... LP, Vinyl record album

Two great vocal numbers from Piero Umiliani – the kind of strong English language tunes he used to kick off his best soundtracks of the 60s! Both of these were from the film Orgasmo – and Lydia MacDonald does a great job on "Fate Had Planned It So" – a tune that has cool organ alongside stepping basslines, in the best Umiliani way! "Just Tell Me" is a bit more upbeat and jerky – a nice mod groover with male vocals from Wess – a soul singer that we don't know at all, but who does a great socking soul job with the tune! 7-inch, Vinyl record

We're not entirely sure what "fischiando" means, but we can definitely testify that the album lives up to the "beat" in its title – those kind of groovy, mod tunes we love so much in Italian 60s soundtracks from the great Piero Umiliani! This set's even more obscure than most of those records, though – done for the tiny Omicron sound library, as part of Piero's Sound Workshop series – with a nice mix of jazzy instrumentation on horns, plus a sweet range of keyboards that include Fender Rhodes, Hammond, and even a bit of spinet! Some tunes have bossa rhythms, others are more 60s mod – and the record also features a few sweet bits of whistling and acoustic guitar as well – although the main focus seems to come from the horns and keyboards. Titles include "Yes OK", "Autostop Per Rio", "Fischiando In Beat", "Tokio Blues", "Go Go Go", "Sono Un NJostalgico", and "Samba Mah Na", a great remake of one of Umiliani's famous themes! CD

Sweetly funky and very slinky – this is one of the best early 70s scores by the great Italian composer Piero Umiliani! The record has lots of bubbling electric piano, rumbling electric basslines, warm acoustic percussion, and moody wordless vocals. At some level, the album sounds a lot like the contemporaneous work by the great Italian Fender Rhodes combo Crossfire – but it's also filled with a spacey madness that could only come from the pen of Umiliani! One of the best of the recent Easy Tempo reissues – and very nicely put together, with a consistent sound throughout! Titles include "The Body", "Tidal Stream", "Chaser", "White Sand", "In The End", "Free Life", "Stream", and "Dusken". Schema CD version includes 7 bonus alternate takes – with 21 tracks in all! CD

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... LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing work from the legendary Piero Umiliani – a perfect soundtrack to show the warmer sound of his talents, which are sometimes eclipsed by his weirder electronic modes! The soundtrack's from an erotic film starring sex-goddess Zeudi Araya, but despite the kinky origins of the material, the music's actually got a lot more sophistication than you'd expect – and the score feels more like a Morricone cerebral one than a cheesy sexy one – with dreamy wordless vocals floating around in the mix, and these sweet-stepping basslines that are especially wonderful – setting a slow funk current at great moments, in that Euro easy way of blending some hip bass with warmer strings and other instrumental touches. There's some haunting piano at points, too – and Umiliani has a great way of making the music sound emotive, but never sappy at all. Titles include "Pelle Di Luna", "Addio All'Isola Felice", "L'Ultima Spiaggia", "Seyga Seyga", "Nostalgia Dell'Isola", and "Tanto Tempo Fa". LP, Vinyl record album

Percussion and special effects – a really wonderful blend, especially in the hands of Italian maestro Piero Umiliani! The album's one of Piero's more experimental and electronic outings – done for the Liuto sound library label, with lots of cool production techniques that make the drums and percussion nice and echoey, and just ripe for layers of keyboards and electronics, too! And although the record is experimental, it's often quite groovy – in the best Umiliani manner, with a few funky passages stepping out of space as well – in a blend of acoustic, electric, and cosmic that reminds us of some of the sci-fi soundtrack work of Peter Thomas. Titles include "Ritmi In swing", "Timbales", "Protesta Giovanile", "Bongos In Suspense", "Dinimica In Beat", "Dinemica In Tensione", "Organo In Suspense", "Fascia Metallica", "Battimenti", and "Esplosioni". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Not the sort of psychedelic music you'd expect from an American rock band of the late 60s – and instead, a stunning set of funky genius from Italian soundtrack maestro Piero Umiliani! The record's actually a precursor to Umiliani's famous global score for Sweden Heaven & Hell (Svezia Inferno E Paradiso) – and shares many of the themes that went onto that record, complete with romping funky rhythms, sweet jazzy Hammond lines, and mod fuzzy guitar! Many numbers are upbeat groovers, without any of the longform indulgence you'd expect from psychedelia – and Umiliani draws on his jazz background to allow just the right space for solo instruments to take the lead in the instrumental setting. Titles include "Birra Vermouth E Gin", "Contestazione", "Hippies", "Nel Cosmo", "Stoccolma My Dear", "Notte Di Mezza Estate", and "Viva La Sauna Svedese" – a version of the classic "Mah Na Mah Na". CD

Not the sort of psychedelic music you'd expect from an American rock band of the late 60s – and instead, a stunning set of funky genius from Italian soundtrack maestro Piero Umiliani! The record's actually a precursor to Umiliani's famous global score for Sweden Heaven & Hell (Svezia Inferno E Paradiso) – and shares many of the themes that went onto that record, complete with romping funky rhythms, sweet jazzy Hammond lines, and mod fuzzy guitar! Many numbers are upbeat groovers, without any of the longform indulgence you'd expect from psychedelia – and Umiliani draws on his jazz background to allow just the right space for solo instruments to take the lead in the instrumental setting. Titles include "Birra Vermouth E Gin", "Contestazione", "Hippies", "Nel Cosmo", "Stoccolma My Dear", "Notte Di Mezza Estate", and "Viva La Sauna Svedese" – a version of the classic "Mah Na Mah Na". LP, Vinyl record album

Overlooked genius from Piero Umiliani – a relatively sort record for a soundtrack, but one that packs a hell of a punch on all of its wonderful cuts! Umiliani is in his best late 60s mix of modes here – with some incredible keyboards at a few points, jazzy bossa bits on others, and even some really great vocals from Shirley Harmer on the jazzy title cuts – which almost could be the sort of thing that John Barry would use to start one of his famous James Bond soundtracks! That track is titled "You" – presented here in two versions – alongside "Paranoia M3", "Paranoia M40", and "Paranoia Sequence 1". LP, Vinyl record album

Don't think "romance" – at least not in the sleepy sort of American romance music from the 60s – and think "groovy" instead, and maybe a bit of "sexy" too – as these tunes are pure cinematic gems from Italian composer Piero Umiliani! Like the other volume in this series, this set features some unreleased material, and new remastering for all the cuts – but the best thing is the way that all these tracks from different films work together so wonderfully – with sweet bossa rhythms, nice jazzy moments, and some of those moments of sonic genius that always made Umiliani way more than just a musician. 20 tracks in all – with work done for films that include Il Comandante, Tutto Il Bello Dell'Uomo, Io Tigro Tu Tigri Egli Tigra, La Soldatessa, Colpo Gobbo All'Italiano, Extraconiugale, and La Celestina. CD

An early jazzy soundtrack from the great Piero Umiliani – made even better by some key work from Chet Baker on trumpet and Helen Merrill on vocals! The set was done at a time when both artists were spending some time in Italy – shaping the scene with their presence, and really standing out on a handful of rare recordings like this one – quite different than their American material of a few years before! Baker is especially striking – with lead solos that have a great sense of compression, and a depth of soul that really move beyond the Pacific Jazz recordings. And Merrill is wonderful, too – with that special flavor she only ever seemed to open up when she went overseas – and got to move into more unusual settings. But the real star is Umiliani throughout – balancing modern impulses with late night jazz in a way that really points the way towards his later scores in the 60s – but which is already nearly perfect here! Titles include "Smog" (done in instrumental and vocal versions by Baker and Merrill), plus "Dawn", "Tensione", "Tops", "California In The Summer", "Hollywood Tonight", "Bowling", and "Twilight At Los Angeles". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest soundtracks ever from the mighty Piero Umiliani – sounds initially written for a film that was an international "sexpose" of daily life in Sweden – but which have grown to even greater fame on their own over the years – thanks to the talent of the maestro! The music here is awash in groovy elements – lots of sweet Hammond organ lines, mod basslines, and some especially cool wordless vocals from the choir of Alessandro Alessandroni – scatting away in a great way alongside the instruments, and bringing an added level of breathy eroticism to the whole thing! This special LP version recreates the original Omicron release of the record – with titles that include the two lyrical tracks "You Tried To Warn Me" and "Sleep Now Little One", sung by Lydia McDonald – plus the tracks "Topless Party", "Eva Svedense", "Essere Donna", "La Signora Cameriera", "FotoModelle", and "Le Ragazze Dell'Archipellago". (Note, does not contain the track "Mah Na Mah Na", which is on other versions of the soundtrack – but it appears on the "partner" reissue of Umiliani's Psichedelica from Schema, under the title "Viva La Sauna Svedese".) LP, Vinyl record album

Excellent stuff from the Italian soundtrack heyday of the late 60s! This wonderfully packaged set features work by Armando Trovajoli, Piero Umiliani, Ennio Morricone, Riz Ortolani, Francesco De Masi, and Bruno Nicolai – with tracks from the films Rapporto Fuller-Base Stoccolma, Troppo Per Vivere Poco Per Morire, Tiffany Memorandum, Dalle Ardenne All'Inferno, and Come Rubare La Corona D'Inghilterra. Titles include "Arabella", "Diamond Bossanova", "Tema Di Cristine", "Beat Fuga Shake", "Notte Al Grand Hotel", "The Touch Of A Kiss", and "Argoman Bossanova". 16 tracks in all. LP, Vinyl record album

Sweetly funky and very slinky – this is one of the best early 70s scores by the great Italian composer Piero Umiliani! The record has lots of bubbling electric piano, rumbling electric basslines, warm acoustic percussion, and moody wordless vocals. At some level, the album sounds a lot like the contemporaneous work by the great Italian Fender Rhodes combo Crossfire – but it's also filled with a spacey madness that could only come from the pen of Umiliani! One of the best of the recent Easy Tempo reissues – and very nicely put together, with a consistent sound throughout! Titles include "The Body", "Tidal Stream", "Chaser", "White Sand", "In The End", "Free Life", "Stream", and "Dusken". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing work from the legendary Piero Umiliani – a perfect soundtrack to show the warmer sound of his talents, which are sometimes eclipsed by his weirder electronic modes! The soundtrack's from an erotic film starring sex-goddess Zeudi Araya, but despite the kinky origins of the material, the music's actually got a lot more sophistication than you'd expect – and the score feels more like a Morricone cerebral one than a cheesy sexy one – with dreamy wordless vocals floating around in the mix, and these sweet-stepping basslines that are especially wonderful – setting a slow funk current at great moments, in that Euro easy way of blending some hip bass with warmer strings and other instrumental touches. There's some haunting piano at points, too – and Umiliani has a great way of making the music sound emotive, but never sappy at all. Titles include "Pelle Di Luna", "Addio All'Isola Felice", "L'Ultima Spiaggia", "Seyga Seyga", "Nostalgia Dell'Isola", and "Tanto Tempo Fa". CD features 14 more bonus alternate takes! CD

One of the coolest Italian soundtracks we've heard in a long time – a wonderful set of tunes that moves from slinky, to easy, to groovy, and beyond! The tunes start out bubbling very spare and slow – with floating piano, moog, and other nice bits – and as the record progresses, the sound gets heavier, with some nice funky elements thrown into the mix! The whole thing's a brilliant exercise in understatement – not only one of the best soundtracks by Umiliani from the 70s, but also a perfect example of why we dig Italian soundtracks so much! Titles include "Volto Di Donna", "La Rinuncia", "Il Tuo Volto", "Nostalgia", "Le Ore Che Contano", "Cantata Per Maryam" and more. Schema CD also includes 12 alternate takes – with 24 tracks in all! CD

A gem of a record from the great Piero Umiliani – and maybe one of his funkiest, grooviest projects ever! The set is more sound library funk than soundtrack – and features some very strong keyboard work in the lead on most track – including Fender Rhodes, moog, Hammond, and even Lowrey organ! Other instrumentation is nice and spare – lots of tight and slight rhythms – which lets the keyboards carry equal parts of the groove and the melody, in a really wonderful style! Players on the session include Umiliani on moog and Fender Rhodes, Oscar Valdambrini on trumpet, Giovanni Tommaso on bass, Franco D'Andrea on piano, Dino Piana on trombone, Antonello Vannucchi on Hammond, and Marcello Boschi on flute. The whole thing's wonderful – a deep deep treasure all the way through – and tracks include "Lady Magnolia", "Open Space", "Goodmorning Sun", "Railroad", "Safari Club", "Free Dimension", "Truck Driver", and "Music On The Road". LP, Vinyl record album

Stunning sound library material from Braen's Machine – one of the coolest, grooviest, and most obscure acts that were part of this underground Italian scene in the 70s! Quarta Pagina follows into even more trippier territory than the group's famous Underground album – a wild blend of psychedelic elements with hip soundtrack styles – the kinds of aspects that Piero Umiliani and Alessandro Alessandroni brought to the group, but with an even weirder feel. Track are all nice and compact – no overindulgent jams, but there's still a wonderful range of sounds in the short tunes – and most numbers are vocals, filled with guitars, keyboards, and loads of odd elements – but there also seems to be an Edda Dell'Orso-like singer in a few spots too. Titles include "Frode", "Addescamento", "Rimorso", "Il Covo", "La Vittima", and "Nel Penitenziario". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the coolest and grooviest music we've heard from the obscure Braen's Machine sound library project from early 70s Italy – a record that's less tripped out than its predecessors, and instead has this great style that's heavy on bossa elements and funky jazz! The vibe's a bit like the best Italian soundtracks of the period – especially work by Morricone or Trovajoli – and the group still apparently features contributions from Alessandro Alessandroni, working with Piero Umiliani – which gives the whole thing a very strong soundtrack pedigree! Instrumentation includes some mighty nice keyboards – both Hammond and electric piano – and lots of great production on familiar instruments, which can give things like a snare drum a very odd crackle, or a flute this weirdly spacious sound. Titles include "Movimento", "Dinimica", "Gara", "Passeggiata", "Aspetti Grotteschi", "Esercizi Ginnici", "Ritmica Sportiva", and "Rinuncia". LP, Vinyl record album

On the heels of their Sessomato Experience, Easy Tempo release this compilation of older Italian soundtrack grooves – by Luis Bacalov, Armando Trovajoli, Piero Umiliani, and Piero Piccioni – remixed by modern European mixologists – like Kid Loco, Jazz Brothers, Rainer Truby Trio, Maffia Sound System, and Gak Sato. As with the other projects, the effort is an attempt update some of these funky grooves, and turn them towards the modern dancefloor. This CD version has an extra mix of Umiliani by the High Llamas, a mix of Umiliani's "Mah Na Mah Na" by the Karminsky Experience and a remix of "Sessomatto" by Raphael Sebbag. CD

Soundtrack funk doesn't get any better than this – thanks to a head-expanding of tracks from the Italian scene of the 60s and 70s – served up with the usual ear for a great cut by the folks at Easy Tempo! The groove here is far from the "easy" you might expect – and most numbers have tight drums, funky basslines, and other heavy elements – all put together with an approach to the music that's far different than anything happening in the US at the time, especially in the way the instruments sound in the end – and in the way that the production techniques make them do really crazy things! Titles include "Parangua" by Luiz Bacalov, "Flirt a Rio" by Piero Umiliani, "Side Sleep" by Berto Pisano, "Little Shakie Girl" by Armando Trovajoli, "Tremendous Stars" by Piero Piccioni, "Under Drama" by Giancarlo Gazzani, "Realta No 5" by Stelvio Cipriani, "So" by Lara Saint Paul, "Israelites" by Capuano, and "Citta Viva" by Ennio Morricone. CD

A definite new sound from Italy – served up by one of the hippest groups on the scene at the time! The combo of trumpeter Oscar Valdambrini and tenorist Gianni Basso was easily one of the best of their generation – and here, they're working in a slightly expanded octet mode that features guest work from Swedish baritone sax giant Lars Gullin! The album's great proof of Gullin's ability to slide into any sort of a setting – and his baritone provides a great bottom to the already-dextrous horn interplay between Basso and Valdambrini. Gullin arranged about half the numbers in the set – the rest were scored by George Gruntz or Piero Umiliani – and titles include "Blues For Gassman", "Indiana", "Fascinating Rhythm", "There Will Never Be Another You", "How About You", and "Peter Of April". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful soundtrack from Stelvio Cipriani – penned for this 1969 Italian thriller with psycho-sexual overtones, and done with music that has elements of both! At some points, Cipriani has all the erotic touches of his best early 70s work – but at others, he uses late 60s modes that evoke Morricone and Piero Umiliani, especially the latter's playful use of instrumentation in his more outlandish soundtracks! The music grows a bit more tense as the film moves on, but usually has a sense of lightness overall – and a number of tracks feature wordless vocals, sung either by Edda Dell'Orso or I Cantori Moderni. Titles include "Week End With Mary", "Love Symbol", "Hot Skin", "Chorus & Brass Fugato", "Rendezvous In The Castle", "Femina Ridens", "The Run In The Alley", and "The Shower". LP, Vinyl record album

A great Italian soundtrack from that early 60s stretch when jazz was still a very strong part of film scoring – a mode that's borrowed from the French new wave, but used by Italian composers in cooler, groovier styles – as you'll hear in this excellent overlooked gem! The style is more like early 60s Piero Umiliani or Piero Piccioni than some of the standard work from Carlo Rustichelli – and the composer has a fantastic ear for unusual sounds, the kind of Piccioni inflections of horns with more unusual tones and colors – which continues even on some of the mellower, moodier numbers in the package. This is the first-ever vinyl release of the material – with a whopping 31 tracks in all! LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic little collection – one that gets at a special side of the 70s European scene that wasn't quite prog, wasn't quite art rock, and wasn't quite experimental – but which definitely lay to the left of the mainstream during the decade and really helped set the tone for years to come! The music here is heavy on influences from the German scene, but also features some British tracks too – often in a way that makes a leaner approach to some of the bigger ideas of prog – with a more stripped-down approach, and often a less top-heavy sound – so that these cuts slide right in and sneak up on you with a really subtle sense of power. You'll recognize some of the names here, but the choice of tracks is key – put together by Bob Stanley, who gave us some other excellent "imaginary soundtrack" compilations from Ace. Titles include "Way Star" by Rubba, "L'Eroe Di Plastica" by Toni Esposito, "Tommy" by Focus, "Octave Doctors" by Steve Hillage, "Troupeau Bleau" by Cortex, "Canoe" by Piero Umiliani, "Penny Hitch" by Soft Machine, "Eileen" by Streetmark, "Jennifer" by Faust, "A Morning Excuse" by Amon Duul II, "Pony" by Annette Peacock, and "Don't You Know" by Jan Hammer. CD

A fantastic little collection – one that gets at a special side of the 70s European scene that wasn't quite prog, wasn't quite art rock, and wasn't quite experimental – but which definitely lay to the left of the mainstream during the decade and really helped set the tone for years to come! The music here is heavy on influences from the German scene, but also features some British tracks too – often in a way that makes a leaner approach to some of the bigger ideas of prog – with a more stripped-down approach, and often a less top-heavy sound – so that these cuts slide right in and sneak up on you with a really subtle sense of power. You'll recognize some of the names here, but the choice of tracks is key – put together by Bob Stanley, who gave us some other excellent "imaginary soundtrack" compilations from Ace. Titles include "Way Star" by Rubba, "L'Eroe Di Plastica" by Toni Esposito, "Tommy" by Focus, "Octave Doctors" by Steve Hillage, "Troupeau Bleau" by Cortex, "Canoe" by Piero Umiliani, "Penny Hitch" by Soft Machine, "Eileen" by Streetmark, "Jennifer" by Faust, "A Morning Excuse" by Amon Duul II, "Pony" by Annette Peacock, and "Don't You Know" by Jan Hammer. LP, Vinyl record album

We've heard some funky sounds from Misha Panfilov in the past, but this record is something else entirely – more like a groovy set of sound library electronics from the 70s – the tuneful sort, not the noisy kind – served up in ways that are wonderfully tuneful and extremely playful! The work is like the best music of its sort from Piero Umiliani – always with a rhythm and a melody, and sometimes even a little groove – a great addition to Misha's funk legacy, but with a whole different set of sounds and flavors! Titles include "Spiraalid", "Elu Margid", "Hommik", "Kallistus", "Tagasi Teele", "Eha", "Labi Oometsa", "Luidja", and "Veealune". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest, grooviest Christmas records we've heard in years – a set that's the first-ever effort from Roman Coppola's Molto Groovy Productions – and which has a mod 60s vibe all the way through! The styles here are steeped in the best Italian soundtrack modes from years back – cool keyboards, fuzzy organ, funky basslines, and lots of offbeat instrumentation that really transforms the tunes – almost as if someone like Piero Umiliani or Ennio Morricone recorded a whole album of Christmas instrumentals! The sound is perfect – even better than you might suspect from the cover – and you can take it from us, as we're not easily fooled by "fake" retro projects – and really tip our hat to these guys for getting the instrumentation, arrangements, and production just right. Most titles are familiar songs, but done in very unusual styles – and tracks include "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", "Joy To The World", "Jingle Bells", "Sleigh Ride", "Feliz Navidad", "Little Drummer Boy", "Silver Bells", and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". CD

An amazing treasure for fans of Italian soundtrack music – the fresh discovery of rare material from the vaults of Cinevox Records – one of the most important Italian soundtrack labels of the 60s and 70s! All of the music here is previously unreleased – and runs from full songs to snippets, all laid out in this really beautiful way – so that the package is not only presenting some great grooves from Cinevox, but also tracing a history of Italian cinematic styles – moving back and forth from the 60s through the 70s, with a superb presentation that really has the music sounding tremendous in this setting! These aren't clunky discards, but really wonderful tunes – unused extra material from soundtrack giants who include Piero Umiliani, Armando Trovajoli, Riz Ortolani, Giorgio Gaslini, Piero Piccioni, Gianni Ferrio, Franco Bixio, Enrico Simonetti, and many others – laid out here in a limited package, with 161 titles in all. LP, Vinyl record album