Italy is a treasure trove of obscure and archival sounds. For decades, the products of its free-wheeling sonic cultures - spanning numerous musical genres - remained as sinfully overlooked, before being uncovered by devoted diggers and illuminated by numerous reissued initiatives. Recently, the Milan based imprint, Dialogo, has led the charge into the shadows of Italy’s past, releasing a steady stream of holy grails, from the astounding Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai's “Dimensioni Sonore” box set, issued in 2020, and an initiative dedicated to the work of Piero Umiliani, to a slew of albums from the legendary Cramps catalog, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Their latest, the first ever reissue of the sinfully overlooked composer Gianni Marchetti’s 1977-78 LPs “Equinox” and “Solstitium”, launch Dialogo’s broader initiative dedicated to the Italian arm of RCA’s legendary “Original Cast” series. These holy grails of library music, originally issued as promotional items not available for sale, with a tiny number pressed - coveted by diggers and sampled widely, with original copies commanding eye-watering prices - cover remarkable ranges over their duration, intertwining driving rhythms with lush string arrangements, and intoxicating jazz grooves with a remarkable sense of compositional rigour and a sprawling sonic palette, creating a shimmering image of Italian life in its many shades. An absolutely incredible and joyous listen that stands as a shining illumination of the heights of Italian library music, these first ever, deluxe vinyl reissues from Dialogo come fully remastered and immaculately reproduce the original RCA sleeves, and can’t be missed by any fan of soundtracks and library music at large.

Resting within the vast expanse of visionary albums produced in Italy during the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, is the territory loosely categorised as Library music; recordings that were commissioned and owned by record labels, to be licensed for use within television programs, radio, and film, as stock. While Library music was produced in numerous countries during during this period, nowhere was it more unique and groundbreaking than in Italy.Many of the country’s most noteworthy composers - Ennio Morricone, Piero Umiliani, Egisto Macchi, Bruno Nicolai, Sandro Brugnolini, etc. - used the context as an aggregator of radical experimentation and creative freedom, as well as a means to deliver radical forward-thinking music to broad audiences. Long coveted by diggers, connoisseurs and beat makers, these albums collectively represent one of the great treasure troves of 20th Century music: vast in its breath and endlessly adventurous and unpredictable in realisations of creative ambition.

Library music is notoriously mysterious. Its creators often worked in the shadows, with their music becoming far more familiar than the names of those who created it. Among these was the Italian composer and songwriter, Gianni Marchetti (1933-2012), about whom very little biographical information is known, despite his having created roughly forty soundtracks and library music releases over the course of his career. Celebrated for his collaborations with Piero Ciampi, Mogol, Bobby Solo, and others, it was during the 1970s, composing for RCA’s newly founded, and now legendary, “Original Cast” series - an arm solely dedicated to creating top notch soundtracks and library music - that Marchetti truly came into his own. Among the most celebrated of these releases are his 1977-78 LPs “Equinox” and “Solstitium”, two albums which, like their creator, are shrouded in mystery.

Comprising respectively eight and ten gloriously composed pieces, each unlocking ethereal, imaginative glimpses of Italy in unexpected ways - like jumping in a car cruising through the country’s many landscapes and temperamental shades - Marchetti covers a remarkable amount of ground over their duration, drawing upon driving rhythms and heavy grooves, lush string arrangements, intoxicating jazz lines, and piano meandering, while retaining a clear sense of cohesion throughout. Driven by compositional rigour and a sprawling sonic palette, these are albums glorious in their discrete moments, as much as their whole, as though they are soundtracks from films that have yet to be made, and for which an image would inevitably defer to the power of the sounds, rather than the other way around.

While long retaining holy grail status amongst deep diggers of Italian Library music and soundtracks, given their scarcity and the mystery that surrounds both the albums and their composer, this first ever reissue of Gianni Marchetti’s “Equinox” and “Solstitium”, quickly reveals one of the great, unheralded masterpieces of Italian Library music. Once again, Dialogo has done a great service, reintroducing a rare sense of artistry to the world. Both issued in beautiful, fully authorised and remastered, replica vinyl editions, these are the perfect antidote to the January gloom and will inevitably make a great many diggers’ year.