PIOMBO: ITALIAN CRIME SOUNDTRACKS FROM THE YEARS OF LEAD (1973?1981)

Introducing a new CAM Sugar collection on Italian crime soundtracks (poliziottesco / spaghetti crime); PIOMBO paints a "picture in sound" of The Years of Lead (1973-1981), a controversial period when the escalation of political violence and terrorism in Italy reached its climax. Italian cinema documented this season with polizieschi (aka spaghetti crime films / poliziotteschi / Euro crime): a genre that, drawing from the French Polar tradition and American blaxploitation, encompassed thrill and action (but also comedy and drama) in a whirlwind of breathtaking car chases, heists, kidnaps, gunfights, political terror attacks, and brutal violence.

Polizieschi's soundtracks were tense, aggressive and hallucinated: they embraced balaclava-clad blaxploitation sound where brass-led themes were laid on a sonic bed made of propulsive bass lines, haunting drum beats, wah wah guitars, Latin percussion highlights, and epic strings nodding to disco.

The sound of the collection is various and tremendously contemporary (this genre was sampled by the likes of Madlib and synched by Quentin Tarantino): its core is American jazz-funk, with episodes of acid progressive rock ("Il grande racket," composed by the De Angelis brothers, Guido and Maurizio, for Enzo G. Castellari's masterpiece), synth-infused disco music of Stelvio Cipriani ("Body Guard," one of the nine previously unreleased treasures of this compilation), electronic music and more.

1 Quando l'amore e sensualita feat. Edda Dell'Orso
2 Canzone per Donatella
3 Vie-ni
4 Giochi Naif
5 Accettazione di una violenza feat. Edda Dell'Orso
6 Luce chiara per vergine "curve oscure" feat. Edda Dell'Orso
7 Tarantella Naif
8 Strano collage da "camera" feat. Edda Dell'Orso
9 Nascosta nell'ombra
10 Saltarello Naif
11 Soluzione borghese
12 Quando l'amore e sensualita #2 feat. Edda Dell'Orso
13 Luce chiara per vergine "curve oscure" #2 feat. Edda Dell'Orso
14 Radiolina
15 Sensualita
16 Giochi Naif #2
17 Quando l'amore e sensualita (Pianoforte solo)
18 Vie-ni (Alt. Take)
19 Tarantella Naif #2
20 Giochi Naif #3 feat. Edda Dell'Orso
21 Quando l'amore e sensualita #3
22 Canzone per Donatella #2