soleil rare 27 - stange games.

Library music and soundtracks this time. Setting the mood. 

Lilio Narduzzi - Week End. 

There's a lot of things in this track : funk, rock, a childish feel, energy. Electric guitars are flying around, supported by a garage beat. There's nothing much about Lilio Narduzzi on the web. Another stage name for a well-known musician ? Probably. 

Anyway, killer garage-like track.   

Serge Gainsbourg - Dusty Lane. 

Not your usual vibe from Serge. "Madame Claude" was an erotic movie by Just Jaeckin, released in 1977, the year after Gainsbourg unveiled his concept album "L'Homme A La Tête De Chou". 

"Dusty Lane" is not really psych music. It's more funky and rhythm&blues than what we're used to from Serge. The guitar work is awesome, mellow and precise. Good stuff.  

Piero Umiliani - Saudade. 

Piero Umiliani is a legend of the Italian movie scoring scene. Alongside Ennio Morricone, Bruno Nicolai, Riz Ortolani, and others. Quite forgotten when it comes to that kind of list, Umiliani's name and talent resurfaced when one of his tracks got featured on the "Ocean's 12" soundtrack. 

"Saudade" is so Italian... so relax at first, then more joyful after a minute, and the classic Morricone-like vocals at the end.

Galt McDermot - Sodomy. 

Yeah, full lyrics say : "sodomy, fellation, cunnilingus, pederasty, father why do these words sound so nasty ? Masturbation can be fun, join the holy orgy, kama sutra everyone !"

Now that's fun. The unique art of Galt McDermot lies under these crazy lines, giving this track a soul vibe. Too short. 

Francis Lai - Jeux Au Japon. 

The first time I heard that theme, I realized I had to know more about Francis Lai. I started buying every record by him I could find, but somehow could never find this one. Francis Lai is part of a golden generation of French soundtrack composers, with guys like François de Roubaix (maybe Belgian though), Georges Delerue, Michel Legrand, Michel Colombier etc. 

Somehow, this is one of the saddest and most beautiful themes I know. I've never watched the movie, so I don't know if sadness is the purpose. Masterpiece anyway. 

  

François de Roubaix - Dernier Domicile Connu. 

Speaking of François de Roubaix, here's "Dernier Domicile Connu", one of his most known themes. Heavily sampled (Bow Wow, Missy Elliot, MC Solaar, Khéops etc.), this one synthetise the art of the artist : various movements are contained in just one track, classical music sounds mixed with funk and rock, well this is genius... different layers of violins, guitars, bass, drums and even tribal percussions as an introduction make it an unforgettable track. 

Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi - Her Hollow Ways. 

Generally, when Danger Mouse decides to get involved in a project, he means to score (pun intended). And without a doubt "Rome" is a fine project. This is supposed to be the soundtrack of a movie, but there's no movie attached to the album. This is so handy : just by listening to the music, you can imagine your own scenes.

Once again in this selection, thanks to Daniele Luppi, the mood is very Italian, so to speak. And it's brilliant. 

Vladimir Cosma - Paris-London. 

Off "Un Eléphant Ca Trompe Enormément", here's a jazz track which would perfectly fit to a crooner like Sinatra, but it's only instrumental. 

Cosma may not be very well-known, but he is a real god of movie scoring in France, having a full list of major films in his resume. 

"Paris-London" starts like a big-band song, then slows down the pace. Smooth. 

Riz Ortolani - Paintings On The Wall. 

  

Alright, time to sleep, and before that, make yourself confortable with this cotton-like song by Italian icon Riz Ortolani. 

Not really anything at all, just a nice horn on top of a bass. I guess one would call it jazzy. Maybe. I just think it's great music.