some of his compositions.
Besides strongly emphasizing the backbeat, what stands out the most is the timbre provided by his 'electronic instruments,' as he liked to call them. Minimoog, Arp 2600, Fender Rhodes, EMS VCS3, Clavinet, Lowrey organ, Space Echo, self-built envelope filters—machines impossible to see all together in an Italian recording studio at the time and made available to the musicians.
The line-up is stellar; under the name 'Sound Workshoppers,' the 'Wrecking Crew all'Amatriciana' is hidden an impossible mix where Marc 4, Gres and Perigeo are blended, along with a brass section of veterans and pioneers of Italian jazz, all members of the RAI Symphonic Rhythm Orchestra.
Comparing the recordings from the original scores, one can also understand the space left by Piero Umiliani for his musicians. They are free to move, to contribute solutions, to enrich the maestro's music.
The perfectly preserved original masters, once transferred at the maximum possible sampling frequency, allowed for the recovery of many lost frequencies, restoring brilliance and the remarkable low end expertly captured in recording by engineer Claudio Budassi.
Today’s sound was extremely difficult to control and fully render with the mastering technology of that time.
Paradoxically, Today's sound could not sound as I have managed to make it sound today: urgent, majestic, more alive than ever.
In the summer of 1973, Piero Umiliani, in his futuristic recording studio in Rome, much like Miles Davis for his 'Bitches Brew,' gathered an extraordinary collective of musicians, both old and new guard to measure themselves against some of his compositions.
Besides strongly emphasizing the backbeat, what stands out the most is the timbre provided by his 'electronic instruments,' as he liked to call them. Minimoog, Arp 2600, Fender Rhodes, EMS VCS3, Clavinet, Lowrey organ, Space Echo, self-built envelope filters—machines impossible to see all together in an Italian recording studio at the time and made available to the musicians.
The line-up is stellar; under the name 'Sound Workshoppers,' the 'Wrecking Crew all'Amatriciana' is hidden an impossible mix where Marc 4, Gres and Perigeo are blended, along with a brass section of veterans and pioneers of Italian jazz, all members of the RAI Symphonic Rhythm Orchestra.
Comparing the recordings from the original scores, one can also understand the space left by Piero Umiliani for his musicians. They are free to move, to contribute solutions, to enrich the maestro's music.
The perfectly preserved original masters, once transferred at the maximum possible sampling frequency, allowed for the recovery of many lost frequencies, restoring brilliance and the remarkable low end expertly captured in recording by engineer Claudio Budassi.
Today’s sound was extremely difficult to control and fully render with the mastering technology of that time.
Paradoxically, Today's sound could not sound as I have managed to make it sound today: urgent, majestic, more alive than ever.
TRACK LISTING
DISC 1
LATO A
1. Open Space
2. Green Valley
3. Caretera Pnamericana
4.Goodmorning Sun
5. To-day's Sound
6. Free Dimension
LATO B
1. Truck Driver
2. Blue Lagoon
3. Wanderer
4. Lady Magnolia
5. Pretty
DISC 2
LATO A
1. Railroad
2. Country Town
3. Bus Stop
4. Cotton Road
5. Nocturne
LATO B
1. Exploration
2. Tropical River
3. Coast To Coast
4. Safari Club
5. Music On The Road
Born in 1926, Piero Umiliani started his career as a jazz pianist (he occasionally recorded with Chet Baker) and started working on film soundtracks in the late 50s. Known as the man who brought jazz to Italian cinema, he left his mark on a long series of notorious Giallo and Mondo movies, soft sex films and Eurospy thrillers, getting praise for mastering sleazy funk, experimental electronica, or jazzy themes, and making a name among his peers named Ennio Morricone or Riz Ortolani.
It was with the Swedish Mondo "Sweden Heaven and Hell" that Piero landed his biggest hit - the infamous "Mah nà Mah nà" (originally "Hooray for the Swedish Sauna") which was later used in Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Benny Hill and many more.
Originally released in 1976, "Tra Scienza E Fantascienza" finds Piero under his Moggi monicker experimenting with jazz, electronic music, retro-futuristic grooves, minimalism, and soundtrack-ready themes. Always elegant, diverse yet homogeneous, and ahead if its time in the most unpretentious way, Moggi's gem of an album is an absolutely unique piece of music, the perfect soundtrack for a sci-fi movie that doesn't exist.
The album is superbly remastered and can finally be appreciated in all its splendor. Enjoy!
It was with the Swedish Mondo "Sweden Heaven and Hell" that Piero landed his biggest hit - the infamous "Mah nà Mah nà" (originally "Hooray for the Swedish Sauna") which was later used in Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Benny Hill and many more.
Originally released in 1976, "Tra Scienza E Fantascienza" finds Piero under his Moggi monicker experimenting with jazz, electronic music, retro-futuristic grooves, minimalism, and soundtrack-ready themes. Always elegant, diverse yet homogeneous, and ahead if its time in the most unpretentious way, Moggi's gem of an album is an absolutely unique piece of music, the perfect soundtrack for a sci-fi movie that doesn't exist.
The album is superbly remastered and can finally be appreciated in all its splendor. Enjoy!
TRACK LISTING
A1. Cowboy Spaziale
A2. Officina Stellare
A3. Danza Galattica
A4. Salterello Marziano
A5. Jingle N.1
A6. Automa
A7. Tarantellaccia
A8. Bric Brac
B1. Soundmaker Blues
B2. Gadget
B3. Soft Key
B4. Happy Accompaniment
B5. Futuristic Jam
B6. Futuristic Jam
B7. Killer Robot
One of Piero Umiliani's most dancey tracks ever is finally available again on 12'' vinyl, both in its original version and in a special edit retouched by Jolly Mare that further increases its dancefloor potential.
Discomania was recorded by Umiliani in 1978 under the moniker Rovi (one of the many aliases he used at the time to avoid saturating the Italian library music market with his name), and sounds wonderfully in tune with the then-emerging cosmic disco scene, brimming as it is with Afro, disco and black music influences. In short, it was expressly conceived as music fit for the discos of the time (or the idea that Umiliani had of them). Moreover, Discomania enjoys a special place in Italian pop culture, having entered the collective imagination of national TV viewers between 1981-1987, when it was used as the closing theme song for RAI television football program 90° minuto.
This single launches RELOVED, a new series from Four Flies in which accomplished DJs and producers rework tunes from Italian golden age soundtracks and library music.
Choosing Piero Umiliani for the first release in the series was almost inevitable. Four Flies has devoted much of its archival music research and restoration efforts to the Florentine composer, contributing to expand his discography with two compilations featuring plenty of previously unreleased music (Studio Umiliani and L'Uomo Elettronico), as well as with various represses of seminal albums, the most recent of which is the library LP Paesaggi.
And who better than Jolly Mare, one of the label's greatest friends and collaborators, to put a contemporary spin on Umiliani's original track? As previously shown in Alessandro Alessandroni's Afro Discoteca Reworked and Giuliano Sorgini's Africa Oscura Reloved, the two records out of which the idea for this series was born, the Apulian DJ and music production wizard is perfectly at ease with reworking Afro-cosmic disco sounds.
Starting this autumn, future RELOVED releases will come in two different formats: special-edition 12-inches focussing on individual composers/themes, and 7-inches co-curated by Little Beat More and each containing a rework (on side A) and its original (on side B). The underlying aim is to give new life to absolute gems from the great but still relatively underrated legacy of Italian film and library music, launching them into the world of international clubbing.
Discomania was recorded by Umiliani in 1978 under the moniker Rovi (one of the many aliases he used at the time to avoid saturating the Italian library music market with his name), and sounds wonderfully in tune with the then-emerging cosmic disco scene, brimming as it is with Afro, disco and black music influences. In short, it was expressly conceived as music fit for the discos of the time (or the idea that Umiliani had of them). Moreover, Discomania enjoys a special place in Italian pop culture, having entered the collective imagination of national TV viewers between 1981-1987, when it was used as the closing theme song for RAI television football program 90° minuto.
This single launches RELOVED, a new series from Four Flies in which accomplished DJs and producers rework tunes from Italian golden age soundtracks and library music.
Choosing Piero Umiliani for the first release in the series was almost inevitable. Four Flies has devoted much of its archival music research and restoration efforts to the Florentine composer, contributing to expand his discography with two compilations featuring plenty of previously unreleased music (Studio Umiliani and L'Uomo Elettronico), as well as with various represses of seminal albums, the most recent of which is the library LP Paesaggi.
And who better than Jolly Mare, one of the label's greatest friends and collaborators, to put a contemporary spin on Umiliani's original track? As previously shown in Alessandro Alessandroni's Afro Discoteca Reworked and Giuliano Sorgini's Africa Oscura Reloved, the two records out of which the idea for this series was born, the Apulian DJ and music production wizard is perfectly at ease with reworking Afro-cosmic disco sounds.
Starting this autumn, future RELOVED releases will come in two different formats: special-edition 12-inches focussing on individual composers/themes, and 7-inches co-curated by Little Beat More and each containing a rework (on side A) and its original (on side B). The underlying aim is to give new life to absolute gems from the great but still relatively underrated legacy of Italian film and library music, launching them into the world of international clubbing.
TRACK LISTING
1. Discomania (Jolly Mare Lifting) [feat. Jolly Mare]
2. Discomania (Versione Originale)