M. Zalla (aka Piero Umiliani) - Problemi D'Oggi (Liuoto Records - LRS 0056) (1973 - 192kbps)

February 4, 2013 Update: For those who aren't aware, we here at Digital Meltd0wn are in the process of re-uploading a ton of albums that were removed when Megaupload was taken down last year, followed by the massive file purge that took place when Mediafire adopted a ridiculously strict new policy late last year. We weren't the only blog affected by these events. A truly massive amount of albums were lost, and nearly every music blog took a tough blow because of this. I consider it to be a true tragedy that hundreds of bloggers decided to call it quits following these two incidents. A blogger that many of you will hopefully be familiar with, øשlqæda, was kind enough to help me out by informing me of the source behind this particular rip. It pains me to see his name in the comments section, as he was the admin of a legendary blog, Holy Warbles, which was removed by Blogger last year. Fortunately, there are still hundreds of amazing blogs which managed to weather the storm, and new blogs popping up each day. This particular album was originally posted by Gianni almost four years ago on one of those amazing blogs that did manage to survive, The Growing Bin (http://thegrowingbin.blogspot.com). The download link has been inactive for a very long time though, and with this being so very rare, I feel obligated to ensure that it remains available to download for anyone who is curious enough to listen. Fortunately, there are plenty of new albums being regularly shared over at the Bin. If you haven't had a chance to stop by the The Growing Bin, do yourself a favor and get your ass over there.

Continuing with our library music marathon, I present to you an extremely rare and obscure album released on the Liuto library label in 1973. The artist credited on this release, M. Zalla, is actually one of the numerous aliases of another prolific composer of production music, Italian composer Piero Umiliani. I was surprised to discover that this was not posted on either The Library Hunt, or 36-15 Moog, two blogs ran by library music enthusiast Paul Durango, which both contained a massive amount of early electronic and library music albums. I plan to post a few more Umiliani albums either this month, or some time in January. I have two important research papers to work on for school tonight and tomorrow, so I don't have the time to write my own review. There isn't much information floating around about this album. This excerpt from Delirious Music contains some basic info about Umiliani, his M. Zaa alias, and the concept of the album.

"A rare and obscure concept Library on the problems of modern life, released on the Liuto label and produced by the master of Italian soundtracks himself, Piero Umiliani, here under his alias M. Zalla. 'Problemi D'Oggi' falls into Umiliani's highly experimental, psychedelic / electronic phase and was recorded in 1973 in the legendary Sound Workshop studio in Rome. the music presented here deeply reflects the pessimistic nature of the issues in charge (social problems, terrorism, world crisis, industrial production, conflicts, mafia), a dark and disturbing listening experience from start to finish with some tracks reproducing the same progressive type of vibe, which Umiliani's Braen project / collaboration with Alessandro Alessandroni got cult status for. while the B-Side is loaded with abstract, minimal electronic soundscapes, the highlights are concentrated on Side A: the weird opener 'Produzione' has a trance-like progressive ambient sound style, a futuristic groover way ahead of its time with a hyperfast bass driven beat, excessive conga percussion and really amazing synthisizer effects. 'Mondo In Crisi' respectively 'Non Mollare' reveal strong dramatic undertones produced by an impressive exchange between trippy Hammond waves and droning fuzz guitar chords over hard drums. very progressive and imaginative, this is delirious Italian Production Music and a feast for the sophisticated, openminded ear! - Delirious Music"

Year of Release: 1973
Label: Liuto
Catalog #: LRS 0056
Genres: Psychedelic, Electronic, Musique Concrète, Experimental
Bitrate: 192kbps

Track List:

A1. Produzione
A2. Mondo In Crisi
A3. Attivita'
A4. Attivita'
A5. Problemi Sociali
A6. Non Mollare
A7. Azione Sindacale
A8. Programmazione

B1. Conflitti
B2. Maffia Oggi
B3. Pendolo Ed Angoscia
B4. Cuore E Raffiche
B5. Metronomo E Cuore
B6. Marcia Ambigua
B7. Terrorista
B8. L'Ultima Raffica
B9. Sowersione
B10. Abbandono Dei Campi

Download: M. Zalla (aka Piero Ulimiani) - Problemi D'Oggi (1973 - 192kbps)
Download Size: 58MB

Egisto Macchi - Futurissimo (St Germain Des Prés - St GDP 117) (1971 - 256kbps)

To be honest I'm a little burnt out on writing at the moment, so this post is going to be a bit shorter than usual. I just finished five 500 word essays for school, along with a 5 page report, which I have been working on since I woke up this morning.

In case you're just now tuning in, I have been running with a dark and twisted library music series the last couple of weeks. One of the first I shared was Egisto Macchi's amazing 1976 library music album, Sei Composizioni, released on the Gemelli label as GG.ST 10.036 in 1976. Now I would like to share my personal favorite from Macchi, Futurrismo. Futurrismo was released on the French label, St Germain Des Prés in 1971. St Germain Des Prés was a sub-label of one of my favorite production music libraries, Montparnasse 2000.

For those unfamiliar with his work, Egisto Macchi was a legendary Italian composer of dark avant-garde and musique concrète library music. Macchi once again brilliantly combines dark, unnerving and broken electronic sounds with abstract traditional musical instrumentation. Foreboding violins, droning electric guitars, Disturbing sounds effects, such as knocking upon a wall, screeching metal, howling winds, shrieking animalistic sounds and strange voices are implemented to enhance the unnerving atmosphere. Macchi takes you on a trip, to a dark, hellish future, one which I will be returning to often.

Year of Release: 1971
Label: St Germain Des Prés
Catalog: St GDP 117
Genres: Library Music, Avant-garde, Experimental
Bitrate: 256kbps

Track List:
A1. Chambre Anachronique
A2. Nouvelles Planètes
A3. Appel Spatial
A4. Moduule Lunaire
B1. Capsule en Panne
B2. Forme Planétaire
B3. Gare Spatiale
B4. Extra-Terrestre
B5. Limite Extrême
B6. Nébuleuses
B7. Bande Radioactive

Download: Egisto Macchi - Futurissimo (St Germain Des Prés - St GDP 117)
Download Size: 61MB

Egisto Macchi - Voix (Gemelli - GG.ST.10.031) (1970 - 320kbps)

Here is yet another amazing dark avant-garde library music LP from Italian composer Egisto Macchi. Many people consider Voix to be his masterpiece. While it is an amazing record in its own right, I personally prefer both Futurissimo and Sei Composizioni, both of which I recently shared on the blog. You can find Futurissimo here and Sei Composizioni here.

Voix was released in 1970, and was the first library music album that Macchi composed. It was the first of many he composed for the amazing Italian library label, Gemelli. Gemelli released several avant-garde library music LPs. It was owned and operated by legendary Italian composer, Bruno Nicolai, up until his death in 1991. Unfortunately Gemelli releases are extremely difficult to come by. Only 500 copies of each release were pressed.

As with all of Macchi's work, Voix is an absolute masterpiece of dark avant-garde music. The majority of the tracks have an ominous tone, with a mechanical or industrial feel to them. The percussion work is absolutely amazing, with small handheld percussion instruments at the forefront, backed by powerful tribal rhythms. There is also plenty of hauntingly, beautiful piano work throughout. In contrast, there are also some more brutal moments, as Macchi relentlessly pounds upon the keys in a frantic manner. Vocals play a prominent role in the arrangements, with haunting choral vocals appearing on several tracks, as well as strange muffled voices, menacing hisses and disturbing laughter. Piano keys are frantically pounded upon. Ominous strings feature prominently throughout, often used in in a rhythmical, percussive manner. Ambient electronics provide a textured backdrop to several of the tracks.

The B-side marks a change in tone, with many of the tracks having a whimsical, dreamlike feel to them, while still retaining a a slightly sinister undertone. There is a distinct theme present on the B-side, featuring a common melody which can be heard on "La Memoire", "Chanson De La Nuit" and "Chanson Du Matin". This will be one of the last albums I share for my dark and twisted library music series. I plan to move out of the shadows soon, and showcase some of the more upbeat library music gems.

Year of Release: 1970
Label: Gemelli
Catalog #: GG.ST. 10.031
Genres: Library Music, Avant-Garde, Contemporary Classical,
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
A1. Pensée
A2. Phonèmes
A3. Diaphragme
A4. Voix
A5. Moonsong
A6. Timbres
A7. À Plein Gosier
B1. La Mémoire
B2. La Calme
B3. Le Cauchemar
B4. Chanson De La Nuit
B5. Chanson Du Matin
B6. Reflexions
B7. Gouttes
B8. Inquiètude

Download: Egisto Macchi - Voix (Gemelli - GG.ST. 10.031)
Download Size: 74MB

Edward Michaël - Sept Préludes Symphoniques (De Wolfe - DWLP 3056) (1967 - 320kbps)

This will be the last installment of my dark and twisted library music series. I hope that you all have enjoyed the music I have shared up to this point. After this post, I plan to share a few of my favorite library music albums of all time, and introduce the wide array of music to be found on them for the uninitiated.

I wanted to share something a bit different than the dark avant-garde albums I have recently posted. "Sept Préludes Symphoniques" features a more traditionally oriented orchestral approach. It lacks the experimental approach found in my most recent selections; however, it more than makes up for it with its overwhelming power. Sept Préludes Symphoniques was released on the De Wolfe label in 1967. De Wolfe was actually the very first production library. The introduction of the silent picture created a need for music to accompany it. De Wolfe stepped in to fill that void in 1927.

Edward Michaël is the composer credited for this release. As far as I know this is the only material he ever officially released, aside from a track that was included on a compilation entitled "De l'onde à l'infini" released on the Barclay label in 1974. Sept Préludes Symphoniques will impress you with its sheer in-your-face power. This is bold, dramatic orchestral music with a bit of a dark twist. The music is dominated by soaring strings, thunderous percussion, and overpowering brass.

I should point out that Sept Préludes Symphoniques isn't quite as dark as some of the albums I have shared for my dark and twisted library music series. Many of the tracks have a very adventerous feel to them, and could even be described as romantic at times. However, this is easily one of the most powerful library music albums I have ever heard, and the darker moments are definitely there. This would have made an amazing soundtrack. In fact, the music brings to mind some of the work of the composers for the classic Universal Studio's monster films, such as Herman Stein, Hans J. Salter and Franz Waxman. Library music and film score fans alike should enjoy this album.

That wraps up my dark and twisted library music series, although I may resurrect it down the road. I hope you all enjoyed the music as much as I have enjoyed sharing it.

Year of Release: 1967
Label: De Wolfe
Catalog #: DW/LP 3056
Genres: Library Music, Contemporary Classical
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
A1. No. 1 Chant De L'Universe
A2. No. 2 Du Fond Des Brumes
A3. No. 3 Chant Plaintif
A4. No. 4 Rite Du Soleil
B1. No. 5 Le Lotus Dans La Nuit
B2. No. 6 Murmures Du Vent
B3. Forces D'Integration
B4. Sur Le Mont Gelboé

Download: Edward Michael - Sept Préludes Symphoniques (De Wolfe - DW/LP 3056)
Download Size: 67MB