Paloma Supersound

Four Flies sheds light on the catalogue of the enigmatic Paloma Records, a DIY record label founded in 1983 by Bolognese composer, arranger, conductor, and singer Paolo Zavallone, who, after a long career in pop music and at RAI television, decided to venture into the world of library music publishing.

The 12 tracks on this compilation were composed by Zavallone, who co-produced and co-arranged them with his friend Mauro Malavasi. The Paloma Records catalogue comprises just five LPs, all released – solely for circulation among industry professionals and not for commercial distribution – within a two-year period. Like typical library music albums, these LPs had very simple, plain artwork that hid their creators behind a game of smoke and mirrors – fanciful pseudonyms, names of non-existent studio bands, and even figureheads. But despite its enigmatic nature, today the label's small catalogue reveals its extraordinary potential: it's utterly iconic in the way it captures the sound of Italian music in the early '80s, and not only in the library genre.

Zavallone's library music can also be regarded as a tribute to a certain Bolognese music scene, characterized by small provincial studios and, most importantly, by young, talented session musicians like Rudy Trevisi on sax and percussion, Davide Romani on bass, Lele Melotti on drums, and Paolo Gianolio on guitar (together with Malavasi, who played synths, they were basically the rhythm section of Vasco Rossi's records in 1983-1984). Like in the case of fellow Bolognese composer Enzo Minuti, this music scene offered a unique alternative to the dominance of Rome and Milan in the library music industry.