Piero Umiliani

Subtitled 'Cosmic Electronic environments from an Italian synth music Maestro (1972-1983)'. Twenty years ago, what is probably still the best collection of music by Piero Umiliani, Musicaelettronica, was released on Easy Tempo (in our opinion, the finest Italian soundtrack label ever). The album, curated by Rocco Pandiani, focussed on the astonishing creative mastery with which Umiliani played around in his Sound Work-Shop studio, where he had all kinds of analogue machines to experiment with. Not only did albums like Musicaelettronica inspire the very existence of Four Flies Records, but our new Umiliani release, L’Uomo Elettronico, follows on precisely from where Musicaelettronica left off. While Pandiani’s selection provided an insight into the playful, lighter side of Umiliani’s electronic music, our release explores its introspective, esoteric side.

Thanks to unwavering support from the Umiliani family, who keeps granting us access to the Maestro’s archives, we have been able to continue a journey we started three years ago with Studio Umiliani, this time unearthing some stunning electronic, cosmic pieces characterized by atmospheric vibes and carefully arranged sounds and sequences. Once again Umiliani emerges as a tireless, versatile composer whose output went well beyond Mah Nà Mah Nà, the hugely popular song that made him eternally famous. The idea behind the album is to view Umiliani’s electronic output as the work of a scientist of some sort – a chemist or master craftsman who created magic in his laboratory or workshop. There is a dreamy, ambient quality at work here: the Maestro builds hypnotic, minimalist sonic landscapes through layers of oscillators and sharp synths, including Moog, Arp, and VCS3. This music could fit equally well in a sci-fi documentary, a post-apocalyptic film, a television report on climate change, or a journey through outer space.

L’Uomo Elettronico features 3 previously unreleased tracks, as well as rarities and hidden gems, all composed between 1972 and 1983 and remastered from the original analogue tapes.