In 1989, Giuliano Sorgini released Strumentali: Sentimenti per grande orchestra on Fonit Cetra’s Nuovo Repertorio Editoriale label. The LP of classical music intended for TV, film, and other commercial use was arranged and directed by Sorgini, produced by Stefano Torossi.

Side A includes Giuliano Sorgini’s “Due per mano,” “Sogni a occhi aperti,” “Cena per due,” “Uno sguardo,” and “Progetti di viaggio.” The tracks on Side B include “Nostalgia dell’infanzia,” “Casa dolce casa,” “Assenze,” “Sospetti,” “Freddezza,” and “Raccontare.”

Giuliano Sorgini’s “Freddezza” is on SoundCloud:

Note: If any legal rights holders object to the posting of this rare, out of print, and unavailable track ripped from this correspondent’s personal collection, please drop a line and it will be removed immediately.

Strumentali: Sentimenti per grande orchestra is one of more than thirty albums in the Strumentali Series that Stefano Torossi is credited with performing on and/or producing for Fonit Cetra between 1986 and 1990.

Upon closer examination–thanks Les!, it seems Giuliano Sorgini released this identical album earlier in 1976, and again in 1980, under the title Panorami, with all different titles and in new running order.

For example, “Immagini sospese” on Panorami was renamed “Casa dolce casa” on the 1990 release.

Giuliano Sorgini’s “Immagini sospese,” also known as “Casa dolce casa,” is on YouTube:

Composer/pianist-keyboardist Giuliano Sorgini first rose to prominence creating music for TV and library use in his native Italy in the late 1960s before going on to write scores for movie soundtracks in the 1970s and beyond. This includes music made as a solo artist using his own name or the alias “Raskovich,” as well as with as his legendary recordings made with Alessandro Alessandroni, using their aliases “Braen Raskovich,” and classic library albums with Paolo Renosto, released under the pseudonyms “Lesiman & Raskovich.”

Classical, jazz, electronica, disco, beat, progressive rock, funk, psychedelia, soundtrack, and library music are just a few of the genres Giuliano Sorgini has explored in an amazing career that continues today as a pianist at the Accademia di Danza in Rome.

Giuliano Sorgini was also involved in two of the top Italian library psychedelic prog-rock albums of the early 70’s, Under Pompelmo, and Fourth Sensation.

Giuliano Sorgini’s “Raccontare,” the final composition on Strumentali: Sentimenti per grande orchestra, is on SoundCloud:

Note: If any legal rights holders object to the posting of this rare, out of print, and unavailable track ripped from this correspondent’s personal collection, please drop a line and it will be removed immediately.

Both Strumentali: Sentimenti per grande orchestra and Panorami are currently out of print.

Released in limited numbers of a hundred copies or so, the original vinyl is hard to find. For example, a single copy of the Fonit Cetra version of the album is currently available at Discogs.

The Panorami versions are also not easy to find and are likely to fetch upwards of 400 euros or more, if you can find one. Discogs didn’t have any at the moment.

Giuliano Sorgini’s “Distese verdi,” later renamed “Sogni a occhi aperti,” is online:

Cinedelic Reissues Giuliano Sorgini & I Visconti’s 1973 Masterpiece Under Pompelmo

In 1973, Giuliano Sorgini recorded Under Pompelmo, a psychedelic funk-rock extravaganza that is this correspondent’s absolute favorite reissue of the last two years. The original album was issued simultaneously in Italy by Montecarlo and in France by Sonimage under the title London Transport.

The album opens with the epic title track, running nearly 17-minutes and taking up all of Side A. “Echoes From Canyon,” “To Rebound,” “Wandering Man,” “When I See You,” and “Honda” are on Side B. Musicians on the album, originally credited to the band I Visconti, include Marcello Caruti Atonelli on bass, Luigi Massari and Massimo Tonson Latour on guitar, Franco Romagniello on drums, and Giuliano Sorgini on piano, spinet, and organ.

Giuliano Sorgini also composed and arranged the music. The groovy artwork on the cover of the Montecarlo release was done by Sandro Symeoni.

“Echoes From Canyon,” the second track on Giuliano Sorgini’s Under Pompelmo, is on YouTube:

Not surprisingly, the album cuts from Giuliano Sorgini’s Under Pompelmo are found on several compilations including “Wandering Man” on the first volume of the double LP Suono Libero: A Trip Through Obscure 70’s Funk Tracks From The Italian Music Library and “Echoes From Canyon” on volume two, both issued initially by La Douce in 1997. The 2-LP second installment also has Sorgini’s “Lo canto” and “The Turf.”

La Douce featured a third track from Under Pompelmo, Giuliano Sorgini’s “To Rebound,” on the Mo’Plen 1000: Easy Turbo Sound in a Trippy Deluxe! compilation released in 1998.

Plastic Records’ 1999 collection Vroommm: Funk Cinematique has two compositions by Giuliano Sorgini including “Honda” from Under Pompelmo.

Three additional Sorgini originals are also found on Stroboscopica Vol. 3: 20 Jazzy Orchestral Latin Strobo Sounds From Cinematic ’70’s Filmworks, a 2001 Plastic Records’ LP and CD.

Giuliano Sorgini’s “To Rebound” is online:

Although Cinedelic‘s limited edition picture disc and hand-numbered versions are both sold out, a new pressing is now available from the Cattolica-based label. Like previous editions, a high-quality download in multiple formats including MP3 and FLAC comes with the vinyl. The download is also available separately.

Music fans interested in purchasing a copy of the original Montecarlo vinyl will usually need at least $2500 U.S. The Sonimage version of the album, on the other hand, if you can find it, should run no more than a few hundred dollars.

Five of the six album cuts from Giuliano Sorgini’s Under Pompelmo, including the monster opener “Under Pompelmo” plus “Echoes From Canyon,” “To Rebound,” “Wandering Man,” and “Honda,” are on SoundCloud (thanks to delirious music a never-ending fount of amazing and obscure sounds):

More Music from Giuliano Sorgini & Stefano Torossi: Fourth Sensation

The paths of Giuliano Sorgini and Stefano Torossi have crossed on several projects including the progressive rock one-off album by Fourth Sensation, that features Ellade Bandini on drums, Ares Tavolazzi on guitar, Vince Tempera on Hammond organ, and Angelo Vaggi on bass.

The list of all star composers credited on the 1970 Ricordi International LP include Federico Monti Arduini, Sandro Brugnolini, Massimo “Max” Catalano, Giuliano Sorgini, and Stefano Torossi.

Fourth Sensation’s “Elena,” a hard rock-funk standout that contains the album’s only vocal on the count-in, is on SoundCloud:

https://soundcloud.com/dj-el-topo-1/elena-the-fourth-sensation

A closer look at this exceptional album, long overdue for reissue, is HERE.

Lesiman & Raskovich (aka Paolo Renosto & Giuliano Sorgini) on Lupus

In the early 1970s, Lesiman (aka Paolo Renosto) and Raskovich (aka Giuliano Sorgini) released Informale N. 1 and Informale N. 2, a pair of full length library music albums on the Italian label Lupus.

Stefano Torossi, who later released three albums on Lupus–including one under his “Fotriafa” alias, is also listed as an uncredited composer on four tracks on each of the Lesiman & Raskovich LPs according to researchers at Discogs.

A video for Lesiman (aka Paolo Renosto) and Raskovich (aka Giuliano Sorgini)’s “Galassia arcana,” which supposedly also features an uncredited Stefano Torossi, is on YouTube:

A Few Sorgini Solo Albums Released on Classic Italian Library Labels

In 1969, Giuliani Sorgini joined Roberto Pregadio and Complesso di Tommaso, featuring Giovanni Tommaso, on Ballate con noi N. 1, the first of four albums Sorgini released on Leonardi including I colori dell’orchestra, Telefilm No 2 and the double LP Telefilm No 3.

Giuliani Sorgini also released Musica da ballo on Meridiana Records in 1969, followed by solo efforts including Scappo per cantare on Fama Srl, Informale No 3 on Lupus, and Nei confini dello scibile (UST 270), Lavoro e tempo libero (UST 335), Panorami (UST 654), and Caratteristici vari (GST 373), the last four all on Edizioni Musicali Goldfinger.

“The Turf,” the tenth track on Guiliano Sorgini’s 1969 Musica da ballo LP, is online:

In 1971, Giuliano Sorgini released Percussioni in Crescendo on Italy’s Leo Records. The Holy Grail library music record is just one of several highly sought after original albums Sorgini made under his own name including another pair on the same label: Arie antiche and Elettroformule.

Besides doing soundtracks under his own name for The Living Dead At The Manchester Morgue for Beat Records Company, Zoo folle for Ricordi, and Gli animali… che simpatia for RCA, Giuliano Sorgini released several solo albums under the Raskovich pseudonym for small Italian labels specializing in soundtrack and library music including Background Music N. 1 for Otter Records, Discorsi for Squirrel Records, Vari atmosfere da interni for Full Records, and Informale N. 4 for Panda Records.

Braen & Raskovich (aka Alessandro Alessandroni & Giuliano Sorgini)

In the early 1970s, Alessandro Alessandroni and Giuliano Sorgini released several albums under their Braen Raskovich aliases that were recorded at the Sound Work-Shop Studio in Rome including Inchiesta giudiziaria for Octopus Records in 1971, Alle Sorgenti Delle Civiltà – Vol. 3 for Folkmusic in 1972, and a pair of releases on Panda Records, Tempo libero and Drammatico.

Inchiesta giudiziaria, a psychedelic experimental library rock album, was reissued in 2014 by Cacophonic under the title Abnormal Sensations.

Braen (aka Alessandro Alessandroni) and Raskovich (aka Giuliano Sorgini)’s “Bisca,” credited to Raskovich and featuring wordless vocals by Kema (aka Giulia Alessandroni), is on YouTube:

“Bisca” was also selected for Flippermusic’s 2008 compilation Italian B-Movies: 70’s Rare Grooves, compiled by Alessandro Casella, released on Primrose Music.

More Recent Giuliano Sorgini Releases in Vinyl and Digital Format

In mid-July 2016, Giuliano Sorgini’s Zoo folle soundtrack for a 1974 Italian TV movie directed by Riccardo Fellini (brother of Federico), originally released on Ricordi, will be reissued on vinyl by Four Flies Records.

The 1974 album has been remastered from the original tapes, supervised by Giuliano Sorgini himself. Sorgini, who plays organ, keyboards, piano, drums, and percussion on the LP, is joined by a lineup of library music heavyweights including half of I Marc 4, bassist Maurizio Majorana and organist Antonello Vannucchi, as well as Nino Rapicavoli on flute and Edda Dell’Orso on vocals on “Red, Old Skies.”

An excerpt from Giuliano Sorgini’s Zoo folle just uploaded to SoundCloud includes parts of “Slaves,” “Ultima caccia,” “Space And Freedom,” “Mad Town,” and “Amboseli.” This is included in the sampler below, which also includes the full version of “Ultima caccia.”

Giuliano Sorgini’s “Red, Old Skies,” featuring vocalist Edda Dell’Orso, is here:

In October 2015, Cinedelic reissued The Bid-On’s Sorry Puppet, a 1972 album by Giuliano Sorgini released under his Raskovich alias.

The iconic cover of the BIS Record LP was designed by Sorgini using chalk on a black sheet. The entire album can be heard at Cinedelic’s bandcamp site.

Other recent compilations featuring compositions from Giuliano Sorgini include Criminale, Vol. 1 Paura and Criminale, Vol. 2 Ossessione, both released on vinyl in 2013, with a bonus CD, from Penny Records.

These collections are also now available as digital downloads.

Sorgini also has a track on the 2016 Esterno notte viny release by Four Flies Records, a compilation that also includes a bonus CD.

Online Sampler Collects Guiliano Sorgini Tracks on SoundCloud

An online sampler of audio files by Guiliano Sorgini, released under his own name and his alias Raskovich, is on SoundCloud. Tracks include all but one cut from Under Pompelmo, a pair from Fourth Sensation, and two from Percussioni in Crescendo. A couple of album tracks from Braen (aka Alessandro Alessandroni) and Raskovich are also currently found in this collection that begins with the tour de force title track from Giuliano Sorgini’s Under Pompelmo: