Umiliani, Piero
To-day's Sound
The sound of today. A very strong statement. Yet, fifty years later, it remains undisputed. Todays sound is Piero Umiliani's manifesto, his will to demonstrate to the world that he always has his finger on the pulsating vein of the world, ready to embrace the heartbeat of the future. In the summer of 1973, Piero Umiliani, in his futuristic recording studio in Rome, much like Miles Davis for his 'Bitches Brew,' gathered an extraordinary collective of musicians, both old and new guard to measure themselves against some of his compositions. Besides strongly emphasizing the backbeat, what stands out the most is the timbre provided by his 'electronic instruments,' as he liked to call them. Minimoog, Arp 2600, Fender Rhodes, EMS VCS3, Clavinet, Lowrey organ, Space Echo, self-built envelope filters-machines impossible to see all together in an Italian recording studio at the time and made available to the musicians. The line-up is stellar; under the name 'Sound Workshoppers,' the 'Wrecking Crew all'Amatriciana' is hidden an impossible mix where Marc 4, Gres and Perigeo are blended, along with a brass section of veterans and pioneers of Italian jazz, all members of the RAI Symphonic Rhythm Orchestra. Comparing the recordings from the original scores, one can also understand the space left by Piero Umiliani for his musicians. They are free to move, to contribute solutions, to enrich the maestro's music. The perfectly preserved original masters, once transferred at the maximum possible sampling frequency, allowed for the recovery of many lost frequencies, restoring brilliance and the remarkable low end expertly captured in recording by engineer Claudio Budassi. Todays sound was extremely difficult to control and fully render with the mastering technology of that time. Paradoxically, Today's sound could not sound as I have managed to make it sound today: urgent, majestic, more alive than ever.