PIERO UMILIANI - CONTINENTE NERO

 

 

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Track 1 - Rivoluzionari

Track 2 - Nel Villaggio

Track 3 - Nuove Realta

Track 4 - Antiche Tradizioni

Track 5 - Nuovi Fermenti

Track 6 - Sole Percussioni

Track 7 - Piffero Africano

Track 8 - Continente Nero

Track 9 - Riscossa

Track 10 - Ultimo Stregone

Track 11 - Continente Nero

Track 12 - Preparativi

Track 13 - Oasi

Track 14 - Tribalismo

Track 15 - Giorno Di Mercato

Track 16 - Flauto Africano

 

Piero Umiliani combines tribal music and esoteric jazz on this enjoyable 1975 release from the Omicron label. There's plenty of drama and mystery present with percussion playing a starring role on many of the compositions. It's a solid album with "Tribalismo" and "Nel Villaggio" probably standing out as my favourite tracks. Certainly a must have for those who want to hear another side to the late, great Piero. Thanks to the original uploader and eesywind for the vid. For more Umiliani click here, here, and here!

 

EVEN MORE LIBRARY MUSIC MIXES

I've come across a few more library music inspired mixes since my last post on the subject. First up we have LavLab from the Hostile Sloth Records blog who have produced three themed mixes in a series titled "Shhhh!....It's Library Music". There is the "Funk Edition", the "Lounge Edition" and the "Rockin' Edition". Of course I was immediately drawn towards the Funk Edition and am listening to it as I type this. It's a quality selection which dips into a number of different libraries but the bulk of the tracks appear to be sourced from KPM's and DeWolfe's. I would describe the general mood as being a bit more "groovy" rather than "funky" with lots of uptempo jazzy numbers featured but there's also a raft of fantastic drum beats and breaks scattered throughout ( including the ubiquitous "Hard Hitter" by Keith Papworth" ).

I haven't downloaded the other two mixes yet but I presume they would be of a similar high quality. There's no track listing included and as some of you might already know I'm hopeless at ID'ing tracks, so it might be worth leaving LavLab a message if you're keen to know all the titles.

The next mix comes from DJ Hudson, it's a live set recorded last year and is described as being "midtempo, beaty, relaxed". Almost all the tracks featured have appeared on albums posted at Funky Frolic at one time or another but here they are given more of a hip hop style treatment. It's a bit rough around the edges, sometimes the tracks lurch into one another rather than flowing naturally but the selection is top notch and I'm sure with a bit of refinement it would have been a home run. All the same it's still well worth a listen, you can download the mix here and the track listing can be found below. Enjoy.

Giant’s Causeway – Johnny Pearson
Accadde A Bali – Ararwak
Hula Rock – Lew Howard & The All-Sters
Name Of The Game – Brian Bennett
Lightly Salted – Barry Ungar
Safari Park [Edit] – Stringtronics
Long Wait (from Hawaii 5-0) – Morton Stevens & His Orchestra
Discovery – Brian Bennett
Girl At The Top B – Alan Hawkshaw & Alan Parker
High Diver – Alan Hawkshaw
Bio Rhythm No.3 – Thomas Clausen
Ne Parlons Pas De Rien – Godchild
Mile High Swinger – Alan Hawkshaw
At Risk – David Lindup
The Heavies – James Clarke
That’s What Friends Are For (instrumental) – Alan Parker
Mixed Drums – Andy Loore
Scrabble – Rene Costy

PLONE - FOR BEGINNER PIANO

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Track 1 - On My Bus
Track 2 - Top & Low Rent
Track 3 - Plock
Track 4 - Marbles
Track 5 - Busy Working
Track 6 - The Greek Alphabet
Track 7 - Press A Key
Track 8 - Bibi Plone
Track 9 - Be Rude To Your School
Track 10 - Summer Plays Out

This is a bit of a departure from what you'd normally hear at Funky Frolic. Plone's 1999 release "For Beginner Radio" contains 10 tracks of atmospheric and playful electronic music that at various times reminded me of Air, Jega, Bruce Haack, Portishead, Ego Plum and Tortoise. The middle section of the album particularly impressed me with "Marbles", "Busy Working", "The Greek Alphabet" and "Press A Key" all possessing a creepy vibe which would be well suited as the soundtrack to a haunted fairground. A couple of the songs outstayed their welcome including the plodding last track but anyone who enjoys the aforementioned artists should find something of interest here.

SKEEWIFF - SKEEWIFF VS KPM



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Track 1 - Wild Waters (Keith Mansfield)
Track 2 - Brass, Beats And Bongos (Syd Dale)
Track 3 - Skydive (Keith Mansfield)
Track 4 - Crazy, Crazy (Keith Mansfield)
Track 5 - Daft As A Brush (George French)
Track 6 - Ballroom Beat Bonanza (David Lindup)
Track 7 - The Rat Race (Hawkshaw/Mansfield)
Track 8 - Effortless Elegance (Keith Mansfield)
Track 9 - ASBO (Keith Mansfield)
Track 10 - Shopping On Acid (Laurie Johnson)
Track 11 - Bossa Del Flamingo (Syd Dale)
Track 12 - Fly Funk (Parker/Bell)
Track 13 - The Hawk Shuffle (Alan Hawkshaw)
Track 14 - Boogie Man Beats (Kenny Graham)
Track 15 - Broken Blues (Keith Nichols)
Track 16 - It's Rhythm...And All That Swing! (Alan Moorhouse)
Track 17 - Jitter Boogie (Goodwin/Walter)
Track 18 - Jazz Hands, White Gloves (Dick Walter)
Track 19 - Trad Rags (Keith Nichols)
Track 20 - The Tap Tastic Toe Twizzler (Sam Fonteyn)

Here is another example of a modern day group attempting to breathe new life into 60's and 70's library music while adding their own particular sound. I know a lot of the purists will turn their noses up at such a concept but I think anything that broadens the public's knowledge of these wonderful but often overlooked composers can't be such a bad thing. For those unfamiliar with Skeewiff's work they fall somewhere between spy jazz and Fat Boy Slim with heavy beats combined with funky elements ( in this instance care of the KPM library ).

These kind of projects are always going to be hit and miss but for the most part they've done a pretty good job and I found myself enjoying it more than anticipated. You can click on the link above to listen to the tracks and download them individually ( click on the downward pointing arrows on the righthand side of the page ) or alternatively you can download the first ten tracks here. As always, enjoy!

MUSICA PER SONORIZZAZIONI - ITALIAN LIBRARY MUSIC 1969-1976

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Track 1 - Amedeo Tommasi / Radiazioni
Track 2 - Bruno Nicolai / Diffidenza
Track 3 - Daniele Patucchi / La Dimostrazione
Track 4 - Giuliano Sorgini / Fabbrica Spaziale
Track 5 - Piero Umiliani / Danza Magica
Track 6 -  Silvano Chimenti [Awake] / Colori
Track 7 - Mario Nascimbene / Rito Pagano
Track 8 - Gerardo Iacoucci / Alchemie & Alambics
Track 9 - Amedeo Tommasi [Di Jarrell] / Mondo Industriale
Track 10 - Amedeo Tommasi / Bollicine
Track 11 - Alessandro Alessandroni & Romolo Grano / Per Un Eroe Caduto
Track 12 - Ennio Morricone / Alternance
Track 13 - Armando Sciascia / Calm Sea
Track 14 - Floriana Bozzalla / Vento Cosmico
Track 15 - Giorgio Carnini [Zanagoria] / Diorama e Recitativo
Track 16 - Piero Umiliani / Arabian Synthesizer
Track 17 - Nico Fidenco [Donimak] / Industrial Feeling
Track 18 - Bruno Nicolai / Giano
Track 19 - Fabio Fabor / Caronte
Track 20 - Amedeo Tommasi & Stefano Torossi [Farlocco] / Superpotenza
Track 21 - Romano Rizzati / Azimut
Track 22 -  Piero Umiliani / Pellegrinaggio al Totem
Track 23 - Alessandro Alessandroni / SOS Spaziale
Track 24 - Egisto Macchi / Chanson de la Nuit
Track 25 - Guglielmo Papararo & Vittorio Montis / Jonosfera

This Soundcloud mix by Heroin In Tahiti features a who's who of Italian library music with the likes of Umiliani, Tommasi, Nicolai and Torossi all contributing pieces. The general mood of this collection is dark, brooding and cinematic...in fact you could easily pass the mix off as the long lost score to a 1970's exploitation horror film. Umiliani's "Arabian Synthesizer" provides a brief funky interlude but soon after we're taken back into the night. The linking of the tracks could be a little smoother at times but there's no doubting the quality of the music selected. It's a wonderful and worthwhile journey. For more library music mixes click here.