VA - Espace Et Actualité (Musique Pour L'Image - MPI 505) (1967 - 320kbps)

When January rolled around I had originally planned to offer up an eclection selection of library music, however, once I started going through my collection I couldn't resist continuing my dark and twisted library music series. As a visitor recently pointed out, the majority of people who collect and share library music often focus on the releases containing funky breaks, which have been sampled by DJs to create hip-hop beats since the genre first emerged. I wanted to focus on the dark corners of the library music world, and concentrate on a few masterpieces which are all too often passed over for the more upbeat library LPs featuring funky beats and cheerful moog synthesizers. Don't get me wrong, I love those type of library music LPs just as much as the next person, and they helped to introduce me to the amazing world of library music. However, as far as library music goes, those beat-heavy LPs make up the more mainstream side of production music, and I'm all about exploring the more obscure and unsung albums. For those interested, I fully intend to share some of my favorite upbeat library LPs once I finish with my series of dark & twisted library music. After that I plan to share a few releases from each of my favorite library labels.

"Espace Et Actualité" (MP 505) was released on the French label, Musique Pour L'Image" in 1967. The A side contains music from three different artists, while side B consists of music from Patrice Sciortino. Claude Vasori, Robert Hermel and François Bayle comprise the composers featured on side A. Of these three composers Claude Vasori is the only one I'm really familiar with. He released the majority of his music on the Musique Pour L'Image label. I have a few of these releases, including Energie - MPI 541 (1972), Musique Pop Pour Images En Mouvement - MPI 529 (1971), and Action, Charme, Espace - MPI 502 (1967) if anyone would be interested in seeing them posted in the future. The music on this side consists of mysterious and mildly ominous spaced-out ambient tunes. While the music isn't bad, it is overshadowed by the selection of music presented by Patrice Sciortino on the B side, which is much more engaging and unique.

Side B alone makes this library LP worth downloading in my opinion. French composer Patrice Sciortino is responsible for all of the tracks on the B-Side. Sciortino studied at Pierre Schaeffer's GRM (Groupe de Recherche Musicale), along with the aforementioned Claude Vasori. He went on to compose music for theatre and production libraries in the 1960s. Sciortino is often remembered among library music collectors for releasing several amazing percussion themed LPs, including Percupulsions (Neuilly - MC 8002) and Percussion Power (Mondiophone - 46.503). The majority of his work was released on the Neuilly label, and sublabels Crea Sound and Mondiophone.

Espace Et Actualité contains some of the earliest library music that Scioritini composed. It is a bit more constrained than some of his wilder efforts in subsequent years. Sciortino's avant-garde approach to library music, with an emphasis on percussion, brings to mind Camille Sauvage (aka Eric Framond), particularly Fantasmagories, albeit much more reserved in nature. Sciortino manages to strike a wonderful balance with his music. The music manages to be rather sparse, yet engaging at the same time. The inclusion of bells and harps gives the music a delicate sound, while powerful and discordant piano melodies bring some harshness to the compositions. The music is primarily dark in nature, yet light undertones emerge through the darkness, if only for brief moments.

I wouldn't say this release is as strong as some of the previously dark and twisted library LPs I have shared, as it is a bit more reserved in nature than my previous selections. However, this is a solid album in its own right, particulary the music found on the B-Side by Patrice Sciortino. Those of you who enjoyed the previous selections in my dark and twisted library series should find this one quite enjoyable as well.

Year of Release: 1967
Label: Musique Pour L'Image
Catalog #: MPI 505
Genres: Library Music, Ambient, Avant-Garde, Experimental
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
A1. Claude Vasori - De´part Fuse´e
A2. Robert Hermel - Industrie Spatiale
A3. François Bayle - Titan
A4. Claude Vasori - Espace Chromatique
A5. François Bayle - Andromede
A6. Robert Hermel - Apesanteur
B1. Patrice Sciortino - Alchimie Rythmique
B2. Patrice Sciortino - Ville Sanse Vie
B3. Patrice Sciortino - Abimes Souterrains
B4. Patrice Sciortino - Danger Sous Roche
B5. Patrice Sciortino - Approache Dramatique
B6. Patrice Sciortino - Hostilite´
B7. Patrice Sciortino - Tumulte

Download: VA - Espace Et Actualité (Musique Pour L'Image - MPI 505)
Download Size: 68MB

Patrice Sciortino - Les Cyclopes (1967 - 320kbps)

Update:

maestro898 has been kind enough to translate the original notes in French to English. You can find both the original notes, as well as the English translation below the download link at the bottom of this post. Thank you for your generosity maestro898.

As I mentioned in my last post, I plan to start sharing a few of my favorite library music LPs over the next couple of weeks. I hope to cover a wide array of musical styles, as well as the artists and labels that I enjoy the most. I hope to be able to strike a balance between the essential, for those who are unfamliar with library music, and the obscure, for those who are. Those of you who are unfamiliar with library music, or have only had the opportunity to listen to a few releases, are in for a real treat. First up is one of my favorite French composers, Patrice Sciortino.

I recently posted the compilation "Espace Et Actualité" from the Musique Pour L'Image label, the highlight of which was the seven amazing tracks composed by Patrice Sciortino which appeared on the B-side.. Patrice Sciortino has released several essential library music albums. Many people consider "Chronoradial" to be his Magnus Opus. Chronoradial was released on the Musique Pour L'Image sublabel, PSI, in 1970. It is an amazing piece of work, and will probably appear here in the near future; however, I personally prefer his debut album, "Les Cyclopes". Les Cyclopes was released on the French audiophile label, Disques André Charlin, in 1967. Les Cyclopes seeks to capture the spirit and character of five different continents by using a vast array of percussion instruments, performed by eight different percussionists, along with one bass player. The number of percussion instruments implemented by Sciortino truly is staggering. While there are too many to list here, you can get an idea of the sheer number of instruments used by looking at the back cover.

I provided some background info regarding Patrice Sciortino in the Espace Et Actualité post, which I linked to above. I have taken the liberty of typing out the liner notes from the back of the album, and I have included those notes as a text file with the download. (Edit: I forgot to include the text file in the download. There is an additional link below the download link which will direct you to the text file.) I should point out that those notes are in French, since I typed them exactly as they appeared on the back of the album. I used Google Translate to translate some of the information to English. Unfortunately the intended meaning behind some of the passages isn't very clear. I chalk this up to the inherant limitations of the Google translation service. Perhaps someone from France would be willing to provide a more accurate translation? I was able to pull some relevant and insightful information from the translated text though. The following excerpt is taken from the aforementioned liner notes that I translated into English:

"Cyclops / Panorama Of Percussion
directed by the author
Recorded in Paris by André Charlin / Art Direction - Carl de Nys

Patrice Sciortino is a unique and diverse musical figure. In spite of his youth (he was born in Paris in 1922) he already has an extremely imposing catalogue of compositions and extremely various activities. Patrice Sciortino does not

All systems of musical language, rhythms, scales, styles, all means of expressing them, instruments and techniques have been (at some point in their history) representative of a country and a people, that is say "typical."

Some of them stayed, others have followed the course of universal exchange, teaching us that the ownership and authenticity are relative and nuanced.

The purpose of this disc is to travel the vast panorama of percussion instruments in the five continents, using them in a context where the pace is connected with their nature and thus open the door to immigration .

Without pretending to paint a perfect image of each of each of these regions, we hope to capture part of the character of each region.


Composer: Patrice Sciortino

Double Bass: Willy Lockwood

Percussionists:
Serge Depannemacker
Yves Lestang
Bernard Lubat
Michel Lorin
Gerard Perotin
Diego Masson
J.-Ch. François
R. Sola

Year of Release: 1967
Label: Disques André Charlin
Catalog #: CL-34
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
A1. Etincelle
A2. Berceuse du Soleil
A3. Mythes et Masques
A4. Ventre et Seigneur
A5. Noces de l'eau et du feu
A6. Grande Chasse
B1. Struction
B2. Cristaux
B3. Odeur d'ombre
B4. Rythmétis
B5. Black U.S.
B6. Lumières de la nuit
B7. Cosmophonie

Download: Patrice Sciortino - Les Cyclopes
Download Size: 90MB

Album Notes (French): http://freetexthost.com/gz0dcdkdo0

Album Notes (English Translation): http://freetexthost.com/ufpapg0o65

Janko Nilovic - Supra Pop Impressions (Montparnassee 2000 - MP 16) (1973 - 256kbps)

Supra Pop Impressions would easily make my list of top 10 library music albums. Some of the library music albums I have posted recently are more experimental in nature, and therefore might not appeal to everyone; however, I believe this would make an excellent introductory album for those who are new to it. It displays the diversity, originality and pure talent that can be found on so many library music albums - as long as you are willing to dig. This album also exemplies the reason I love library music so much. It allowed classically trained composers to break free and experiment, with their experiments often resulting in some of the most amazing music I have ever had the pleasure of listening to.

Janko Nilovic was one of those extremely talented composers who was way ahead of his time, and dedicated his career to creating music for various production music libraries. Nilovic was born in Montenegro in 1941, and was formally trained as a musician at the age of five. He moved to France in 1960, where he was introduced to more contemporary musical styles, which would have a profound influence on his career and musical output. Eventually he started composing music for production music libraries in the 1960s, beginning with the Telemusic label. A few years later he would go on to compose the majority of work in his catalog for the Montparnasse 2000 label. Janko Nilovic signed a contract with Montparnasse 2000 which guaranteed him absolute freedom in his musical experiments.

Supra Pop Impressions was released in 1973 on Montparnasse 2000, as catalog # MP 16. Montparnasse 2000 was a French label founded by André Farry, with the assistance of Louis Delacour. Delacour would later go on to found his own label, Neuilly. Their early releases, such as this one, were limited to 1000 copies. The label would present 500 copies to TV stations and radios, with 500 reserved for later distribution. Many of my favorite library music albums were released on the Montparnasse 2000 label, so you can expect to see several more MP 2000 releases here on DM in the not-so-distant future.

Supra Pop Impressions sounds surprisingly modern despite being recorded nearly 40 years ago. It is absolutely rife with blistering guitar solos, wicked basslines, and funky beats. On an album loaded with so many killer tracks it is hard to pick a favorite. "Roses and Revolvers" certainly stands out as one of the strongest in my opinion though. Shimmering harpsichord melodies collide with heavy hip-hop beats and a wicked funky bassline. Beat-diggers will absolutely love this one, as I'm sure the rest of you will. As the name suggests, "Once In My Country" lays down some funky blues guitar riffs with a hint of country twang. "Krishna Mission" is a fun track dominated by energetic and driving harpsichord melodies which are complimented by bluesy guitar riffs, with that country twang appearing once more. At the halfway point, the harpsichord gives way a seriously heavy beat, along with a blistering guitar solo which interjects to steal the show.

Tapata opens up Side B with some groovy blues flavored electric guitar work, before transforming into a showcase of funky, rolling percussion work, which is reminiscant of some of the percussion work of artists I have recently featured on the blog, such as Patrice Sciortino and Camille Sauvage. Tapatapa was sampled by the Beatnuts for their song "Contact". I consider "Ballet Mecanique" to be another one of the strongest tracks on the album. It opens up with a hauntingly beautiful harpsichord solo, which is gradually overtaken by a killer funky bassline. A hard-driving beat kicks in soon after that gallops along at a frantic pace to set the stage for the absolutely ripping guitar solo that kicks in soon afterward. The whole process is repeated before the pace dies down one last time, allowing the harpsichord to close out the track just as it began. As the name suggests, "Funky Stage" lays down the funk in a heavy way. The funky bassline is accompanied by some psychedelic guitar work with a touch of blues and hammond organ, and closes out the album just as strongly as it began.

Again, I can't recommend this album enough. Janko Nilovic was a prolific composer, and released numerous library music albums; however, Supra Pop Impressions easily stands out as one of my personal favorites in his entire catalog. I hope you all will agree. Please feel free to share your opinions on this album in the comments section. I'm eager to read how you feel about the recent library music posts.

Year of Release: 1973
Label: Montparnasse 2000
Catalog #: MP 16
Bitrate: 256kbps
Genres: Library Music

Track List:
A1. Electric Days
A2. Roses and Revolvers
A3. Once In My Country
A4. Krishna Mission
A5. Mystic Words
A6. Pop Circus
B1. Tapatapa
B2. Chorus For Leslie
B3. Girl Named Revolte
B4. Ballet Mecanique
B5. House In The Plain
B6. Funky Stage

Download: Janko Nilovic - Supra Pop Impressions
Download Size: 73MB