Out Sound — All Formats  

One of the most obscure chapters in the career of Ennio Morricone – important avant garde work recorded in the mid 60s, just at a point when he was beginning to rise in soundtrack fame! The ensemble is a key Italian modernist group featuring Morricone, Giovanni Piazza, Mario Bertoncini, Egisto Macchi, Gualtiero Branch, Jesus Villa Rojo, and Francesco Evangelisti – mostly classically-trained musicians, but working here in a set of improvisations that are extremely spare, and which are very much at the lower end of the sound spectrum. Many of the sounds on the set are right at the frontiers of hearing – and others, while more present, disappear as quickly as they emerge – further enforcing the mystery and mood of the record. And while the overall style is quite different than Morricone's soundtrack work, the group was clearly a key testing ground for his ideas of sound and space that emerged later. Titles include "Soup", "Scratch", "Settimino", and "Eflot".

A classic 70s outing from The Gruppo Di Improvisazione – historically important Italian avant collective, similar to AMM or MEV – with a really groundbreaking approach to their sound! We say "sound" here instead of "music" – because the album's filled with dark textures and subtle instrumental touches – more sonic than melodic at most moments, and used in really stark, spare ways. Ennio Morricone's featured on some bracing trumpet lines – and other members include Egisto Macchi on percussion, and Giancarlo Schiaffini on trombone. Titles include "Schema 1, 2, 3" and "Ommagio A Giancinto Scelsi".

A set of performances dedicated to Thelonious Monk – yet music that's quite far from anything by Monk that we've ever heard before! Yet there's also a definite Monkish inspiration going on here – a sense of space and timing that resonates in different, often drawn-out ways – performed by the group's twin pianos, handled by Ufuk and Bahar Dorduncu – and percussion by Francois Volpe and Sebastien Cordier. The result is more avant compositional than jazz, yet the performance here is key too – on performances of compositions that include Oliver Schneller's "Resonant Space", Guillermo Gregorio's "Construction In Four Parts", Fabrizio Rat Ferrero's "L'Abito Non FaIl Monaco", and Stefan Wirth's "Standards".

Two amazing albums from sound library maestro Patrice Sciortino – experimental, but also pretty darn groovy too! Percuplusions features tunes that often mix odd rhythms and weird keyboard parts – sometimes electric harpsichord, sometimes an instrument that may well be prepared piano – used in a way that's every bit as rhythmic as the percussion! There's a core rootsy feel to the music that's almost like some of Moondog's 50s recordings – although the overall approach has more of a French avant style as well – like some of the late 60s records coming out on Philips, issued here on the Limelight electronic series. Titles include "Isogones", "Natcos", "Wood Wood", "Cryptile", "Ronces", and "Matic". Next is Gynorhymies 1 – a record that sounds like it's got sort of a dirty title, but which was actually composed for dance excercises – although exercises of a very offbeat nature! The music is a nice blend of acoustic percussion and some electric touches – the latter of which are usually used sparely, mostly on keyboard, and folded into the percussion – so that the music is very rhythmic throughout! The CD features all the short tracks from the original album – plus some bonus tracks as well – 44 titles in all, and almost 80 minutes of very unusual sounds!

Avant vocal work from Demetrio Stratos – a performer whose style has roots in older Dada voice experiments of the early 20th Century, but which really pushes into bolder, wilder territory too! Demetrio never sings, but instead gets sounds from his voice that are almost instrument-like or sound-effects at times – recorded here with overdubbing and a bit of added synthesizer from Paolo Tofani – in ways that are magically weird and wonderful. A few points have the voice taking on some slightly familiar qualities, but most sounds are relatively abstract, although still quite beautiful. Titles include "Segmenti" in four parts on side one, plus "Mirologhi 1 & 2", and "Metrodora".