Four Flies is thrilled to announce a reissue of Piero Umiliani’s soundtrack to the 1969 giallo thriller “Orgasmo” (called “Paranoia” in English speaking countries), the first of three erotically charged films directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring cult siren (and Oscar nominee) Carroll Baker. Back in 2020, we unveiled the first-ever release of this iconic soundtrack, whose master tapes were thought lost for decades. After some serious detective work in the composer’s archives, our team managed to salvage and restore the original tapes, bringing Umiliani’s score back to life for all to enjoy. Due to popular demand, this reissue, unlike the 2020 release, bears the film’s original Italian title.
Recorded shortly after “Sweden: Heaven and Hell” in late 1968, Orgasmo is undoubtedly one of Umiliani’s finest works. The score perfectly captures the stylish and sleazy vibe of Lenzi’s film, its acid-drenched visuals, and its themes of sick psychological mind games (courtesy of the devious characters played by Swedish enfant terrible Lou Castel and French beauty Colette Descombes). Umiliani was arguably in his golden period here, at the peak of his compositional powers – elements like the vocals performed by Alessandro Alessandroni and his wife Giulia, or the Hammond parts played by Antonello Vannucchi, seem to foreshadow the atmospheric depths of future works, such as the soundtrack for Mario Bava’s Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970). At the same time, however, the score exudes a surprisingly cheerful vibe, thanks to its Brazilian influences and lively bossa-nova and samba-jazz rhythms. To top it all off, the sublime Lydia MacDonald lends her voice to the haunting “Fate Had Planned It So,” which plays in the opening titles sequence and thus sets the stage for the film's enigmatic journey.
