Sonor Music Editions Funk | Soul 4 Items

Sonor Music Editions proudly announces a previously unknown Italian Library killer session from the golden era - Rhythm AND Sound by the mysterious 'Mandrassi & Zollinger', backed by 'I Beati' studio band. Mandrassi, alias for Anna Maria Assunta Andreassi, is one of the very first female composers of Library Music in Italy while Zollinger is linked to Sergio Pagano, brother of the famed Italian author, composer and singer Mario Pagano. Originally released in 1973 for the private studio label ‘Ludo Record’, this album remained in the obscurity for almost 50 years, it’s so rare that only very few hardcore record collectors know it, we even doubt about its existence at all.. so we're now glad to bring it back to life! A countless breaks galore, filled with outstanding funk grooves and chasing beats. The jam sounds like a missing link between The Fine Machine ‘Habitat’ and the legendary Arawak ‘Accadde a..’ recordings, with its uptempo rhythms allover and the coolest funky instrumentation played by a mysterious studio group.

Founded in early 70s by historical Rai TV trumpeter and composer Cicci Santucci (Looking Around, On The Underground Road etc.), New Tape grown up during the golden period of Italian music production and was dedicated to experimentation of new forms of sound, always hailing from the solid Jazz basis of the musicians and theme music inspiration. Andrea Galtieri aka Cavalier Piscopo sequenced the very best shots from the whole label production including exclusive liner notes, with an explosive mix of Jazz-Rock, Bossa, spellbinding groove and raw Experimental stuff.
"A leading figure in the Italian Jazz scene, Francesco 'Cicci' Santucci worked as trumpeter in the legendary Rai TV orchestra for over 20 years. He was renowned for collaborations with such international jazz legends as Lionel Hampton, Gato Barbieri, and Kenny Clarke – that is until his foray into the avant-garde progressive experience of The Living Music, a project founded by his brother Umberto. During these same years, he took part in important Italian jazz sessions like "Looking Around", "Mondo Operaio", and "On The Underground Road", with his close colleague Enzo Scoppa.
It was just around this period of great music production and experimentation that Cicci founded his own label, the NEW TAPE, in the very early '70s. His goal was to dedicate himself to composing library music with a new expression of music, less linked to hard bop or American standards, but rather more focused on the new sounds of the time that brought the listener closer to modern vibes, like jazz-rock and avant-garde music.
"Mixed Grill" opens this series, composed by the maestro's alias, 'Girosan', along with Lesiman (a.k.a. Paolo Renosto) who added a more esoteric and captivating atmosphere, closer to English progressive rock. "Rengran Mix" and "Tropical" follow, with music by Paolo Renosto and the old avant-garde connoisseur, Romolo Grano. This work gave way to electronic instrumentation and weird experimentation, and was built on a rich rhythmical carpet – tropical percussions, rock and blues inspired vibes, sleazy psych, and jazz improvisations. Music from “Rengran Mix” was also used as the soundtrack for the TV programme "Futili Motivi", and also featured the great backing sound of I Marc 4 with the accompaniment of Nora Orlandi's warm vocals.
The trademark of the label, and the most important production, is the fourth album, "Mirage" by Cicci Santucci and Enzo Scoppa themselves. This record is an explosive mix of elegant jazz, funk, and psychedelia, where every instrument finds its expressive space. We can clearly hear the connection on both the 'On the Underground Road' and 'Looking Around' albums, recorded that same year, bringing that unmistakable underground jazz dopeness typical of the magical duo of Santucci and Scoppa.
The last album of the series is "Appunti Di Guerra" by the mysterious 'Ruscigan' – a very obscure alias which probably belongs to Renosto and Guido Baggiani. This work features complex and dramatic sounds properly composed for war scenes and gloomy atmospheres, with a large assortment of percussion, distorted effects, and tape manipulation – an album that foreshadowed what would become industrial music.
With a ridiculously small pressing of only 100 copies per title, NEW TAPE is among the most interesting discoveries to date in terms of original production library music, and as a result, a very respectable journey begins inside the creative underground jazz of 1970s."
Andrea Galtieri

Originally released on Fonit Cetra Hi-Fi International series in 1973, this mega rare Italian Library still unknown in the record collectors circle features some of the most insane grooves made in Italy. Outstanding, spaced-out Breakbeats with the best up-tempo, Hip Hop beats and B-boy Funk tunes you could ever desire, alternated by Easy Listening scores and happy Synthesizer themes. This killer prolific duo (Brugnolini-Carnini) have pulled out in the early 70s some of the most insane tunes released on the infamous Fonit Library series, composing tons of Library music with the auxiliary of few session men, vintage analogue Synthesizers and Hammond organ. Absolutely incredible and unexpected stunning music written for Italian Rai TV. A mythical Italian Library LP simply to die for! This remastered 180gram LP is limited to 600 copies and comes with a flipback sleeve replica of the original edition.

We're presenting under our New Tape label Mark's debut release "Sound-In-The-Round", that draws a deep inspiraton by the golden era of Italian Library and Soundtrack Music. Something akin to the legendary Prog-Rock ensemble Goblin and the avant-garde composer Giuliano Sorgini, but with a rich plenty of grooveness. Mark Saddlemire is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer from Philadelphia, passionate about creating instrumental compositions from a blend of acoustical and electronic sounds using analog techniques. An electrical engineer by trade, he's customized and repaired much of the vintage gear used for his recordings - his studio is a collection of unique and rare analog instruments from the 1960s to the 1980s.