SUPERSTEREO

Ready to dive into the sound of Vedette, one of Italy’s most prestigious historic record labels and music catalogs? This playlist will take you on a journey across the genres heard in Italian B-movies between the early 60s and late 70s!

After founding Vedette in 1962, violinist, conductor and composer Armando Sciascia enlisted a close-knit group of friends and collaborators, including Carlo Pes, Bruno Battisti D’Amario, Francesco Anselmo (aka Lee Selmoco) and others to produce music intended for use in film, television and radio. Recordings of this music were released beginning in the mid-late 60s, first on Vedette’s ‘Musiche per sonorizzazioni e programmi’ series and then also on its sub-label Phase 6 Superstereo, which – not unlike RCA Victor’s Living Stereo and Decca’s Phase 4 Stereo – went all-in on stereophonic technology to ensure high-fidelity sound reproduction and a “three-dimensional” listening experience. 

The musical palette ranges from exotica to jazz-beat, to soundtrack instrumentals, covering the various eclectic, experimental and even bizarre styles that were heard in the B-movies of the time and would later be collectively described as Italian lounge. In addition to original compositions with moods ranging from the seductively sexy, to the playful, to the darkly suspenseful, notable arrangements of popular songs include a really exotic version of Duke Ellington’s signature tune “Caravan” (used by Soderbergh in his film Ocean’s Thirteen), an almost psychedelic cover of Fred Buscaglione’s “I Found My Love In Portofino,” and a lush, string-filled version of Jorge Ben’s hit “Mas Que Nada” featuring the exquisite voice of Edda Dell’Orso.