Calibro 35 - Tales of guns and gangsters

When Enrico Gabrielli (already a member of Mariposa) announced via a terse statement his decision to leave Afterhours, many judged the move pure folly: leaving one of the most representative bands of Italian alt-rock was seen as an act of self-sabotage. What's more, the decision came just as his former bandmates, following their appearance at Sanremo, were reaching peak visibility. It's likely that coexisting with a strong, charismatic figure like Manuel Agnelli had inevitably undermined the ambitions of the multifaceted Gabrielli, who had made decisive contributions to the making of “The Milanese kill off Saturday night“. Over time, it became clear what his real motivation was: the desire to move freely across the Italian independent scene, without being tied down by the many commitments that come with belonging to a band.

Gabrielli would go on to establish himself widely as an arranger, securing a role on many of the best Italian records of recent years, but above all he tied his name to that of Calibro 35. The story begins in Milan in 2007, when Enrico (bringing along his arsenal of horns and vintage organs) joined forces with guitarist Massimo Martellotta, drummer Fabio Rondanini and bassist Luca Cavina, under the supervision of Tommaso Colliva, a genuine added member as well as producer and sound designer for the ensemble. The idea was to reinterpret, with taste and postmodern savvy, some of the most daring soundtracks from Italian "poliziottesco" crime films, a genre that was hugely popular in the 70s. A task steeped in philological rigor, one that would give a second life to compositions born out of one of the most creative seasons in Italian music.

The results of these early experiments were captured on the debut album, Calibro 35, released in 2008 on Cinedelic Records, which gathers reworkings of film themes originally penned by Morricone, Bacalov, Trovajoli and Micalizzi. In doing so, the band restored splendor to a sunken Atlantis of music capable of telling the story of an unrepeatable era in Italian cinema (just ask Quentin Tarantino). Stylish, irresistible grooves, distorted organs, hypnotic basslines, blazing horns, and fuzz blasts like sirens blaring through the imaginary spin-out of a ruthless crime novel, all brought together to revive old, more or less forgotten soundtracks. The goal is to make them their own, while still remaining respectful of the work of the genre's great masters. But the band also knows how to add its own touch, with two successful original tracks: “Notte In Bovisa” and “La Polizia s’incazza”.

Calibro 35 comes across as a carnival of funk-jazz progressions loaded with novelistic pathos and visual potential, not without mischievously Zappa-esque touches and intricate prog webs that run from King Crimson to Tortoise, via Goblin. At the two ends of the album sit a pair of well-executed period covers sung by prestigious guests: “Tutta donna”, originally performed by Lola Falana, is here sung by Georgeanne Kalweit (ex-Delta V), while Roberto Dell'Era (bassist of Afterhours and soon to embark on a successful solo career) lends his voice to “L’appuntamento”, a bona fide classic by Ornella Vanoni. Calibro 35 would quickly rise to cult-album status, both among genre devotees and newcomers alike.

In 2009, Afterhours (with Gabrielli still in the line-up) brought “Il paese è reale” to Sanremo, winning the critics' award. On the companion compilations album of the same name, they featured a track performed by Calibro 35, ”L’uomo dagli occhi di ghiaccio”, an opportunity that gave the band further visibility.

That same year, Calibro 35 embarked on their first European tour, and in November won the Pimi award for best tour of the year.

At this stage, Calibro 35 benefited from the long wave triggered by the international rediscovery of great Italian soundtracks, aided in part by the invaluable research carried out by major directors such as Tarantino and Rodriguez. At that moment, no one else was playing that kind of music: the quintet thus found themselves filling an artistic void, embodying the type of musician that many, especially in America, had been searching for.

While in Italy the old crime films, along with their soundtracks, were kept locked away in a drawer because they were seen as 'right-wing', in the United States they were identified as a form of counterculture. Thanks to the visibility that stemmed from this situation, Calibro 35 were invited into the studio to record the soundtrack for Eurocrime, an American documentary about Italian crime films.

In February 2010 came the second album, Ritornano quelli di… Calibro 35, which largely replicates the formula of the debut: a sequence of instrumental tracks that rework or draw inspiration from old themes taken from 70s "poliziottesco" crime films. The novelty this time is that the band wrote eight of the thirteen tracks on the album, some of which hold up well alongside the already strong covers. The record became something of a cult success, and the band suddenly found itself the focus of attention from specialist media, landing magazine covers and glowing reviews. The formula had already become a trademark: funk blasts and jazz breaths alternate with rock moments and even beat-pop flourishes; vintage keyboards, full basslines, funky guitars and sparkling flutes are all on brilliant display, even if there's the occasional drift into slight self-indulgence. When the band decides to step on the gas, the most irresistible moments emerge, starting with the blaxploitation drive of the twin masterpieces “Eurocrime!” and “L’esecutore”. This time the composers paid tribute to are Ennio Morricone, Riz Ortolani, Piero Umiliani, Gianni Ferrio and Stefano Torossi, but Calibro 35's skill is such, and their immersion in the material so complete, that it's hard to tell the covers apart from the original tracks.

In July 2010 the split single Il Beat Vol. 1 was released, featuring two tracks: the first is a collaboration between Dente and Il Genio, while the B-side features “Il beat…cos’è”, a Sonny Bono cover reworked by Calibro 35 with Roberto Dell'Era on vocals, further cementing a close friendship with Gabrielli and co.

On October 6th, Calibro 35's success was confirmed by an invitation to record a live set at the RAI Auditorium on Via Asiago, broadcast the following day. The show was enriched by guest appearances from Manuel Agnelli (who sang “Ragazzo di strada”), Roberto Dell'Era and Georgeanne Kalweit.

By the end of 2010, the release of Rare is worth noting, a collection of unreleased tracks, b-sides and soundtrack work recorded in the band's early years.

By this point, many were already crediting the band with restoring to Italian musical consciousness a treasure of inestimable value. Just a few years earlier, it would have been unthinkable to see concerts packed with twenty-somethings thrilled by the sound of "poliziotteschi" films, in a hybrid of funk, classical music, hard rock, progressive and psychedelia that had seemed buried under dust. Thanks in part to the Tarantino-mania of the era, everything changed, and fans of the independent scene reclaimed (and in many cases discovered for the first time) a genuine musical style that ranks among the best this country has ever produced.

Meanwhile, the members of Calibro 35 manage to juggle a thicket of side projects and collaborations.

In particular, Enrico Gabrielli establishes himself as a highly sought-after session musician and arranger, appearing on many major albums. Among others, he collaborates with Vinicio Capossela, Baustelle (for whom he will arrange the orchestral score of the concept album "Fantasma" and tour as orchestra conductor), A Toys Orchestra, Marco Parente, Paolo Benvegnù, Morgan, Andrea Chimenti, One Dimensional Man, Marta sui Tubi, Dente and many others. He also launches the projects Der Maurer, Craxi, and Incident On South Street.

Bassist Luca Cavina, meanwhile, stands out in the bold avant-noise project Zeus!, shared with drummer Paolo Mongardi (Jennifer Gentle, Il Genio), which produces the albums "Zeus!" (2010), "Opera" (2013) and "Motomonotono" (2015).

Meanwhile, Calibro 35's live activity continues relentlessly, both in Italy and across Europe, with the occasional foray into the United States, where they start to carve out a small niche of popularity.

In February 2012, Any resemblance to real people or actual events is purely coincidental sees the light of day, marking a partial departure from the formula of the previous albums. No longer (just) covers of classic pieces or perfectly in-style "fake originals", but also some broadening of horizons and "anachronistic" forays into post-'70s territory. The guiding principle seems to be the what-if: what if the poliziottesco craze had come back around in the days of Kula Shaker's "Govinda" ("New Dehli Deli")? What if an aperitivo ad needed something cheeky and retro ("Uh Ah Brr", one of the album's high points)? What if, just once, they had to sound truly epic and menacing ("Massacro all'alba")? Another novelty is the presence, on three tracks ("Uh Ah Brr", "Il Pacco" and "La banda del B.B.Q."), of the musicians' own voices, or rather their cocky mutterings.

For the rest, the formula is the usual one, with the classic two covers (Morricone's "Passaggi nel tempo" and Piccioni's "New York New York"), grooves more Zeppelin-esque than ever ("Arrivederci e grazie", "Massacro all'alba"), a few romantic flourishes ("Buone notizie", "Pioggia e cemento"), and the tight, scorching, vintage sound that is the band's trademark.

The circle closes in 2013, when the band records the original soundtrack for Said, a decidedly pulpy film, all mafia and violence, directed by Joseph Lefevre and intended for streaming release on Youtube. Released digitally on April 19th, a vinyl edition was also put into circulation the following day, to coincide with Record Store Day. Calibro 35 shut themselves away for three days at the Forum Music Village studios in Rome, recording the material live as the film played on screen, in the same way orchestras used to do for Italian cinema in the Sixties and Seventies. The album opens with the funky notes of "Said Titoli", as cocky and irresistible as only certain b-movie heroes can be. "Ragazzo di Strada" finally makes an appearance, the reworking of the famous song by I Corvi (itself a cover of "I Ain't No Miracle Worker" by The Brogues), driven along by Manuel Agnelli's voice. The other Afterhours member, Rodrigo D'Erasmo, instead adds violin to the dark "Tensione".

Funk mixes with jazz on "Locale", "Erotismo" is sly and lascivious, and "Don Vito", written and performed by Francesco Forni, pays tribute to the Neapolitan song tradition. After an unexpectedly contemplative "Finale Said", two appendices follow: a remix of "Sbirri", featuring Dj Aladyn on the scratches, and the splendid "Risoluzione", a dreamlike and more or less unwitting nod to "Golden Brown" by The Stranglers. In this way, Calibro 35 experiment with a range of solutions that go beyond their usual quotation-heavy approach, without ever straying from it entirely, and without ever slipping into mannerism for its own sake.

With Said, the band proves it has fully grown into the role: a project that began by redoing other people's soundtracks ends up writing its own, and holds up perfectly well. But Said is not the only moment in which the band comes into direct contact with cinema. Calibro 35 composed tracks for the films "Gli Angeli del Male" by Michele Placido and "La Banda del Brasiliano" by John Snellinberg. The track "Convergere in Giambellino" was included on the soundtrack of "R.E.D.", starring Bruce Willis and John Malkovich.

Furthermore, in 2010, following the huge success of the Italian TV series "Romanzo Criminale", EMI released a compilations featuring eleven previously unreleased songs inspired by the characters and events of the story. The standout moment is the instrumental "Come un romanzo", performed by Calibro 35, by now specialists in writing and performing compositions on the poliziottesco theme.

They also handled the live scoring of the film "Milano odia: la polizia non può sparare" (directed by Umberto Lenzi, music by Ennio Morricone), which sold out twice, in Rome and Milan, while the special event "Indagine sul Cinema del Brivido" opened the doors of Milan's Teatro dal Verme to the band.

The band's hugely creative streak is confirmed by the announcement of another album, released on October 21st 2013, Traditori di tutti, made up of twelve original tracks inspired by the eponymous crime novel by Giorgio Scerbanenco, the same author who wrote "I milanesi ammazzano al sabato", which gave its title to an album by Afterhours (the very one featuring Gabrielli). This marks the start of the quartet's literary vein (in truth, Tommaso Colliva's presence is always so strong that the band could rightly be considered a quintet), setting a noir-tinged crime story set in Milan to music. Traditori di tutti contains twelve songs capable of refreshing the entire imaginative toolkit of Calibro 35, who return to an entirely instrumental formula, save for the backing vocals of Serena Altavilla, sultry on "The Butcher's Bride" and angelic on "Miss Livia Ussaro."

The band has fun introducing a few new instruments, such as the Philicorda organ, the dulcitone and the mellotron. "Prologue" and "Annoying Repetitions" bookend and help define an album darker in mood than usual, yet stylistically just as outgoing as its predecessors. "Giulia Mon Amour" is a magnificent beat-driven romp, "Stainless Steel" rides on the axis of granite-hard guitar riffs and sax, "Mescaline 6" puts psychedelic elements front and center. "The Butcher's Bride", accompanied by farfisa organ, and the funky "You Filthy Bastards" enrich a record that stays sharp throughout, constantly balanced on a thread of narrative tension, (self-)referential without ever feeling redundant. It confirms the band's choice to focus on original compositions rather than dip back into the not-inexhaustible well of poliziottesco soundtracks.

In November 2015 came S.P.A.C.E., which shifted the band's focus toward writing musical themes that revisit the vein of old science-fiction films. Calibro 35 felt the need not to pigeonhole themselves as a "genre" band, and decided to broaden their horizons. While a strong noir flavour remains evident, the goal here is to recreate a mood more closely tied to the world of space-themed cinema, capturing a snapshot from a different perspective. And to underline that approach, everything was recorded as if it were 1966 - the year chosen as the album's setting - all together in the same room, without headphones, playing strictly period-accurate instruments. The approach to the sci-fi imagery, more than in the musical themes tackled (not too different from those of previous records), lies in the strategic placement of "atmospheric" tracks ("Something Happened On Planet Earth", the spy-story theme built on bass and keyboards "An Asteroid Called Death"), of specific space-flavoured segments (the two tracks bookending the record: "74 Days After Landing" and "Serenade For A Satellite") or noise-driven ones ("Brain Trap"). The rest plays out in the choice of titles, designed to sketch the plot of an imaginary film, of which "S.P.A.C.E." stands as the ideal soundtrack, built around the great work done on synths, with a production that remains attentive to every small detail throughout.

To spice up the menu further, alongside the pitch-black, jazz-tinged funk ("Across 111th Sun", courtesy of Gabrielli's genius) that has traditionally run through the band's DNA, this time they also dwell on drifts capable of merging Afro and western sounds ("Ungwana Bay Launch Complex", written entirely by Cavina), and even a disorienting look toward vaguely Dubstep rhythms ("A Future We Never Lived"). The chases and pursuits reminiscent of poliziottesco cinema remain present in the irresistible "S.P.A.C.E." (with Gabrielli's flute on fine form), "Bandits On Mars", "Thrust Force" and "Violent Venus" (all born from Massimo Martellotta's inspiration), the most energetic tracks of the bunch, as if to keep a firm link with what they've already explored in the past.

Because, at the end of the day, with this record Calibro 35 mean to regenerate themselves while still staying true to who they are - a kind of renewal within continuity, confirmed for instance by the strong Morricone-esque sensations running through "Universe Of 10 Dimensions". It's a one-of-a-kind experience, carried forward with great determination and seriousness of purpose by these five formidable musicians, absolute points of reference for Italian independent music around the world.

On 16 October 2016 Calibro 35's first live album also arrived. CLBR35 Live From S.P.A.C.E. documents the extraordinary qualities the quartet display on stage, drawing on the best moments from the concert held at the Biko in Milan on 23 March 2016. For the occasion, horn contributions come courtesy of Paolo Ranieri and Francesco Bucci of Ottone Pesante.

While Enrico Gabrielli - together with Lino Gitto and Roberto Dell'Era - pulled the formidable psych-tinged project Winstons out of his hat, and even found time to play on The Hope Six Demolition Project by P.J. Harvey (then joining the world tour with the band), Calibro 35 as a full unit played on Sugar Rush, the solo debut of Nic Cester, former frontman of Jet, released in November 2017.

The next step took shape in February 2018 with Decade, which closed the book on the brief "cosmic" parenthesis. To celebrate ten years of activity, Tommaso Colliva and co. stage new scores and unreleased imaginary soundtracks, bringing into the studio for the first time the small orchestra Esecutori di Metallo su Carta, with the aim of making the arrangements even fuller and more varied, building a sonic compendium of everything achieved stylistically so far, spiced up with a few welcome novelties. From the ethno-jazz of "Psycheground" to the poliziottesco funk of "SuperStudio" (which keeps them tied to their early days, echoing "Eurocrime!"), from the Morricone-esque breath of "Ambienti" and "Travelers" to the Afro-psych atmospheres of "Pragma", inside Decade we find the whole world of Calibro 35.

Whether it's the orchestra taking the upper hand ("Faster Faster!"), or the band staying in more "experimental" territory ("ArchiZoom", "Polymeri") or minimalist mode ("Modulor"), Decade stands as the most heterogeneous work the band has assembled so far, yet another kaleidoscope of ideas and insights confirming the quintet on the same level as the classics and a cut above most contemporary composers: it's no coincidence they're among the most sought-after Italian arrangers/musicians, not only within our borders. If we really had to pinpoint a flaw, we might find it - at times - in a certain repetitiveness in their output, a consequence of choosing to play instrumental music, an option that, while making the music more exportable, tends to crystallise Calibro 35 within a comfortable gilded cage.

In May 2018 Massimo Martellotta launched a series of five releases recorded in complete solitude, the One Man Sessions. In the first volume, titled Sintesi, he explores the possibilities of synths, recording six entirely instrumental movements in a single day. From the à la Goblin atmospheres of the first track, he moves on to the Carpenter-esque fascinations of the second, the horror-tinged gait of the third and sixth, passing through the ambient modes of the fourth and the light-Dubstep immersions of the fifth. Martellotta thus asserts himself with real personality as a composer of predominantly horror-leaning themes too, drawing on the greats of the past while shaping his own vision straddling vintage sounds and possible futures. In the following volumes Martellotta will impersonate a Hitchcockian orchestra, pick up guitars to conjure underwater library-music textures, lay down drum-and-Wurlitzer grooves, and indulge in Hammond organs, vibraphones and prepared pianos, placing everyday objects on the strings to achieve unusual timbres. Scholarship and experimentation, with a firm will to set no limits or boundaries.

After a 2019 devoted to various personal artistic commitments, on 24 January 2020 Calibro 35's new album arrives: Momentum, on which they veer toward an urban hip-hop mode. It's territory they feel right at home in, having always dabbled in black-funk. A couple of tracks feature vocals, and it's precisely those that set the album's direction and define its character. So it happens that Momentum reveals its most telling (and "innovative") moments in the first single "Stan Lee" (a choice that confirms the intention to show a clear change of pace) and in "Black Moon", which feature Detroit rapper Illa J and London's Mercy Welbeck, aka Mia, respectively. In truth, the "traditional" Calibro 35 are hard to recognise from as early as the opening "Glory – Fake – Nation" (also fitted out with female vocals), absorbed into a vortex not too far removed from certain trip-hop movements.

In this study of stylistic renewal, Fabio Rondanini's drumming becomes even more central: while everything around him changes shape, he remains the one "constant". He takes the reins in an even more recognisable way, especially after his turn in the Sanremo spotlight - also as a songwriter - alongside Daniele Silvestri, and the Afrocentric adventure of the project I Hate My Village. But Calibro 35 approach their renewal with a conservative spirit, so throughout the album a certain protection of their own trademark persists, through no shortage of references to the path travelled so far. The fascination with soundtracks remains evident not only in tracks like "Tom Down" and "4×4", but also within the already-mentioned "Stan Lee", with an interlude recalling certain spy-story themes. For the rest of the record the band moves from the cinematic post-rock of "Death Of Storytelling" (with Massimo Martellotta's arpeggios to the fore) to the electro immersion with kosmische overtones of "Automata", from homages to Carpenter to the elegant jazzy refinement expressed through Enrico Gabrielli's horns on "Thunderstorms And Data" and "Fail It Till You Make It", a genuine explosion of groove.

In June 2021 came the EP Post Momentum, six tracks forming an appendix to the previous album. "Stan Lee" returns in two alternate versions: one instrumental, the other preserving the surprising turn toward more modernist hip-hop, swapping American rapper Illa J for featured spots from Ensi and Ghemon, who had already tried out that interpretation live, as guests at the Fabrique in Milan in January 2020. Another reworking is that of "Black Moon", transformed for the occasion into "Artificial Black Moon", a private take on MEI's vocal part in favour of the voice of Sophia, an artificial intelligence.

Alongside these new classics, Calibro 35 insert three unreleased tracks, more closely tied to the "soundtrack" mode that is their traditional signature. Not through simple déjà-vu, but moving through unexpected off-beats, robotic voices, vague Radiohead influences (keep an ear out for the arpeggios of "Digi-Tails") and the craft of five artists in constant evolution, enriched by the relentless development of interesting solo careers, and by the proliferation of countless parallel projects in which they increasingly often feature as authoritative protagonists.

Also in 2021 Calibro 35 gave further proof of their standing by composing the soundtrack for the TV series Blanca, broadcast in prime time on RAI 1. To bring the story's sonic universe to life, Enrico Gabrielli and co. composed around 150 themes, twenty-two of which made it onto the soundtrack released in physical format, drawing on tradition ("Lavanderia a gettoni" is very seventies) but above all immersing themselves in the present, sketching for instance the "urban" traits of "Ready Steady", the record's backbone track entrusted to the voices of MEI and Arya, already appreciated on her solo debut "Peace Of Mind". Elisa Zoot steps in instead on the more nocturnal "White Shark" and "I See Through You". The challenge of using vocals is certainly nothing new for Calibro 35, and the choice to sing in English reinforces the project's international scope.

Songs of modern R&B but also of more "classic" soul ("The Hardest Day Of My Life", featuring Tom Newton) or laced with subtle jazzy shades ("The World Is Blind", a very Amy Winehouse-esque track entrusted to Tahnee Rodriguez). The closing tribute is reserved for the great James Brown classic "It's A Man's Man's World", here reinterpreted by Marina Maximilian. As ever elusive when they tread the path of the most scorching funk ("That Kind Of Feeling", "Villapizzone"), for the many descriptive instrumentals Calibro 35 bank on stylistic diversity, also turning to electronic solutions ("Negli abissi") and Carpenter-esque references ("Colossei e Container"). Never afraid to question themselves when venturing into territory seemingly far removed from their own, they prove convincing even when tackling ethnic music on "Afrobar" and the new wave of Italian hip-hop on "Genova chiama", with Gorka on the mic.

2022, on the other hand, was devoted to the Ennio Morricone tribute project. In June came the first volume of Scacco al Maestro, ten reworkings recorded in faithful respect of the original scores, allowing themselves a few liberties. For the theme from "C'era una volta il west", they hand the vocal line once sung by Edda Dell'Orso to Antonio Diodato, who develops it according to his own sensibility. The other notable featured guest appears on "Arena" (from the spaghetti western "Il Mercenario", directed in 1968 by Sergio Corbucci): the whistling and guitar once provided by Alessandro Alessandroni pass to Matt Bellamy. Among the collaborators worth noting are also the presences of Sebastiano De Gennaro on percussion and Valeria Sturba on theremin, for an ensemble that works beautifully both when gliding over the velvet of ultra-famous themes long since part of popular culture ("Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo"), and when venturing into jazzy or experimental territory ("Un tranquillo posto di campagna" harks back to the avant-garde period shared with the Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza).

Just a few months later comes the second volume of the Scacco al Maestro project, featuring eleven more legendary themes. Guests this time around include Joan Wasser, Alessandro Cortini, Elisa and Roy Paci. Boldly but respectfully, Calibro 35 also put together a live show dedicated to performing this material, which keeps them busy for much of the year and earns them plenty of visibility and audience turnout. Joining them on stage are Valeria Sturba on violin, theremin and vocals, Sebastiano De Gennaro on percussion, and Paolo Ranieri on trumpet. Such complex and delicate material is handled with technical skill and an extraordinary ability to replicate scores painstakingly reconstructed by hand, since tracking down the originals is simply impossible. The result is a fitting tribute to an important chapter of contemporary history, and not just musical history.

Calibro 35's 2023 opens amid the controversy following the first departure since the project began: Luca Cavina is no longer in the band, and his absence is the most striking change in this new phase, which leads to the May release of a new album of original material, Nouvelles Aventures, a title that underscores the adventurous spirit of its ten new tracks, some of which grew out of improvisations captured by chance in the studio: that's the case with the lysergic rarefactions of "Novecento e Mille" and the closing "Milan au 30ème siècle", the most experimental and atmospheric moments on "Nouvelles Aventures".

The album opens with the hypnotic one-two punch of "Apnea" / "Extraordinaire", which immediately reveals a band strongly drawn to a psychedelia capable of blending now with Middle Eastern influences ("Mompracem"), now with its own brand of orchestral jazz ("Ottofante"). But the most electrifying moments – and this time there are more of them than usual – come with the irresistible super-funk riffs underpinning the mighty "Gun Powder" (a spot-on choice as a single), "Dinamometro" (complete with surf guitars), "Eteretaco" and "Bolero!", the latter enriched by backing vocals from their friend Roberto Dell'Era.

In 2025 Calibro 35 confirm their adventurous nature across the eleven tracks recorded for Exploration, notable for featuring three reinterpretations of TV themes dear to anyone who was a child or teenager in the Eighties. "Discomania", an irresistible jazz-funk groove composed by Piero Umiliani, was the closing theme of "90° Minuto", which every Sunday afternoon showed the goals and highlights from the Serie A football grounds, back when all the matches kicked off at the same time. "Jazz Carnival", also jazz-funk, this time courtesy of Brazil's Azymuth, was instead the theme for "Mixer", the RAI current-affairs programme hosted in the studio by Giovanni Minoli, while "Lunedì Cinema", the product of a meeting between Lucio Dalla and Stadio (recorded here with a perfectly judged featuring from Marco Castello), introduced the Monday night film every week on RAI 1. Memories of evenings spent with loved ones, and Calibro 35, children of that era themselves, reinterpret these immortal tracks with real passion and commitment, stamping them with their own identity, no longer seeking to simply spread the word but rather paying tribute to certain authors, testing themselves on material that is undeniably demanding. 

Not only through TV flashbacks, but also returning to their old love, the cinema, with a second tribute to composer Piero Umiliani, who wrote "Gassman Blues" for Mario Monicelli's "I soliti ignoti", alongside a reworking of "Mission Impossible", the ultra-famous soundtrack theme from the action-movie series starring Tom Cruise, and the disco-funk of "Coffy Is The Color", written by Roy Ayers and dug up from a film in the blaxploitation canon. And as if that weren't enough, there are also a couple of covers of all-time classics: Herbie Hancock's seminal "Chamaleon" and the psych undertones brought out in Bob James's "Nautilus". To complete the picture, there was of course no shortage of three self-penned tracks, which slot in perfectly alongside the covers. Such is the case with the opening, barnstorming "Reptile Strut", which recalls the poliziottesco themes that marked Calibro 35's early days, the more descriptive "Pied de Poule" and the exquisite "The Twang", which would not have been out of place in a Quentin Tarantino film.

Despite their many commitments, Calibro 35 keep coming back together to carry on the gripping philological journey that will secure their place in history: having helped recover an invaluable musical heritage largely unknown to most people, they have restored dignity to a genre that risked being forgotten forever, or remaining confined within the boundaries of a specific cinematic aesthetic. They have then pushed well beyond the already promising premise of their early days, studying and researching the mechanics that bind scores and films together.

Contributions by Marco Sgrignoli ("Any reference to real people or actual events is purely coincidental") and Fabio Guastalla ("Said", "Traditori di tutti")

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