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LP
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BS 022LP
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Maestro Piero Umiliani returns in the alter ego guise of M. Zalla for the 1974 compositional library piece Mondo Inquieto (Restless World) via his far reaching, experimentalist imprint Sound Work Shop. Ambient tensions are represented via a dramatic cross fertilization of orchestral strings, layered synths and primeval percussion with the Maestro on moody, reflective compositional duties. Stand out cut "Strategia" ("Strategy") harnesses the dopest Wu Tang beats alongside swathes of high end electro blankets and is a sample classic aching to be reworked into further outer cosmos soundscapes. Black Sweat has again transferred the elements of this little known Umiliani microcosm into a respectful reissue via an integration of the stark, haunting sleeve design, laquer cutting from the original master tapes and Umiliani's autograph notes on the project.
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LP
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BS 017LP
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2022 repress. Italian maestro Piero Umiliani, during his period of fascination with psychedelic and electronic atmospheres, composed a good number of musical portraits dedicated, as this title reveals, to the problems of his time. In the early '70s, Italians were worried about the mafia, terrorism, and social conflicts; and one can sense that the music represents these anxieties in its experimental nature. Dark, disturbing, and unique in the long and extremely productive career of Piero Umiliani. And if, in 2015, titles like "Mondo in Crisi," "Problemi Sociali," "Azione Sindacale," and "Mafia Oggi" sound sadly relevant, it's even more surprising to find that the music of Problemi d'Oggi (Problems of Today) still sounds alien and unique. The record, released under Umiliani's M. Zalla alias in 1973, presents various styles, from Pink Floyd atmospheres (or The Braen's Machine, if you prefer...) to compositions characterized by a great use of drum machines and Moog synthesizers. One listen to the beginning of the opening track "Produzione" justifies the words of Sean Canty (Demdike Stare), citing the music as the first techno/trance track in history. But between the grooves of this record, reissued here for the first time, it's easy to find moments that many other artist and musicians -- from The Residents to Aphex Twin and Four Tet -- may have caught during their careers.
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