Four Flies Italy Schallplatten & CDs

Review: The most famous whistler in cinema (so arguably the most famous whistler in the world), Alessandro Alessandroni has contributed to cinema, TV and music with as much influence as his old friend and collaborator Ennio Morricone. He was also making some incredibly innovative electronic compositions on the side, it would seem... These four variations were found in an old archive in his African home and have never, before now, been heard before. From the densely-layered spaghetti-flavoured "Afro Voodoo" to the soft sultry swoons of "Afro Sentiment" by way of the sheer dancefloor pump of "Afro Discoteca", this is a truly remarkable find for Four Flies. Made all the more poignant due to his recent passing, too. You know what to do.

Review: Back in 2017, Four Flies Records unearthed and released a previously unheard "Afro-cosmic funk" EP from Italian soundtrack and library music legend Alessandro Alessandroni. Three years on, they've decided to give the 1978 recording the remix treatment. Bolissa and guests Calibra 35 kick things off with a densely percussive, out-of-this-world take on "Afro-Voodoo", before Pad re-imagines "Afro Darkness" as a chugging chunk of beatdown-disco laden with colossal chords, arpeggio bass and intergalactic electronics. Over on side B the "Jolly Mare Lifting" version of "Afro Discoteca" is a veritable leftfield disco stomper notable for its low-slung bass and spacey Moog lines, while Luca's "Quirky Version" of "Afro Darkness" is the kind of hallucinogenic, Marimba-tinged number that you can imagine Daniele Baldelli playing at the Cosmic Club circa 1981.

Review: Internationally acclaimed Italian singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Chiara Civello unveils a new single, 'Sono Come Sono', blending a mixture of Neapolitan funk and club-infused rawness into four mixes. With the title roughly translating to 'it is what it is', the tune is a true, happy reflection on all things being immutable, and struggle being ultimately futile. Party on!

Review: Flour Flies embarks on a new series of releases entitled Italian Library Songbook where contemporary artists put their spin on great soundtracks of theist. First to add their own new reinterpretations are Neapolitan producer pAd and London singer-songwriter Jessica Duncan. They tackle Alessandro Alessandroni's 'Philadelphia' and turn out something brilliantly soulful: 'Do You Wanna Get Close' is a lush and club ready sound that is backed with the glorious original on the flip side. This is a promising start to what is sure to be a much loved series.

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: Italian saxophonist Gianni Oddi made his name through a series of slickly arranged cover albums for RCA in the early 70s, but amidst the renditions of other people's songs he'd always find space to slip in one or two of his own. Four Flies now press up a fine example as a standalone release, with 'Dreamin' in particular leaning in on sultry sensuality as Oddi lays down the groove for this flawless slice of after-hours funk. 'Geronimo' is a more dramatic affair that leans in on insistent wah-wah guitars and hot n' heavy brass perceived as a tribute to Manu Dibango.

Review: Danno is the renegade master of Roman hip-hop and is part of the pioneering underground crew Colle Der Fomento. The Rebels instrumentals form the basis of his rhymes here while New York hip hop duo The Good People also appear on track two, 'Body Rockin', to bring some classic US styles to this package. Their tune is then remixed by another Italian hip hop legend on Ice One. This then is a package that brings together two different worlds, one more well known than the other for its hip hop, but the Italian team really do represent here and the whole thing fits together like two sides of the same NYC subway line.

Review: Three years ago, Four Flies Records released a previously unknown album from library music composer Guiliano Sorgini called Africa Oscura - a set of dark, intoxicating instrumentals originally intended to soundtrack documentaries. Now they've decided to get it remixed, with the results being shared over two EPs. There's plenty to admire on this second volume. Jolly Mare step up first with a near perfect Afro-cosmic take on 'Afro Sortilegio'-all tribal percussion, doom-laden bass, funky Clavinet motifs and spacey synth sounds- before PAd [sic] delivers the 'Mondo Bali' mix of 'Notte Nella Savala' -a deep, moody and bass-heavy workout with added delay-laden keys. Elsewhere, Quiroga and Dario Bass reinvent 'Oasi Nella Giungla' is a deep synth-funk warmer, and Paine re-casts 'Miraggio' as a gently but funky Balearic gem.

Review: Piero Umiliani aka Moggi, is the man behind Omicron Records and plenty of seminal library records from the 1970s. The Italian jazz musician, most famous also for scoring many film soundtracks, here has one of his most dance-y tracks served up by Four Flies. It features an original version as well as a special edit retouched by Jolly Mare. The original was recorded in 1978 under one of his many other monikers, Rovi, as a way of not over saturating the market with his name at the time. It is a cosmic beats that chimes with the emergence of that sound and still does today.