Four Flies Italy Schallplatten & CDs

Review: As part of the RELOVED series from Four Flies - co-curated with fellow indie label Little Beat More - comes one of a handful new reinterpreted versions of Alessandro Alessandroni's 'Tema di Susie', the star soundtrack cut from the 1976 Italian noir film Sangue Di Sbirro. With the film regaling a gangland drama centring on revenge, passion, and the madness of love, Alessandroni's original minute-and-a-half-long cut is an eerily serene counterpoint to its themes and here appears alongside a new remix from French producer Mounika, who fleshes out the original cinematic-soul number's circa-140bpm headnod and serene flauting with beefier drums and wilder piano flourishes; this is a juxtaposition you can hear as clearly as day here, on this A-and-B'd delight.

Review: After the success of the first Alessandroni Proibito box set, which sold out in pre-sale before it even hit the stores, Four Flies is proudly back with Volume 2 of the compilation. This new release too features five exclusive 7" singles, housing a total of ten seriously rare tunes. All previously unreleased in physical format, the tracks have been carefully selected from the soundtracks of five obscure Italian films from the late 70s - sexy flicks that flirted with the line between erotic and explicit, and which are now largely forgotten, having been out of circulation for decades. As was the case with the previous volume of the compilation, Alessandroni's music rises above the films' flimsy plots, improvised actors, and amateurish production, exuding his distinctive touch thanks to the (typically Italian) artisanal approach he took to his musical craft. The composer let his creativity run free, playing with his instruments at home as if he were in his own little amusement park; trying to have fun and produce something entertaining and captivating with just the few means at his disposal.

Review: .The last full length we had from Federico Amorosi and Valerio Lombardozzi, AKA Dressel Amorosi, was a pretty scary place to spend time. Themed around late-mid-20th Century Italian horror movies (see: Dario Argento), the record paid homage to the iconic sounds of that culture, but also refused to simply rehash the past. An atmospheric, spine-tingling collection of suspenseful synth-first stuff, it also benefited from landing around the same time as a new Stranger Things series. A year on and things are now on a slightly less tense route. Spectrum is still looking to offer thanks to the Italian film industry as was a few decades back - specifically for gifting us so many amazing soundtracks. But this time round we're much closer to the glam and glitz of a Roma Italo party than anything like the Upside Down, while still packing depth and atmosphere.

Review: Library musician Giuliano Sorgini originally wrote music for films, TV and documentaries, and between 1974 and 1976 he laid the foundations for this jungly rhythmic opus. Then in 1975, meandering through a series of animal calls and wild forested textures, a series of entrancing rhythmic pieces emerged from the dark. The collectors' favourite Africa Oscura is now reissued via Four Flies, and is the impeccable album from which these two choice, mix-worthy cuts come.

Review: Italy's foremost investigator of 60s and 70s library music and jazz fusion sounds can do no wrong if you ask us. Everything they put out is sumptuous whether it's an old reissue or a new outing. Here we have the pair of bassist Federico Amorosi and keys, synth and programming wizard Valerio Lombardozzi cooking up some brilliant blends of cosmic funk and Italo disco, all with fresh flavours from soundtracks and synthporn from days gone. The A-side is an instrumental with a lush mid-tempo groove and the flip has a more infectious dance sound.

Review: Tema di Susie' is one of the main themes from the soundtrack composed by Alessandro Alessandroni for the 1976 Italian noir film Sangue di sbirro, known in English as Blood and Bullets, as well as Knell, Bloody Avenger (the Susie in the original title refers to the female love interest of the film's hero, who is on a mission to seek revenge for the gangland murder of his policeman father). At once sweet and sentimental, haunting and melancholic, 'Tema di Susie' stands out from the other tracks in the film, which are more action oriented. Like the rest of the score, however, it exemplifies the way in which, during the 70s, Italian film composers created their own version of the sound of American blaxploitation cinema, with its groovy blend of funk, jazz, and soul. Here, Neapolitan duo Fratelli Malibu have taken Alessandroni's melodic theme and woven it into a mesmerizing tapestry of rhythmic beats, world percussion and ethereal atmospheres. Drawing inspiration from funk/Afrobeat, synth-pop and Italo-disco, they've conjured a psychedelic-tinged, afro-cosmic groove that's bound to transport you to another dimension. Doubling that fun comes a vocal retouch version, courtesy of the Italian funk/soul collective Banda Maje, on the B-side.

Review: An Italian library gem reimagined by beatmaker Koralle and rapper Illa J. An indelible new instalment in Four Flies' Reloved series, 'New Levels / Chartreuse', comes bundled with the original instrumental from late 70s Italian ensemble Modern Sound Quartet. With the aim of the series in mind - which is to put a modern and urban spin on tunes from Italian golden age soundtracks and library music - Koralle deploys his unique jazz-funk sound to create a smooth and stylish hip-hop beat to which Illa J adds irresistible swag and coolness. More than a remix, 'New Levels' takes 'Chartreuse' into the world of contemporary hip-hop and rap.

Review: Larry Manteca's Zombie Mandingo album arrived back in 2013 and in the danced plus has only ever been available digitally. Now it makes its debut on wax and remains a bold listen that was devised as a soundtrack to a non-existent exploitation film. It fuses funk, jazz, and Afrobeat influences with plenty of niche cinematic references such as the zombies in Lucio Fulci's horrors and Umberto Lenzi's cannibalistic adventures. The resulting mash up is beguiling to say the least with horror-tinged exotica next to Fela Kuti rhythms and elements of Italian Library music and colourful psychedelia. A boundary pushing work to say the least.

Review: Adding to the niche interest of Italian film soundtrack reissues, centring on the reissuers Four Flies, comes Milano: Il Clan Dei Calabresi - a 7" single featuring two tracks from the 1977 Italian crime film Milano: Il Clan Dei Calabresi. The pieces were composed by Gianni Marchetti, an Italian composer widely known for his work in various genres of cinema. Both the funky, infectious main theme of the film, and the romantic 'La Fine Di Un Sogno' for classical flute and strings, appear on this exquisite artifact.

Review: This is another fine addition to the Four Flies 45 series: it is a first-ever 7" taken from one of the few soundtracks that legendary producer and composer Paolo Ormi ever wrote (namely a rather underwhelming parody of Woody Allen's Play It Again, Sam). He is best known for his mix of Italian funk, disco and library music, both for underground labels but also stars like Raffaella Carra. All three of the instrumentals here are seriously funky - two of them have actually been put out before as part of this label's hard-to-find compilations Esterno Notte and Esterno Giorno.

Review: Latest in the Italian soundtrack reissues crop comes this pair of tracks from the soundtrack of Un Uomo Dalla Pelle Dura (The Boxer), a 1972 film directed by Franco Prosperi and starring Robert Blake and Catherine Spaak. Composed by Carlo Pes - who was also the guitarist of the infamous quartet I Marc 4, who probably played on this session as well - 'The Riff' and 'Bossa Party' are are light-footed, drum-led funk number and a piano-led supernova respectively. Perfect accompaniments for the subject of a disgruntled boxer fighting for his dignity.

Review: Not to be confused with 80s synth-poppers or an early Carl Craig alias, Psyche is in fact a crack team of players from Naples who have been active for some two decades. In more recent times you might have heard Marcello Giannini, Andrea De Fazio and Paolo Petrella playing as part of Nu Genea's touring band, but after their first tour in 2018 they formed this project as a means of exploring a more minimal, flowing approach to playing their chosen instruments. If Psyche is in some ways a back to basics record, it's also a showcase for their incredible talent at weaving gently psychedelic grooves from simple ingredients. The sound has a perfect treatment, with plenty of reverb and analogue warmth in the mix, all the better to savour the laconic instrumental pieces the band perform.

Review: One of Giuliano Sorgini's finest and most sought-after titles, Scappo Per Cantare, is finally available as an official LP reissue, and the first ever to be remastered from the original tapes. Originally released in 1971 on the small library music imprint FAMA - which operated as a sub-label of RCA Italy - the record contains the original music written for Scappo Per Cantare, a small, pseudo-psychedelic 'musicarello' (musical comedy film) broadcast on RAI television. Despite this seemingly innocuous commission, the music - though he's uncredited, it was made in collaboration close confidant Alessandro Alessandroni - is incredibly surreal, and a psychedelic treat for anyone seeking crisp, chordophonal-compositional mastery distilled on record.

Review: Four Flies present another masterpiece from one of the all-time greats of Italian soundtrack and library music, Piero Umiliani. His work on the 1974 film Il Corpo ranks amongst his most famous work, and now two pieces have been selected from the soundtrack and presented on this exclusive single. 'Chaser' on the A side appears in an exclusive extended form which has never been released before, while 'Hard Times' on the flip remains the archetype of Italian jazz-funk perfection. This is a limited edition so don't hang around as these are sure to fly out.

Review: Four Flies continue their mission to plunge Italy's funk-historical depths. The pinnacle of their search so far for the sure-to-exist pearly gems on the sands thereunder is the new Africamore compilation, which homes in like a heat-seeking torpedo on the particular Afro- ends of the funk sound prevalent in the nation, in the crucial years between 1973 and 1978. This period was notable for its facilitating fertile ground for the emerging discotheque market in Italy at the time. From psychedelic-tinged tunes like Jean Paul & Angelique's 'Africa Sound' to Afrobeat-esque club banger 'Kumbayero' by Albert Verrecchia; from groundbreaking Afro-cosmics like Chrisma's 'Amore to mind-blowing floor-fillers like Beryl Cunningham's 'Why O', this is a multivalent compilation, among the best out there to document the burblings of that crosswise stew of disco, funk, electro and world musics.

Review: Continuing Four Flies' dedication to delving into lesser-explored periods of Italian music, Africamore: The Afro-Funk Side of Italy (1973-1978) takes us on a captivating carpet-ride into the intersection of Afro-funk and the Italian soundscape prevalent in the six years between 1973 and 1978 - a time when disco was still in its nascence, and the nightclub market was rapidly expanding. Bottling the critical moment at which DJs such as Dave Mancuso discovered Manu Dibango's 'Soul Makossa' - with classics such like Jean Paul & Angelique's 'Africa Sound' and Nat King Cole's 'Calypso Blues' following as floor-bound hits - all these productions pushed the boundaries of dance music at a time when disco had not yet taken over.