Italian Experimental Progressive
El Tor
* Deluxe LP reissue on 180 gr. Clear Red vinyl * Another band from Naples, and also connected to Osanna, formed by Lino Vairetti and Massimo Guarino when that band split in 1974. But Città Frontale were in fact two different bands, the first one being active in 1970 before Osanna were formed with four of that later band members and Gianni Leone, that left to join Balletto di Bronzo. After first Osanna's split up in 1974, former members Lino Vairetti (vocals, guitar, mellotron, harmonica) and Ma…
La Valle Dei Templi
** Limited edition red vinyl 180 gr. numbered edition ** Perigeo were founded in Rome in 1971: five professional musicians, all of them already largely active in the jazz and rock circuits of those years, who gathered in the studio to wisely blend together the two aforementioned music genres: this is probably the first example of jazz-rock music in Italy, admittedly influenced by Miles Davis and that legendary “Bitches Brew” that just two years earlier had shocked the jazz scene worldwide.Purist…
Non E' Poi Cosi' Lontano
* 45th Anniversary. 180g pressing, Coloured vinyl, numbered edition of 600 copies * A heavy-hitting, full-on jazz-rock progressive record from this Italian group – and probably their most underrated effort of the early years! Perigeo is in great form throughout, with a talent for time and chord changes that displays many years spent woodshedding solos from their biggest influences. Claudio Fasoli's reeds are nice and choppy, and work very well with Tony Sidney's strident guitar parts. Frando D'…
Suddance
High quality vinyl reissue with remastered sound. Osanna are considered one of the best bands to emerge from the fertile Italian prog scene of the 1970s known not only for their excellent blend of various musical genres but equally for the live performances that made them stand out from the pack from the getgo. This band from Napoli formed all the way back in 1970 and was known for changing things up radically on each album with the 1973 magnum opus "Palepoli" still considered one of the greates…
Giro Di Valzer Per Domani
Temporary nicer price * 500 copies, numbered edition. Clear Splatter Vinyl * Originally released in 1975 on Cramps. This is Arti E Mestieri's second album. More dynamic and inspired than their debut title, The sound has not changed much in comparison to the previous album, but it is slightly less raw and vocals prevent from getting much focus on instrumental prowess. Arguably, there is less space for brass instrument and more vocalized sections. Drums are usually more aggressive and fast than …
Juke Box
*White vinyl repress* The highly neglected record by Franco Battiato! Originally intended as the soundtrack for TV movie 'Brunelleschi', it was rejected — allegedly, for being "not appropriate enough". Their loss. It is also the first official collaboration with Giusto Pio, at the time engaged as violinist in the RAI orchestra of Milan, as well as first violin at Orchestra - Teatro alla Scala. Over the following decades, Pio and Battiato formed a close collaborative relationship – chasing each …
Event '76
Wonderfully varied Free Improv, with a nice balance of different elements to keep it interesting (and not overly self-indulgent). One of those elements is Demetrio Stratos' voice, which is put to good use as a wild instrument (complete with duck quacking). It's rare for a band, that features Steve Lacy and Paul Lytton, to pull off free improv so completely convincingly when it is not within their normal milieu, but this performance is a testament to their musicianship and their listening skills.…
Mattanza
* 600 copies, numbered edition. Remastered edition, Orange vinyl *. Napoli Centrale were formed in Naples in 1974 on the initiative of James Senese (sax, vocals) and Franco Del Prete (drums) after their experience in another band called the Showmen 2. They joined forces with American keyboardist Mark Harris and British bassist Tony Walmsley and in 1975 released an eponymous debut album blending in an original way Mediterranean roots and jazz rock. James Senese’s father was an American soldier wh…
Pierrot Lunaire
** Limited edition Yellow vinyl 180 gr. numbered edition ** Stunning 1974 debut album by Pierrot Lunaire full of fantasy in the real sense of the word: sense of wonder, a feeling of journeying through worlds and states of imagination, playful experimentation, and melody above all. An overlooked gem.
Metrodora
180 gr. Red Vinyl. Digitally remastered at 192 khz and 24 bit. From the original master tapes * From the original master tapes, 1st time rpressed on LP. Mere words can’t describe the impact of an album where the only instrument is the voice of Demetrio Stratos (actually, there are few synthesizer inserts played by Paolo Tofani). Originally released in 1976: a unique work where Demetrio Stratos makes any kind of experiments and sounds with his voice, reaching and going over the limit of human cap…
Andre sulla luna
* Edition of 500, remastered * The mastermind behind the sublime Italian cosmic rock group Pierrot Lunaire, Arturo Stalteri's work both within Pierrot Lunaire and here on his solo debut (1979) occupies a perch in that rarified strata of Italian kosmiche godhead that also includes Franco Battiato, Franco Leprino, St. Tropez, Luciano Cilio and a mere handful of others. Absent the contributions that Gaio Chiocchio or vocalist Jacqueline Darby brought to bear in Pierrot Lunaire, keyboardist Stalteri…
Roller
* Limited edition on crystal vinyl. 180 gr. Gatefold Cover * Roller was the second record for Goblin, originally released in 1976, just after the successful score of Profondo Rosso, and is one of the very few Goblin records that was not intended to be a soundtrack. By many considered their best effort, in Roller the band develops their dark, hypnotic and totally instrumental sound, but with an always vivacious and dynamic edge. The record also features new members Agostino Marangolo (from Flea) …
Maxophone
* Limited edition on crystal vinyl. 180 gr. Gatefold Cover * Maxophone, from Milan, formed in 1973 as a six-piece with an unusual assortment of instruments, due to their past experience as music students. A band of great talents and musicianship, their only LP, released in 1975, came too late to compete with the most important Italian bands of the genre and went sadly unnoticed. "Maxophone", released on the Produttori Associati label (along with Duello Madre one of the few ventures in rock reco…
Aktuala
Red Vinyl. Milestone! Faithful reproduction of the original release! 1973 Aktuala debut, a stunning overall work where you can hear a lot of different musical influences : avant-garde folk, mediterranean blues ,jazz improvisation, minimalism, african percussions, indian ragas all played with a true psychedelic feeling. The album was recorded in a few days in a totally acoustic dimension and the line-up seems to be a quintet of contemporary music more than a progrock group (although this music is…
Agora' 2
Tip! After the moderate success of the debut album "Live in Montreux", Agorà published their first and only studio work in 1976. The possibilities offered by the recording studio seemed more congenial to their proposal, which turns out to be a deeply matured LP, technically flawless and with songs that still belong to the best Italian jazz-rock, with a more intense jazz component at the expense of the progressive one.Unfortunately, both "Agorà 2" and the single "Cavalcata Solare" taken from thi…
Atomic System
Finally available again, this rare Italian prog classic! New Trolls Atomic System were an offshoot of the New Trolls, one of Italy's best-known progressive outfits. A messy split between the two main members lead to an uneasy compromise where the splinter faction were known as 'N.T. Atomic System', although initial copies of the album had a sticker on the front with the full name... While the New Trolls were sporadically good, New Trolls Atomic System is a stormer of an album, radiating energy, …
Albergo Intergalattico Spaziale
** 500 copies only reissue, housed in its original artwork with the addition of a bonus 7" EP, a reproduction of a giant original poster and 3 inserts** Giacomo “Mino” di Martino started his musical career in several early 1960s Italian beat bands. By 1968 he had found enormous success with pop superstars I Giganti. After a brief split in 1970 –during which Mino formed Il Supergruppo with Ricky Gianco and other greats of the Italian scene– he came back to I Giganti in 1971. With them and with ne…
Ictus
A real masterpiece....dreamy improvised music with eastern influences and electronics!! "Before his magnificent experiments with electronic music on Elektrictus (previously reissued on Wah Wah), Andrea Centazzo was already an accomplished musician who had issued his recorded works on the PDU and RCA labels. His first release was Ictus, a free-form avantgarde jazz oddessey on which he already started to experiment with electronic generated sounds. Ictus was a band formed by Centazzo, Armando Bat…
Azimut
* 500 copies. 180 gr. Red vinyl, 50th anniversary edition * First album from the one of the best Italian jazz-rock band (formed in Rome in 71), and the first of a few masterpieces in a row, all of them being distinctive from one another. Perigeo has their sound somewhere between Free Jazz, Soft Machine, Nucleus and Miles Davis' Bitches Brew period. Rising on spacey noises, the sublime Posto Di Non Dove starts to grab you with a quiet electric piano over a Floyd-like organ and Tommaso’s superb …
Suspiro
Sister of well known artist Alan Sorrenti, Jenny (or Jane, as she was called in her early releases) was born in Naples from a welsh mother, and formed there the acid folk trio Saint Just. With this band, she released two albums before embarking in a solo career that only produced two more albums in the 70’s.
Jenny Sorrenti’s style as a solo artist is far from her previous bands, being much closer to the song format. Both albums being mainly built on Jenny’s delicate voice; “Suspiro” is the best …