Rare Gianfranco Reverberi giallo thriller score reissued by Four Flies Nov 22

Four Flies reissue of Rivelazioni Di Uno Psichiatra Sul Mondo Perverso Del Sesso OST from '73 includes 8 digital bonus tracks. 

Here's the scoop from Four Flies...

Four Flies is thrilled to present the very first release of Gianfranco Reverberi’s hidden masterpiece: a mind-blowing soundtrack, possibly his wildest and most daring. This Italian score is sort of a Holy Grail for fans of the spaghetti sound, especially thanks to the legendary track "Psicolimite". 

In 1973, a mysterious 45 rpm single surfaced under the name ‘Sharon Chatam e la sua Orchestra.’ The single seemed to be a harmless cover of the theme from Last Tango in Paris, complete with a typical image from the film. But behind the innocent facade, a secret was hidden: the B-side track, “Psicolimite,” was actually the main theme from Rivelazioni. When someone in the United States figured this out and realized the ‘Sharon Chatam’ moniker was a pseudonym for Reverberi and his team, the price of the record skyrocketed, making it a coveted collectible. Have a listen below. 

This makes the discovery of the full soundtrack even more exciting, considering that the music Reverberi composed for the infamous film by Renato Polselli - one of the most outrageous and uncompromising Italian genre cinema directors - was thought to be lost forever, perhaps vanished into the depths of some film processing lab. But thanks to the sleuths at Four Flies, this enigmatic masterpiece has been resurrected and presented in all its glory. It's available now as a luxurious gatefold double LP with original artwork by the brilliant Eric Adrian Lee. 

While the film, despite some critics praising it as “psychotronic,” is a bizarre mishmash of rambling pseudo-psychoanalytic theories and sexual deviance voyeurism, the music stands out as a foremost, vital element, able to exist on its own. 

Reverberi’s reputation as a serious, refined producer (for artists like Lucio Dalla, Gino Paoli, Luigi Tenco, and many more), however, led him to keep his distance from exploitation films like Rivelazioni. To maintain his image, he had his friend and former schoolmate Umberto Cannone take credit for the score – a tactic he also used for Polselli's next film, Mania (1974). 

But this anonymity might have unexpectedly increased his creative freedom, for the score he put together and recorded is experimental, at times raw, and driven by a relentless rhythm section where bass and drums lay down the groove. The use of electronic instruments is impressive for the time, with drum machines and spacey synths creating a dark and dreamlike atmosphere. Psychedelic flutes, piano phrases, crazed percussion, filters, compressors, and jazzy improvisations on sax and vibraphone complete the mix. 

The full soundtrack was recovered following the discovery of the original 1-inch, 16-track tapes, which were transferred, mixed, and mastered for optimal listening on both vinyl and digitally, with the digital version featuring 8 bonus tracks. The deluxe double LP reissue is out November 22 – get a copy right here. Read an interview with Four Flies produttore discografico Pierpaolo De Sanctis discussing the Reverberi reissue   on the It's Psychedelic Baby site right here.  

Ella Thompson releases 70s giallo soundtrack-inspired Domino album

Ella Thompson collaborated with Frollen Music Library to get all the right Piero Piccioni moves for her new Domino album.

Here's the scoop...

Ella Thompson’s Domino is a spooky, bittersweet collection of cinematic soul cuts influenced by 1970s Italian 'giallo' film scores, with luminous vocals that draw a line between 60s icons like Nancy Sinatra and contemporary soul artists like Kadhja Bonet. Ella’s effortless singing and haunting lyrics paint angular pictures in the moody darkness. In her words: “The original instrumental of the song ‘Domino’ is titled ‘Swimming in a cold lake at night’ this kind of sums up the feeling of many of the songs on the record….seeing light in dark places, freedom and anxiety of the unknown, curiosity, never regretting a swim and the euphoria you get when you come out the other end.” 

The sparse production is intentionally cinematic, inspired by the music of 1970s giallo films, particularly by composers like Piero Piccioni but comparable to current artists like Adrian Younge or Bad Bad Not Good in a meditative mood. Minimal but propulsive bass and drums know when to hang back, as they do in the title track and when to step forward as they do in the chugging, deep and funky rhythm section work on the single Never Fight The Way You Feel. Choral vocal textures by Ella’s backing vocalists Rita Stach and Hailey Cramer create deep harmonic backgrounds, sometimes sounding like an epic ensemble of voices, sometimes laying down ethereal and delicate parts, almost imperceptible. Nylon string guitar features prominently, creating hypnotic chordal beds as sparse piano and tuned percussion pick out minimal, evocative melodies. 

All the instrumentation used in Domino was created by Frollen Music Library, a sound library music project by the musicians behind Karate Boogaloo, Henry Jenkins, Hudson Whitlock and Darvid Thor, all long term collaborators and friends of Ella’s. When she heard their take on 1960s and 1970s soundtracks, Ella had an immediate creative response: “My ears lit up when I heard these cinematic melodies, and I couldn’t help but turn them into something else for words and voices.” She recorded all her vocals, and those of her backing singers, with Frollen engineer Henry Jenkins in a two day whirlwind, eschewing perfectionism and striking before the magic of the moment faded. The result is sublime. In Henry’s words: “When I first heard what she had written I was floored. She completely reimagined the instrumental pieces of music we had composed and took them to new heights”. 

Ella has returned to making music under her own name in 2023 after years releasing music with her electro pop duo GL and cult indie band Dorsal Fins. One of Australia’s truly accomplished singers, Ella’s range reaches from art music to cinematic soul, jazz and pop. In addition to her solo project and bands she has been a featured artist for numerous acts most notably, deep funk pioneers The Bamboos and Mark Ronson. Domino is available now through Hopestreet Recordings on Vinyl LP & digital formats. Get a copy via Bandcamp right here. Listen to the title track below. 

Death Waltz recirculates 1971 Bruno Nicolai giallo gem

The new Death Waltz sleeve for The Case of The Scorpion's Tail looks drab compared to the original Italian film poster.

For the first time on vinyl, Death Waltz is putting out one of the Bruno Nicolai's sought-after 1971 giallo score for the Sergio Martino thriller La Coda Dello Scorpione aka The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail as a 2LP set (1 LP black/yellow split, 1 LP black & red split). The package also includes a reproduction of the original locadina poster although it seems like the intense original Italian theatrical release one-sheet would've made for a much more exciting sleeve than the ho-hum knife 'n' blood splatter design Eric Adrian Lee came up with. In any case, here's an excerpt from Nicolai's score...

Giallo hommage Berberian Sound Studio opens @ TIFF Bell Lightbox Friday

Equal parts paranoid thriller and loving tribute to the disappearing art of analog sound recording, Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio takes us on a nightmarish voyage behind the scenes of 1970s Italian giallo cinema. Summoned to an Italian studio to record the audio effects for a bloody horror opus, meek British sound engineer Gilderoy (Toby Jones) quickly finds his genteel disposition clashing with that of his alternately boisterous, genial and hostile Italian hosts. As Gilderoy becomes unhealthily submerged in his work, the simulated aural violence (snapping celery stalks standing in for cracking bones, pulverized watermelons for squishing craniums) starts to take on a cruel edge — and as tension in the claustrophobic studio mounts, it becomes clear that the film is corrupting Gilderoy's fragile psyche. A Kafkaesque meta-horror tale set in the lost annals of cinematic history, Berberian Sound Studio plunges us into the blurry meeting point between waking life and nightmares. For information about tickets and screen times click here.

Ghostface Killah goes giallo

Director David Wong draws on 70s Italian horror cinema for The Rise Of Ghostface Killah clip  

Grails salute Bruno Nicolai

Some recent Grails converts who picked up their new album Deep Politics in advance of tonight's show with James Blackshaw at Sneaky Dee's might be surprised to hear Portland's instro-psych whumpers covering All The Colors Of The Dark, Bruno Nicolai's darkly twisted theme from Sergio Martino's 1972 satanic cult thriller Tutti i Colori del Buio. Have a listen:

A fondness for Italian film music isn't something new to Grails, it's actually a formative influence. You can hear the inspiration of Morricone all over their 2003 debut Burden Of Hope (Neurot) even if it wasn't explicitly stated.
As Alex John Hall and crew have slowly let go of the dream of being the new Sun City Girls, Grails have become considerably less self-conscious about openly paying tribute to the touchstone artists who helped shape their sound. While touring back in 2005, they were constantly listening to Gong's You: Radio Gnome Invisible, Pt. 3 and the Flower Travellin' Band's Satori albums on the road and they couldn't care less who knew it which led to their Interpretations Of Three Psychedelic Rock Songs From Around The World  (Latitudes) EP.

Increasingly indulging in yet more psych-damaged explorations on subsequent releases, the Grails returned to their appreciation for the gloomy goodness of Italian film scores – specifically of the giallo horror variety – with 2008's Doomsdayer's Holiday (Temporary Residence) and the proggy fourth installment of their Black Tar Prophecies series for Important from last year. It turns out, that was all just building up to the Grails crowning achievement, Deep Politics (Temporary Residence) which neatly ties up all of their disparate influences in one beautifully packaged coloured vinyl double LP set with an etched fourth side no less.

Deep Politics




I Led Three Lives