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Psyché LP

LP Vinyl Black

Out on May 19th, 2023

TRACKLIST:

A1 – Kuma
A2 – Cumbia Mahàre
A3 – Amma
A4 – Angizia
B1 – Psyché
B2 – Manea
B3 – Hekate
B4 – Kelebek


 

Drop a needle on Psyché’s debut album and you’ll see visions, or rather Mediterranean visions, be they of waves of heat shimmering above dunes of sand, or of women dancing around a bonfire on a rocky plain, or of bushy cliffs overlooking emerald-green and turquoise sea. The name Psyché is of course ancient Greek for ‘soul’ or ‘mind’, signifying the band’s love of psychedelic funk, but also the wide range of Mediterranean influences – from Southern Europe to the Balkan Peninsula, and from Anatolia to the Maghreb – that provide an endless source of inspiration for their hypnotic sound and minimalist style.

Psyché members Marcello Giannini (Guru, Nu Genea, Slivovitz), Andrea De Fazio (Parbleu, Nu Genea, Funkin Machine) and Paolo Petrella (Nu Genea) have been active in the Naples music scene for almost two decades, most notably during the first wave of the new Neapolitan Power movement (Slivovitz, Revenaz Quartet). Over the years they have often crossed paths and collaborated on side projects in various genres (math-rock duo Arduo and, more recently, synth-pop duo Fratelli Malibu), before working together as the rhythm section of Nu Genea’s live band. Following their first tour with Nu Genea in 2018, they started Psyché with the intent of exploring more minimalist styles and making music with just a few elements.

A unique combination of psychedelia, groove and improvisation, the music of Psyché goes back to the roots of our future; it evokes visions of a mythical past, blending centuries-old music traditions and mixing them with modern genres. Like a warm Mediterranean breeze, it travels across lands, seas and eras, distilling essential rhythms and cosmic pulsations.

The album’s opener “Kuma” (titled after the first ancient Greek colony on the Italian mainland, now an archeological site near Naples) is like a vibrant, magical wave. With its deliberately simple harmony and sharp guitar riffs, it travels across the Mediterranean from Italy to North Africa, first lapping gently on Greek and Turkish shores – with some compositional elements reminiscent of Italian pop legend Lucio Battisti – and then speeding up and landing on the driving, syncopated rhythms of afrobeat. While listening to it your eyes fill with images of small white houses shining in the sun, of fig trees heavy with fruit, of spice bazaars and colourful medinas, and you can almost feel the desert wind blowing in your hair.

The journey continues with two examples of Psyché’s bold and elegant approach to contemporary afrobeat and cumbia fusion: “Cumbia Mahàre” and “Amma”. The former combines minimal synths and exhilarating rhythmic patterns of drums, percussion, guitar and bass, drawing us into the movements of an imaginary ritual dance (the term mahàre was used in Southern Italian dialects to indicate witches). Next is the cinematic and mysterious ambiance of “Angizia” (a snake goddess worshipped by the Marsi in ancient Italy), another fascinating mixture of different sonic traditions and cultures where hip-hop/funk drums are blended with Maghreb influences, Balkan echoes, and hypnotic, Theremin-like synths that have sort of a sci-fi movie quality to them.

The title track “Psyché”, with its uptempo afro-rhythms, ethereal vocalizations and refined percussion, is almost a manifesto of the band’s style and confirms the freshness of their minimalism, which is not afraid of taking in the sun of lands confined between the sea and the desert. The following “Manea” (named after the Roman-Etruscan goddess of the dead) is an afro-funk number with smooth and introspective dreamy jazz touches, and with an arrangement dominated by a guitar that, dripping notes like drops of water, creates a delicate, cinematic sound. Next, we come to “Hekate” (the Greek goddess of magic, witchcraft and crossroads), a track that fuses psychedelia, spacious Latin guitars and a fast, tight groove. The album comes to a close with the exquisite melodic ballad “Kelebek”, which seamlessly combines hip-hop drums and dreamy guitars, and whose warm, flowing sonorities and evocative atmospheres conjure the image of a butterfly (which is what kelebek means, in Turkish) floating over the Mediterranean and, from there, the world.

Available on LP, CD and digital formats.

 

Electronic Designs

LP Vinyl Black

Out on April 28th, 2022

TRACKLIST:

A1 – Automatic Age
A2 – Mystification
A3 – City Problems
A4 – Spheres
A5 – Trapdoor
A6 – Hastly Chant
B1 – Elastic Points
B2 – Sacred Interlude
B3 – Jazz Motion Study
B4 – Planetarium
B5 – Bottom Up
B6 – Poe’s Clock


 

Entirely remastered from the original analogue tapes and featuring brand new artwork designed by Luke Insect, this Four Flies reissue finally brings back to life one of the most surprising albums from the strange phenomenon that was the Italian library music of the Seventies.

Gianni Safred’s Electronic Designs was released in 1977 on the Milanese label Jump, in their “Music Scene” series, simply as a collection of musical pieces intended for use in television programmes. However, hidden behind a nondescript cover were twelve electronic music tracks revealing a recognizable style of composition; twelve little gems masterly combining experimentation, catchiness and practical functionality thanks to a unified and unique style. Each through a specific mood, these tracks give expression to Safred’s distinctive sound, where irresistible mechanical grooves are over-layered with melodic lines perfectly played on a Polymoog or ARP Odyssey.

A native of Trieste, Safred started out with little swing bands soon after WW2, before eventually playing with great soloists like Django Rheinhardt. Ultimately, it is his background as a jazz pianist that makes Electronic Designs so special. As with other Italian jazzmen who got into synthesizers (above all, Piero Umiliani), Safred’s blend of complex harmonies and (quasi-) bebop virtuoso flourishes, with its obsessive repetitions and refined tone colours, gives a retro-futuristic quality to this library album, whose electronic music islight-years ahead ofthe ‘pop’ electronic music of the time and, in many ways, anticipates the best stylistic features of early-Nineties dance music.

Safred best expresses his experimental verve – and does a great job in creating the ‘electronic designs’ of the title – in “Mystification”, “City Problems”, “Trapdoor”, “Planetarium” and “Poe’s Clock”, all of which unfold through hypnotic beats and sinusoid or square wave explosions. In other tracks, however, the compositional style is less unconventional, with relaxed yet not banal atmospheres (“Spheres”, “Elastic Points”, “Sacred Interlude”), as well as flashes of irresistible groove inspired by Herbie Hancock’s more pop-oriented work (“Automation Age”, “Jazz Motion Study”, “Bottom Up”). The album’s masterpiece is arguably “Hasty Chant”, a detective-funk ride with an unforgettable theme, which manages to pull all of the album’s various strands into a cohesive whole – as a side note, the allusive and apt description of the song on the back cover reads: “Things are happening“.

 

BY NIGHT

12″ Vinyl Black

Out on November 25, 2022

TRACKLIST:
A1) L’ Odore Della Notte
A2) Le Prime Ore
B1) Gipsy Woman
B2) A Tra Poco


Four Flies Records is proud to present its brand new imprint Edizioni Della Notte, which expands the label’s musical range. The sound of Edizioni Della Notte is a sound of twilight atmospheres and moonlit nights, traversing genres from disco-funk to soft rock, jazz-fusion and city pop. It’s the music that creeps out of smoky nightclubs and car cassette radios, breaking the silence of empty streets and offering an escape from metropolitan reality into cosmic-exotic dreamlands.

Quite fittingly, the first official release on Edizioni Della Notte is called By Night. It’s the debut EP of Scerida, a solo project of musician and singer-songwriter Daniela Resconi, and a perfect match for the sound that the new imprint intends to represent.

Its four tracks explore the idea of night as a time of ecstasy and torment, as a land of freedom and imagination but also of delusion, as an accomplice, a friend and an enemy described through feelings and mental states that range from expectation and euphoria to disillusionment and resignation.

Resconi, who hails from Brescia, northern Italy, formerly released music under the moniker Cara and as part of the duo The Loud Vice. Her new alias Scerida, which combines the French term chérie with the Spanish word querida, signals both a revolution and an evolution. “Scerida is a dive into the exotic side of my imagination, into mischevious thoughts, into a crazy night where I lost and found myself again,” she explains. “She is still me, Daniela, but she keeps her eyes wide open on this restless, troubled world to write songs that try to ward off the horror vacui of everyday life.”

By Night celebrates the dark hours as magical and mesmerizing, even when mysterious or dangerous. It evokes images and scenarios cinematically – a taxi passing by and fading into the distance, ice-cold Martinis during a party, whirlwinds of emotion, psychedelic sunrises and neon sunsets – through a stream of consciousness filled with noir-inflected pop, lo-fi vibes, slow hypnotic rhythms, suspended grooves and swelling atmospheres.

ALESSANDRONI PROIBITO

Boxed Set of five 7-inch vinyl records, 300 copies limited edition. Artwork poster included.

Out on November 18, 2022

FLIES 45-32 | AP1

Lato A
dal film INCONTRI MOLTO RAVVICINATI… DEL QUARTO TIPO
A1 – IL QUARTO TIPO

Lato B
dal film INCONTRI MOLTO RAVVICINATI… DEL QUARTO TIPO
B1 – MISTERIOSO SPAZIALE
B2 – TENSIONE EROTICA

FLIES 45-33 | AP2

Lato A
dal film EMANUELLE A TAHITI
A1 – SNAKE DISCO

Lato B
dal film EMANUELLE A TAHITI
B1 – ONE SUNDAY MORNING

FLIES 45-34 | AP3

Lato A
dal film EMANUELLE A TAHITI
A1 – UNO YACHT A TAHITI

Lato B
dal film EMANUELLE A TAHITI
B1 – L’ISOLA DEL PIACERE

FLIES 45-35 | AP4

Lato A
dal film LULÙ LA SPOSA EROTICA
A1 – CHIMERA
A2 – LULÙ 77

Lato B
dal film LULÙ LA SPOSA EROTICA
B1 – STRIP ELETTRICO
B2 – HAREM VOYEUR

FLIES 45-36 | AP5

Lato A
dal film LA PARTE PIÙ APPETITOSA DEL MASCHIO
A1 – CASANOVA SINTETICO

Lato B
dal film LA PARTE PIÙ APPETITOSA DEL MASCHIO
B1 – IMPRONTE DIGITALI
B2 – IL CAVALIERE ELETTRICO


 

 

Boxed set of five 7-inch vinyl records, 300 copies limited edition. Artwork poster included.

All tracks remastered from the original master tapes.

Alessandro Alessandroni is no longer remembered simply as ‘the whistler’ in Morricone’s spaghetti western soundtracks – and rightly so, since he was the key figure behind much of Italian ‘secret music’ from the 60s and 70s, always there in the studio during recording sessions, whether as a multi-instrumentalist or as the leader of session vocal group I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni. Today his pervasive presence and important role has been finally recognized by music professionals and enthusiasts alike, so much so that he is now considered the true father of Italian library music – a genre whose sound he shaped since 1968.
As a film composer, Alessandroni often worked for small productions that had very limited (and often regional-only) distribution, and whose budgets were worlds apart from those in the ‘top league’ where friends and colleagues like Morricone, Bacalov, Trovajoli or Piccioni thrived. Rarely released as a soundtrack, this music ended up, at best, forgotten inside dusty ¼-inch reels or, at worst, disappearing into thin air.

After a string of releases that have brought back to life forgotten or lost works by Alessandroni (Sangue di Sbirro, Afro Discoteca, Lost and Found, etc.), it was pretty natural for us at Four Flies to start delving into a little investigated area of his filmography: his scores for erotic films, the last genre to gain popularity in the flourishing Italian film industry of the 60s and 70s, and perhaps the most extreme too, the one that, by pushing things too far, eventually put an end to that industry and its genres.

So, we’re now very proud to present Alessandroni Proibito, an exclusive boxed set of five 7-inch records. It contains a total of 14 previously unreleased tracks from the soundtracks of 4 soft-core erotic films that included hard-core sequences and, therefore, fell somewhere in-between normal commercial distribution and the underground scene of adult movie theatres.

Taking an artisanal approach to his musical craft, Alessandroni was not afraid of having to deal with spicy subject matter, wobbly productions, implausible plots, improvised actors, or cinematographers who were clearly no disciples of Storaro. And he was so good at making a virtue out of necessity, at turning budget constraints into creative advantages, that he created soundtracks that far surpass the films’ quality, with music that at once captures and elevates the spirit of the erotic genre as if into a condensed symbol.

More specifically, the maestro recorded many of the pieces in a DIY fashion at home, using a 4-track Teac tape machine to arrange his compositions. The Teac allowed him to play different instruments on each track, which meant he could basically put an entire soundtrack together all by himself, or almost all by himself.

These recordings often feature drum machines – which provide that retro, early electronic music vibe – as well as funk guitars and exotic-sounding percussion in the rhythm tracks. In addition, there is an extensive, almost bewildering use of synthesizers to replace solo instruments that would have required a paid session player. On top this minimalist arrangement, Alessandroni layered what he could: some piano chords, a little flute and, most importantly, his signature 12-string guitar phrasing.

The result is just stunning: a unique mixture of electronic music and acoustic instruments, in a style that stops short of kitsch and ranges from cinematic ambient pieces like “Tensione erotica” to disco-funk tracks like “Snake Disco” and “One Sunday Morning”, both of which feature vocals by Alessandroni himself.

Alessandroni Proibito comes with artwork by Eric Adrien Lee and a matching 30x70cm folded poster inspired to the insert-size posters which used to be hung outside movie theatres to attract cinema-goers.

The boxed set is being released in a limited edition of just 300 copies and will never be reissued. First come, first served.

 

 

 

 

 

ANTONICO

LP Vinyl Black

Out on November 04, 2022

TRACKLIST:
A1) Vic’l
A2) Fantasie (Vers. Banda Maje)
A3) Doppia Chance
A4) Italia ’90 (feat. Morfuco)
A5) Quaquaraquà
B1) Sai comm’è (feat. Funky Pushertz)
B2) Vir’ Buon’ view
B3) Gent’ Antic’ view
B4) For’ For’ view
B5) The Revolution Will Not Be Telefonin’


 

TONICO 70’S SOULFUL SIDE SHINES THROUGH IN NEW ALBUM CO-PRODUCED WITH PEPPE MAIELLANO (BANDA MAJE)

The cover of the new album by musician, rapper, DJ/producer and Banda Maje’s co-founder Tonico 70 features an honest, unfiltered photo his mother took of him with a disposable camera – a photo that is as blunt and sassy as hip hop, but at the same time filled with the sweetness of soul music. The style of Antonico is all there, in that shot of a nine-year-old kid that was just beginning to discover and love music – a passion that, as he says now, “has been driving me for over thirty years.”
Coming after many years of songwriting, beatmaking, MCing, live performances and collaborations, this new album, his first released on Four Flies Records, connects the dots between past, present and future, presenting Tonico 70 as a fully-rounded artist rather than just a rapper, and one aware of his own many facets.
Co-produced with Peppe Maiellano, Banda Maje’s other founder, Antonico offers an intimate portrait of Tonico 70, who has put his ‘tough-music-smuggler’ persona aside to let his soulful side shine through, giving us a warm, funk-inspired and very original take on the so-called ‘Napoli power’ sound.
Lyrically too, the album takes us deeper into his world. Here, Tonico 70 evaluates his personal history, speaking about his joys and disappointments, his highs and lows, and the friends and lovers who are or were in his life.
Sometimes his flow is confidential and nocturnal – in “Vic’l”, for instance, where the sound is smooth and sweet, rife with contrapuntal notes and harmonies that are clearly reminiscent of 70s soul, but also in the bluesy rap of “Doppia Chance” and the prayer-like song “For For”. Other times he gets bolder and brasher, like in the reggae-inspired in “Quaqquara Qua”, or in “The Revolution Will Not Be Telefonin”, which is obviously a (cheeky) tribute to Gil Scott Heron.
A number of tracks feature long-time friends and collaborators: rapper Morfuco in “Italia 90” (a funky uptempo song with powerful gospel vocals in the chorus), the Funky Pushertz crew in “Sai Com’è” and, perhaps most importantly, the Salifornian soul-funk collective Banda Maje, who give new life to three songs from the artist’s previous discography: “Vir Buon”, “Gente Antica” and “Fantasie”.
This album shows that Tonico 70 has reached a stage of maturity in his career, one where his music extends beyond rap and hip-hop to incorporate rich instrumentals and multiple genres that carry the echoes of his experiences and encounters in the lively alleys of Salerno’s historic district, and of the people whose lives unfold there, in the heart of the Mediterranean.

 

 

 

SONO COME SONO

12″ Vinyl Black

Out on October 21, 2022

TRACKLIST:

A1 – Sono Come Sono
A2 – Sono Come Sono (Whodamanny instrumental remix)
B1 – Sono Come Sono (Whodamanny remix)
B2 – Sono Come Sono (Whodamanny extended instrumental remix)


CHIARA CIVELLO’S NEW SINGLE ADDS NEAPOLITAN VIBES TO BRAZILIAN FUNK TO CELEBRATE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Four Flies is proud to present a new, exciting single by internationally acclaimed Italian singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Chiara Civello.  Co-produced with Neapolitan pianist, beatmaker and producer Dario Bassolino and with lyrics by Civello and Sicilian artist Kaballà, “Sono Come Sono” is the first Italian adaptation of the Brazilian song “Olhos Coloridos”, a celebration of diversity, mixed roots and inclusion written by Macau and made famous by singer Sandra de Sa. To respect the spirit of the original and its soul-funk sound, Civello decided to produce the song in Naples, a city with many similarities to Rio de Janeiro, including its multicultural history. The result is an irresistible eighties-inspired boogie-funk track brimming with positivity and joy.

The song is out as a DIGITAL SINGLE on 30 September 2022, accompanied by a motion graphics lyric video by Luca Albino with illustrations by Riccardo Gola.

In addition, “Sono Come Sono” comes out on 21 October 2022 as a 12” VINYL MAXI SINGLE containing the song plus three fantastic remixes by eclectic Neapolitan DJ/producer Whodamanny that add groovy and tribal influences to the mix and further enhance its dancefloor potential.

 Civello’s adaptation has been praised by the writer and singer of the original, as well as by another great name in Brasilian popular music:

 “Cada Qual com seu Cada Qual, e muito Respeito pra Liberar Geral…” Chiara has expressed this idea truthfully, beautifully and with dignity. I’m very excited, proud and happy! This is a fantastic version of “Olhos Coloridos”. “Limitar…, é humilhar o Infinito…” Thank you, sister” – Sandra de Sá

“Chiara, I couldn’t contain my emotion when I listened to your Italian version of “Olhos Coloridos”. Beautiful vocals… a beautiful brass arrangement… pure black-Rio! You put colors into my eyes and light into my soul with your magical performance, I have no words. I must really thank you for the joy you gave me. “somos o que somos”, Olhos Coloridos, Sarará Crioulo”” – Macau

“Another smooth and super groovy creation by Chiara Civello, this is a perfect Italian version of the classic Rio de Janeiro soul-funk song, “Olhos Coloridos”, made famous by Sandra de Sá.  It respects the spirit of Black pride contained in the original lyrics but adds to it new sounds and meanings. Well done, Chiara!” – Nelson Motta

MUSIC ON CANVAS

LP Vinyl Black

Out on October 07, 2022

TRACKLIST:

A1 – Minus Vocal Group – Situazione (1972)
A2 – Minus Vocal Group – Afro Vocal (1973)
A3 – Minus Vocal Group – Opening (1972)
A4 – Maripal – Tropical Dream (1973)
A5 – Minus Vocal Group – Southern Traffic (1973)
A6 – Minus Vocal Group – Vocal Blues (1972)
A7 – Maripal – The Island of Secrets (1973)
B1 – Ezy Minus – Etere (1971)
B2 – Ezy Minus – Nuvole che passano (1971)
B3 – The Ezy Minus Group – Discoteca (1973)
B4 – Los Minus Hernandez – Arapuru (1984)
B5 – Minus “Reggae” Group – Savannah Song (1981)


 

EZY MINUS

MUSIC ON CANVAS

While still unknown to many today, Enzo Minuti (1927-2000), aka Ezy Minus, left his unique mark on the kaleidoscopic world of Italian library music. One of the most versatile, skilled and authentic figures in the Bolognese music scene of the mid- to late 20th century, Minuti was a multi-instrumentalist, composer, music producer and recording studio manager, as well as a painter, etcher and graphic artist. He devoted his life to music (especially jazz, a genre that has enjoyed a long tradition in the city of Bologna), so much so that even his visual art was inspired by music.
Born in Genoa, Minuti was raised in Bologna, where he obtained a high school diploma in chemistry. Basically a self-taught musician, he began to play the button accordion – a traditional instrument of northern Italian folk music – when quite young, before developing a preference for jazz and taking up the tenor saxophone, the clarinet and the flute, which would become his instruments of choice (he could sing and play the piano, too). After graduating from high school in 1946, he started performing regularly in local nightclubs and dance halls, which then led him, in the 50s and early 60s, to leave Bologna and tour Italy, Turkey, Germany, Scandinavia and Northern Europe as a professional musician for a number of Italian jazz bands, including a quintet led by Bolognese guitarist Sergio Mondadori. While on tour with Mondadori, he shared the stage with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond (Turkey, 1954-1958) and even jammed for a few nights in a row with Elvis Presley (Munich, 1959). Apparently, Minuti and the rest of the quintet introduced Elvis to two popular Italian songs of the time, O Sole Mio and Torna A Surriento, which the US star subsequently recorded in English as It’s Now Or Never and Surrender, respectively.
Finally back home in the late 60s, Minuti continued his career as a professional jazz musician, eventually releasing or featuring in a number of albums and enjoying particular success as a flutist (his contemporaries praised him as a ‘poet’ of the flute, and he even got his own entry in the Dizionario del Jazz published by Curcio in the late 80s).  From 1979 to 1983, Minuti played clarinet and flute in the Dr. Dixie Jazz Band led by Nando Giardina, which for over 6 decades brought together the best jazz musicians in Bologna and northern Italy (including Italian pop legend Lucio Dalla, singer-songwriter Paolo Conte, and film director Pupi Avati). Over the years, he also performed with the likes of Pepper Adams, Keith Jarrett, Zbigniew Namoslowsky, and Franco D’Andrea.
Perhaps most importantly, in the late 60s Minuti opened one of the first (if not the first) recording studios in Bologna, Studio 67, where he recorded and/or produced artists from a variety of genres, such as pop, folk, rock and jazz (Gino Paoli, Francesco Guccini, Fred Bongusto, Acquaraggia, Dr. Dixie Jazz Band, and others). This is also where, throughout the 70s and 80s, he composed and recorded his own library music under the monikers Ezy Minus, Maripal and Cronomas. The fact that he was based in Bologna is in itself worthy of notice for, at the time, Italian library music was produced almost exclusively in Rome and Milan (most of his output in this genre was indeed released by Kronal, a sub-label of Fabio ‘Fabor’ Borgazzi’s Rome-based Minstrel, and by Music Scene, a joint imprint of Minstrel and Milan’s Jump Edizioni Musicali).
This collection brings together music composed by Minuti between the ‘70s and the early ‘80s. Within this timeframe, his first library compositions can be described as cheerful pop-jazz pieces veering towards either easy listening – with vocal harmonies, jazzy vocalizations, and rhythmic elements from bossa nova, samba and swing – or a more psychedelic style, with the use of chromatism and an experimental rock feel here and there. Later on he also experimented with genres such as reggae and increasingly used electronic instruments (synths, drum machines, loop stations, etc.). However, his playful, light-hearted approach to composition remained unchanged, or was even enhanced, in his later output (which, like his earlier work, features simple musical structures, terse arrangements, and delicate and linear melodies). On a technical note, it is worth mentioning that, not unlike better-known maestros like Piero Umiliani and Giuliano Sorgini, Minuti often used the technique of overdubbing and played most instruments on his tracks (flute, saxophone, organ, piano, percussion), sometimes even singing some of the vocals.
What is perhaps most striking about Minuti’s library music is its great imaginative power, the ease and naturalness with which it evokes images and scenarios in the listener’s mind. This ‘visual quality’ has much to do with his activity as a figurative and abstract artist. Having inherited a passion for art from his grandfather and his father (a professional and an amateur painter, respectively), he taught himself to draw, paint, etch, and exhibited his works in Italy and abroad. Most importantly, he also drew the covers of many of his albums. Almost surrealist in style, these covers are a sort of dreamscapes featuring symbolic objects, shapes and figures. They go hand in hand with his evocative, dream-like music, which offers us an immediate, synthetic representation of an emotion, a situation, or a landscape, and fires up our imagination with visions at once so simple and clear that they remain impressed in our memory.
Music and art were inextricably connected in Minuti’s life. Whatever he saw, heard or laid his hands upon, he had to turn it into song or art.  The title of this collection is a reference to that, and also a way to pay homage to the many-sided personality of an unsung maestro.

 

Discomania (Jolly Mare Lifting)

Out on July 15th, 2022
SIDE A: Piero Umiliani – Discomania (Jolly Mare Lifting)
SIDE B: Piero Umiliani – Discomania (Versione Originale)

 

 

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.

PAISA’ GOT SOUL GATEFOLD 2LP

2LP Gategold Vinyl

Out on June 10, 2022

TRACKLIST:
A1. Alberto Radius – California Bill (1979)
A2. Mario Lavezzi – In Alto Mare (1979)
A3. Beppe Cantarelli – Se Il Mio Canto Sei Tu (1980)

B1. I Ricci – Vienimi A Pigliare (1986)
B2. Eduardo De Crescenzo – Alle Sei di Sera (1981)
B3. Jim Porto – Smettila (Po-Parà) [1984]
B4. Barnaba – Bianco e Nero (1980)

C1. Enzo Cervo – Solo Mò (1981)
C2. Peppino Di Capri – Mo…(1981)
C3. Franco Camassa – Non Andar Via (1981)
C4. Stefano Pulga – La Mia Nave (1982)

D1. Massimo Stella – C’è Una Donna Sola (1979)
D2. Gino D’Eliso – Ti Ricordi Vienna? (1977)
D3. Enzo Carella – Contatto (1981)
D4. Serafini – Se Ti Va Così (1982)


Compiled and conceived by David Nerattini partnered by Pierpaolo De Sanctis.
Between the late 70s and the early 80s, pop music was in a transitional phase. After a return to the roots of punk, rock was morphing into new wave, while disco was rapidly declining and the electronic revolution, already on the rise, was ushering in the transition from analog to digital. This period also saw the emergence and relatively brief flowering of a commercially dominant style that mixed soul influences (especially Stevie Wonder and Ear th Wind & Fi re) , folk/pop songwriting and jazz sensibilities in equal measure, creating a hybrid easy on the ears but also emotionally and musically rich. It was the style represented by artists like Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, Gino Vannelli and Kenny Loggins, who were all influenced by black music. They belonged to a larger trend that took place in all major music producing countries, including Italy where, like so many other things, the style was not merely imported or copied, but reshaped into a specifically local version based on the nation’s tastes and cultural traditions. In Italy, a soulful and sophisticated approach to pop music was embraced not only by established names like Mina, Alan Sorrenti and Loredana Berté, but also, and perhaps most importantly, by an entire generation of writers, arrangers and musicians who had grown up listening to early fusion, to Steely Dan’s refined recordings, and to Quincy Jones’s productions. So, with this compilation we hope to give new exposure to artists and songs that, despite having moderate or little success when first released, must be regarded as among the creative peaks of Italian pop music. “Paisà Got Soul” features pop veterans Peppino Di Capri, Mario Lavezzi and Alberto Radius alongside atypical singer-songwriters (Enzo Carella, Enzo Cervo, Gino D’Eliso), Italo-disco heroes (Stefano Pulga), international hit composers (Beppe Cantarelli, who has co-written for Aretha Franklin and Mariah Carey), Brazilian-born naturalized Italians (Jim Porto) and complete unknowns (Franco Camassa, I Ricci, Massimo Stella).It brings together little gems that in most cases are no longer available on the market, or only available in their original and now very rare vinyl format. We believe they all deserve to be rediscovered today, partly because of the recently renewed interest in “yacht rock”, as this music style has been retrospectively named, and partly because they provide further evidence that Italian artists rework international music styles in creative and original ways.

LA NOVIZIA LP

Vinyl LP

Out on May 6, 2022

TRACKLIST:

1 – INTERNO NOTTE – 3:46
2 – FIORE ROSSO – 4:57
3 – PELLE MORBIDA – 2:43
4 – ATTIMI DI TENEREZZA – 1:43
5 – CAREFREE – 1:42
6 – ATTIMI DI TENEREZZA #2
7 – NIGHT BLUES – 4:17
8 – FREE DIMENSION – 2:21
9 – CANTO NOTTURNO – 4:19
10 – DOLORE E SPERANZA – 1:45
11 – CAREFREE #2 – 1:56
12 – ATTIMI DI TENEREZZA #3 – 1:31
13 – INTERNO NOTTE #2 – 3:31
14 – PELLE MORBIDA #2 – 2:42
15 – ATTIMI DI TENEREZZA #4 – 2:02
16 – ATTIMI DI TENEREZZA #5 – 1:42
17 – DOLORE E SPERANZA #2 – 1:44
18 – CANTO NOTTURNO (Versione Corta) – 1:16
19 – ATTIMI DI TENEREZZA #6 – 1:17
20 – DOLORE E SPERANZA #3 – 2:02
21 – AD GLORIAM – 1:57


Oops, Four Flies did it again! Like other rare Italian gems, Berto Pisano’s La Novizia was long thought lost before the FF team rescued, restored and remastered it from the original tapes. And wow, it’s just one of the best things, if not the best thing, about the 1975 film it was written for – an erotic comedy with melodramatic overtones directed by Pisano’s long-time collaborator Giuliano Biagetti (they previously worked together on Interrabang and La Svergognata) and starring a young and mesmerizing Gloria Guida.The film’s low budget meant that Pisano had to make a virtue out of necessity. Rather than using a big orchestra and strings (as is well known, he was a brilliant conductor and string arranger), he relied on a smaller ensemble – almost a chamber ensemble, but with a jazz-like rhythm section – to create sensual late-night soundscapes that exude a downtempo ambience. In a nutshell: smooth, warm, velvety music. The epitome of the lounge sound.

At times, whispered, sexy vocals by (the then ubiquitous) Edda Dell’Orso float dreamily over brushed drums, bass, guitars and electric pianos. At others, we find Italian library heavyweights like Alessandro Alessandroni (whose unmistakable whistle can be heard in “Canto Notturno”) and even psychedelic rock influences, as in the acid distorted guitars, furious drums and crazy synths of “Free Dimension”. At yet other times, we’re taken into more easy-listening territory – “Fiore Rosso”, for instance, offers a wonderfully cinematic example of Mediterranean, rather than Brazilian, bossa nova (did they ever thought of using a spinet in Brazil??).

The secret to the charm of La Novizia is that it encapsulates the Italian erotic sound of the 70s in all of its nuances, from the morbid, to the prudish, to the naïve. Because yes, this is a record of nuance and musicianship. And while the themes are in themselves simple, the fantastic quality of the writing, arrangement and production is a testament to Berto Pisano’s superb talent, style and professionalism.

Finally back to life after decades of obscurity, La Novizia is a thing of beauty – which, as a pretty bright fellow once said, is a joy forever. Don’t miss out on joy.

Comes on vinyl, CD and Digital, with original artwork by Eric Adrian Lee and exclusive liner notes by the Pisano family. All tracks are previously unreleased in any format.

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Vinyl LP

Out on April 8, 2022

TRACKLIST:
A1 – Eva
A2 – It’s OK
A3 – In My Feelings
A4 – What Then
A5 – Interlude

B1 – Ethics Of The Sun
B2 – Somewhere
B3 – Small Great Natural Escape
B4 – Kurbis


The music of Isaac de Martin, aka IKE, blends jazz and electronic influences into warm, smooth, and often cinematic soundscapes. A certain eclecticism is not surprising considering that the Berlin-based composer, producer and guitarist was born in Italy into a musical family with British roots, studied classical guitar, graduated in jazz and went on to develop his personal style through creative experimentation, live touring and collaborative work with artists from a variety of disciplines and countries.

The Great Escape, his second album under the moniker IKE, is a collection of songs and instrumental pieces that have a common theme: the escape from – or possible antidotes to – our present techno-scientific society. It is an invitation to take courage, look into ourselves, and go back to our inner child, seen as the guardian of a world of freedom, imagination, spontaneity and natural rhythms.

The concept for the album first came to IKE in mid-2019, when he started collaborating with American singer-songwriter and actress Sera Kalo. Not only did Sera’s soulful melodies, powerful vocals and heart-felt lyrics beautifully complement IKE’s elegant nu jazz compositions, but the songs they penned together unlocked a specific creative vision. IKE went on to explore and capture it over the next year or so, getting on board great musicians from the US, UK, Scandinavia and, of course, Italy.

Recorded in various locations by IKE himself, the album was mixed by Nene Baratto at Big Snuff Studio, Berlin, and mastered by Fabrizio De Carolis at Reference Mastering Studio, Rome. The stunning artwork is by Italian graphic designer Franz Longhi, who, in line with the album’s concept, created an analog feel by hand painting on Xeroxed photographs.

PAESAGGI LP Limited Edition

Limited Edition Vinyl LP (700 copies) – 1971 album cover, thick tip-on sleeve

Out on February 18, 2022

TRACKLIST:
A1 – Prime nebbie
A2 – Nel parco
A3 – Risaie
A4 – Lungo il canale
A5 – Ciliegi in fiore
A6 – Oriente rosso

B1 – Pianure d’Asia
B2 – Tanto lontano
B3 – Borgo montano
B4 – Laguna tropicale
B5 – Vecchie strade
B6 – Porta d’Oriente

 


Finally putting an end to a long wait for library music lovers, Four Flies Records is proud to present the first reissue of Piero Umiliani’s Paesaggi – a record that, despite remaining for many years pretty obscure compared to other titles in the maestro’s discography, is now regarded by collectors and experts as the gold standard in Italian library music.

Originally released in two versions with different sleeves, the first on Liuto Records in 1971 and the second on Ciak Record in 1980, the album features tracks composed by the maestro himself (under his alias Zalla) and performed by the legendary super-group of Italian session players I Marc 4, this time with Angelo Baroncini instead of Carlo Pes on guitars (which probably explains the name being spelled with a ‘k’ instead of a ‘c’ on the album cover).

The Italian word paesaggi means “landscapes”, and that is exactly what the music in the album has been designed to evoke – a journey of moods and emotions, through exotic and pastoral scenery, with loungey sounds that caress your ears like the song of an enchanted nightingale. Mysterious yet captivating soundscapes transport you to a faraway and peaceful place, possibly somewhere in rural Asia. While listening to the record, you’ll feel as if you are sitting under a pavilion, right in the middle of a tea plantation, enjoying a freshly brewed green tea and watching the calm sunset.

In addition, Paesaggi is paradigmatic of Italian library music and its genre-defying nature. By using a multitude of instruments, such as flute, vibraphone, harpsichord, sitar, gong and others, it brings together a variety of arrangements, styles, and genres spanning from bossa nova to jazz, easy listening to psychedelic, Latin, exotica, and many more.

Under Umiliani’s brilliant direction, the pianos and keyboard instruments of Antonello Vannucchi, the guitars of Angelo Baroncini, the bass of Maurizio Majorana, and the drums of Roberto Podio dance together and – enriched by other instruments played by top session musicians like Bruno Battisti D’Amario (sitar), Franco De Gemini (harmonica), or Franco Chiari (vibraphone)– create the sound that makes Paesaggi so unique.

With the honour of reissuing this masterpiece so many decades since its release comes a responsibility to do full justice to one of the greatest Italian composers of the 20th century and his now celebrated legacy. Four Flies have done their best to put out a record that replicates as closely as possible the value of the original as a cultural artefact, providing Italian library connoisseurs and novices alike with an exquisite sonic, and tactile, experience.

Paesaggi will be available in 3 different formats: Limited Edition Vinyl LP – 1971 album cover, thick tip-on sleeve, 700 copies only; Vinyl LP – 1980 album cover; First ever CD version – 1980 album cover.

PAESAGGI LP

Vinyl LP – 1980 album cover

Out on February 18, 2022

TRACKLIST:
A1 – Prime nebbie
A2 – Nel parco
A3 – Risaie
A4 – Lungo il canale
A5 – Ciliegi in fiore
A6 – Oriente rosso

B1 – Pianure d’Asia
B2 – Tanto lontano
B3 – Borgo montano
B4 – Laguna tropicale
B5 – Vecchie strade
B6 – Porta d’Oriente

 


Finally putting an end to a long wait for library music lovers, Four Flies Records is proud to present the first reissue of Piero Umiliani’s Paesaggi – a record that, despite remaining for many years pretty obscure compared to other titles in the maestro’s discography, is now regarded by collectors and experts as the gold standard in Italian library music.

Originally released in two versions with different sleeves, the first on Liuto Records in 1971 and the second on Ciak Record in 1980, the album features tracks composed by the maestro himself (under his alias Zalla) and performed by the legendary super-group of Italian session players I Marc 4, this time with Angelo Baroncini instead of Carlo Pes on guitars (which probably explains the name being spelled with a ‘k’ instead of a ‘c’ on the album cover).

The Italian word paesaggi means “landscapes”, and that is exactly what the music in the album has been designed to evoke – a journey of moods and emotions, through exotic and pastoral scenery, with loungey sounds that caress your ears like the song of an enchanted nightingale. Mysterious yet captivating
soundscapes transport you to a faraway and peaceful place, possibly somewhere in rural Asia. While listening to the record, you’ll feel as if you are sitting under a pavilion, right in the middle of a tea plantation, enjoying a freshly brewed green tea and watching the calm sunset.

In addition, Paesaggi is paradigmatic of Italian library music and its genre-defying nature. By using a multitude of instruments, such as flute, vibraphone, harpsichord, sitar, gong and others, it brings together a variety of arrangements, styles, and genres spanning from bossa nova to jazz, easy listening to psychedelic, Latin, exotica, and many more.

Under Umiliani’s brilliant direction, the pianos and keyboard instruments of Antonello Vannucchi, the guitars of Angelo Baroncini, the bass of Maurizio Majorana, and the drums of Roberto Podio dance together and – enriched by other instruments played by top session musicians like Bruno Battisti D’Amario (sitar), Franco De Gemini (harmonica), or Franco Chiari (vibraphone)– create the sound that makes Paesaggi so unique.

With the honour of reissuing this masterpiece so many decades since its release comes a responsibility to do full justice to one of the greatest Italian composers of the 20th century and his now celebrated legacy. Four Flies have done their best to put out a record that replicates as closely as possible the value of the original as a cultural artefact, providing Italian library connoisseurs and novices alike with an exquisite sonic, and tactile, experience.

Paesaggi will be available in 3 different formats: Limited Edition Vinyl LP – 1971 album cover, thick tip-on sleeve, 700 copies only; Vinyl LP – 1980 album cover; First ever CD version – 1980 album cover.

Moonbrew + Paolo Apollo Negri | The LEM Tales – Chapter One

Out on 28 January 2022

A1 Project Gemini
A2 Capsule Communicator
A3 EMU
B1 Saturn V
B2 Mercury Seven
B3 Tranquillity Base

Words have a force of their own: a life generated by their meaning and by the imaginary world they refer to; a power increased by the dynamic interplay with other words. Just put ‘Moon‘ and ‘Apollo‘ together, and you’ll be almost inevitably transported to mankind’s greatest adventure: the Moon landing and, before that, the space race between the US and USSR, the early missions, and the incredible technological challenges faced at the time by astronauts and engineers.

It is against this imaginative background that beat-maker and bass player Moonbrew and organist and keyboardist Paolo Apollo Negri conceived The LEM Tales project. Their collaboration, too, is the coming together of ‘Moon’ and ‘Apollo’, and of their two worlds: a sonic universe where hip hop meets funk, pop merges with jazz, old school interacts with new possibilities, and urban and space blend into something new.

The LEM Tales – Chapter One narrates the space race from the American point of view. This vinyl edition, which includes two exclusive tracks (*) not on the digital release, takes us on a journey from “Project Gemini” – NASA’s second human spaceflight program – to “Tranquillity Base” (*) (the site on the Moon where Armstrong and Aldrin landed and walked in July 1969) , through tracks titled “Capsule Communicator” (the individual in the mission control center who maintained communication with the astronauts in space), “EMU” (Extravehicular Mobility Unit, better known as the spacesuit), “Saturn V” (a threestage, liquid-fuelled rocket used between 1967 and 1973), and “Mercury Seven” (*) (the group of seven astronauts chosen for the Mercury Program in 1959).

Inspired by iconic images that are part of our collective visual memory, Moonbrew and Apollo’s first collaborative effort tries to provide a contemporary sonic representation of what the past means to us today – and, perhaps, will mean to future generations. It does so through a feast of vintage synthesizers, transistor and tonewheel organs, string machines, electric pianos, tube amplifiers, obscure analogue devices, electric bass, and modern samplers.

An old-school hip hop approach was used in the first stages of writing the album: individual drums hits from old, dusty records were first sampled and then physically played on real instruments to create patterns and build up the rhythm section. Moonbrew then laid down the electric bass grooves and Apollo layered his dreamy, evocative vintage keyboards on top. The result is a combination of different styles, sounds and genres that is fresh, original and contemporary while being clearly influenced by many musical legends of the past.

The LEM Tales – Chapter One is released by Four Flies in partnership with Record Kicks.

ITALIAN LIBRARY SONGBOOK VOL. 1

Out on 24 November 2021

A1 Jessica Duncan, Alessandro Alessandroni, pAd – Do You Wanna Get Close?
B1 Alessandro Alessandroni – Philadelphia

Four Flies’ new record series, ITALIAN LIBRARY SONGBOOK – Masters of Cinematic Music Reimagined into Song, hopes to build a bridge between the modern and the contemporary. Producers and songwriters from today’s music scene put their spin on hidden tracks and outtakes from the catalogues of Italian soundtrack maestros, reimagining them into new, previously unheard songs poised between pop and club culture – a sound nestled somewhere in between Balearic, downtempo, and organic grooves.

Volume I focuses on Alessandro Alessandroni, a composer whose trajectory is emblematic with respect to Four Flies’ journey as a label and publisher. Despite being best known in his lifetime for his unmistakable whistle in Ennio Morricone’s soundtracks for Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns, Alessandroni was way more than that. He was a refined composer and multi-instrumentalist, and one always ahead of his time. Partly thanks to Four Flies and its contribution to the rediscovery of the Maestro with releases such as the EP “Afro Discoteca” and the compilation album “Lost & Found”, this has become unquestionably clear in the past few years, which have seen his name climb to the top of collectors’ want lists and gain recognition in the international music industry.

This release goes back to one of Alessandroni’s lesser known film scores, Sangue di sbirro (written for Alfonso Brescia’s 1976 poliziottesco Cop’s Blood), where he created his own version of the soul-infused jazz-funk music typically found in 70s Blaxploitation movies.
More specifically, Neapolitan producer pAd and London singer-songwriter Jessica Duncan reimagine the original “Philadelphia”, which appears on Side B and whose title clearly refers to the city that, back in the 70s, saw the birth of (mellow) disco. The result of their collaboration is “Do You Wanna Get Close?” on Side A, a downtempo, jazz-funk and Balearic gem pervaded by warm, sexy and elegant pop-soul vibes that make it a perfect club track to enjoy the night until the early hours of the morning.

To ensure maximum audio quality, the mastering was done by Fabrizio De Carolis at his Reference Mastering studio in Rome’s Prati neighborhood (the same neighborhood that was once the epicenter of Roman library music) while the vinyl cut at the The Carvery, the multiple Grammy-nominated London studio behind some of the best organic grooves records of the past decade. The result is a deep, full, rich and three-dimensional sound that enhances the beauty of both tracks.

The series and volume artwork is by graphic designer and calligrapher Luca Barcellona, an artist used to working with analog tools such as ink, brushes and pencils. He drew inspiration from the world of literature, imagining each release as one of the volumes in an elegantly bound classics book series – an analogy that reminds us of the tactile element that makes vinyl records so unique and precious, while also suggesting the cultural value of a music that aims to connect the legacy of the past and the creativity of the present.

IL TEMPO DEGLI ASSASSINI

Out on December 3, 2021

TRACKLIST:
A1 – Escape*
A2 – In The Space
A3 – Discoteque Music
A4 – In The Country
A5 – Season Of Assassins

B1 – Escape #2**
B2 – Gang Leader
B3 – Dancing
B4 – Upsetting
B5 – Gang Leader – M15***

Vocals on A1 and B6: Sammy Barbot
Lyrics on A1 and B6: Evelyne Verrecchia

* Unreleased vocal version
** Previously unreleased
*** Performed by The Killers


Between the 60s and 80s, Albert Verrecchia played a major role in Italian pop music and on the European disco and Afro-cosmic scene, both under his own name and under the monikers Albert Weyman and Albert Prince. He was the keyboardist of legendary Italian-French r’n’b band I Pyranas, served as a session Hammondist for singer and TV star Raffaella Carrà, and produced the disco trio Belle Epoque as well as the debut album of singer-songwriter Alan Sorrenti.

Among his many incarnations, in the early and mid-70s he also composed a few soundtracks for Italian genre cinema, including for movies such as the poliziottesco Roma drogata, la polizia non può intervenire (Hallucinating Trip, 1975, Lucio Marcaccini) and the erotic drama Tecnica di un amore (1972, Brunello Rondi).

The score he wrote in 1975 for Il tempo degli assassini (Season of Assassins, a film about a gang of criminal youths who terrorize the city of Rome in the already violent 70s) is certainly his most accomplished work in the genre.

Conceived for a small ensemble, it was written almost entirely on the spot in the recording studio. Verrecchia himself played the Moog, and his dynamic and percussive approach to the instrument resulted in a style midway between funk and proto-disco. A modern rhythmic style – or Ritmico Moderno, which is the title chosen by CAM for the LP containing the soundtrack and released two years later as part of a promotional library music series only distributed to film professionals and radio and TV programmers (CML series, cat. no. 131).
One is led to wonder whether it was thanks to that LP that, in 1977, three pieces from the soundtrack found their way into another film about youth gangs, the Spanish Perros callejeros (Street Warriors), written and directed by Jose Antonio de la Loma.

On a side but important note, there’s the added bonus of popular 70s and 80s entertainer Sammy Barbot singing on “Gang Leader” alongside female vocal group Baba Yaga.

What a pity that Verrecchia’s career as a film composer ended here!