Piero Umiliani – Il Corpo album art
The soundtrack for Il Corpo by Piero Umiliani (“The Body” in English) was originally released in 1974 under the Sound Work Shop record label, and it’s the last chapter of the trilogy of films by Luigi Scattini, started with La ragazza dalla pelle di luna followed by La ragazza fuori strada both masterfully scored by Piero.
The cover art presents the title of the score in large format, taking up half of the space, roughly the same size of the body of the protagonist of the film Zeudi Araya, represented lying on the sand. The cover is presented in a duotone palette, a minimal approach by the designer which further defines the strong duality between the typeface and image. I believe that the designer chose Kalligraphia for its organicity and elegance, which in my opinion also matches the sound choice of the composer. The cover art designer unfortunately is not credited, as it is the case with many records from this period.
The soundtrack showcases a nice variety of moods and atmospheres, while still maintaining an exotic sound throughout the record, here we can clearly hear the classic signature sounds of Piero:
Simple and elusive themes composed for flutes, the use of electronic equipment mixed with traditional instruments, all conveyed into simplicity of listening with his unique taste for arrangements. From the cosmic jazz funk track “Chaser”, to tribal rhythms overlayed with drum machines in “White Sand” further defining the atmosphere, with a peculiar sound intent. We can hear many examples of this kind of mixes throughout Piero’s carrer, which is a pioneer in terms of sound explorations and composition.
The soundtrack also features Edda Dell’Orso in the track “In The End”.
