Name: Dreamin' / Geronimo
Brand: Gianni Oddi

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

FLIESDJ10

Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2023-01-27

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Kudos

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

0652733696229

Total Cap

1 / 12" / Black

Artist

Gianni Oddi

Genre GB

Funk / Soul

Label GB

Four Flies

Four Flies is a Rome-based record label and music publisher specializing in Italian golden age soundtracks. The label is committed to digging up underrated scores and sounds – often ones that were never circulated outside the Italian film, radio or TV industry – and to unearthing master tapes tucked away and long forgotten in attics or basements. Like archaeologists of Italian library music, the Four Flies team go to great lengths to rescue from oblivion previously unreleased or lesser-known pieces by great film composers, making them available to listeners everywhere.

In the early '70s, after relocating from his native Genoa to Rome, young saxophonist Gianni Oddi was beginning to establish himself as a super-cool arranger thanks to a series of cover albums recorded for RCA Italy. They contained funk, soul and easy-listening versions of contemporary pop hits, but Oddi often managed to include one or two original compositions of his own – like the ones contained in this new instalment of Four Flies's 12-inch vinyl series for DJs.

The luscious funk of&nbsp;Dreamin', on side A, shows Oddi as an Italian master of groove. Warm, sexy and nocturnal, the song combines breaky drums with tantalizing vocals (provided by Baba Yaga's Isabella Sodani), adding a romantic, dreamy vibe in the special with strings and piano (the latter played by Oddi himself) that are at once reminiscent of soulful black music and influenced by the melodic tradition of Italy.

Geronimo, on side B, is almost a tribute to Manu Dibango – a favourite of Oddi's at the time. Here, Oddi's signature groove, at once refined and infectious, is driven by Mario Scotti's pulsating bass, Silvano Chimenti's wah-wah guitar, Oddi's own persuasive sax and, in particular, sound engineer (and former drummer) Enzo Martella's 'moose call' sound (made by sliding a thumb across the top of a conga). In a nutshell: Africa reimagined in Via Tiburtina (the street in Rome where RCA Italy's recording studios where located).

Both tracks are perfect examples of Oddi's sound and...&nbsp;Style&nbsp;(yes, his 1974 album for RCA Italy's SP series). The same sound (and style!) characterizes masterpieces like&nbsp;Le Montagne della Luce&nbsp;(co-written with Romolo Grano),&nbsp;La Sbandata&nbsp;(the funky theme from Domenico Modugno's soundtrack, which Oddi arranged and produced) and&nbsp;Mondo di Notte Oggi&nbsp;(co-written with Gianni Dell'Orso). All of these have been released by Four Flies, which continues to celebrate this fantastic groove maker.

Dreamin' / Geronimo

Music GB