Atmospheric, swinging Algerian soundtrack music from the 1970s, swirling together jazz, psych, funk and muzak, with tasty North African, Arab flavours. An eight-page full-size booklet contains rare photos, an interview with the artist from 1978, and a brief introduction to Algerian cinema.

His soundtrack to Claude Sautet’s 1972 film, featuring Romy Schneider’s haunting voice-over of La Lettre De Rosalie. ‘Like a magical bridge between baroque and electronic music, mixing Moog synthesizer sequences with acoustic instruments.’

Last of PU’s cheeky threesome of early-seventies soundtracks for the noirish erotica of Luigi Scattini, with lots of electric piano, wah wah and vocalese, drama, melancholia and sleaze, shot through with spaced-out jazz, true Umiliani style.

This soundtrack to Romano Ferrara’s 1964 spy movie is one of PU’s best and most celebrated. Featuring Nini Rosso, Chet Baker, Bill Gilmore, Marcello Boschi and many others. Excellent sound, from the original analogue masters, with lots of bonus material; in a beautiful sleeve, with a reproduction of the original movie poster on the inside gatefold.

Perhaps his best-known soundtrack, for Luigi Scattini in 1968.

Taut horror soundtrack from 1963: dramatically orchestral, with jazzy intervals.

The soundtrack to the French TV series adapting Henri de Monfreid’s account of his travels in the Middle East. The music for the first series in 1967 features various flutes and marine conches; for underwater settings a celesta or a crystal xylophone. For the later 1975 series, de Roubaix composed a new music score, mixing old and new sounds, his EMS VCS3 synthesizer subtly mixed with acoustic instruments.

‘Gainsbourg’s most elusive, coveted soundtrack studio recording — co-written, arranged and orchestrated by Jean-Claude Vannier (the genius behind Histoire De Melody Nelson), at the creative apex of their partnership — this LP crystallises the inimitable psychedelic, funky pop brilliance of collaborations like La Horse, Cannabis and Sex Shop. Thick, plucked bass-lines, close-miked drums, biting clavinet, subtle Gallicisms, eastern strings and percussion…’

Blaxploitation from the Staples and Curtis Mayfield. The title track is all-time knockout soul music: Mavis is startlingly randy, over a masterful, sinuous rhythm. Goddess. New Orleans winningly sublimates I Heard It On The Grapevine; I Want To Thank You is decent, too; Curtis throws in a few Shaft-style instrumentals.
That title track, though.

This saxophonist came through with the likes of Roy Ayers and Joe Henderson in the sixties, before hooking up with Steve Lacy in Paris in 1973. In this soundtrack composed for a film by his friend Joaquin Lledó — entitled Le Sujet Ou Le Secrétaire Aux Mille Et Un Tiroirs — he was joined by members of the group around Lacy, and diverse co-conspirators including friends from the funk outfit Ice, French accordionist Joss Bassellion, and none other than Jef Gilson at the mixing desk. It’s a dazzling, intensely entertaining blend of modal, cosmic and spiritual jazz, free funk, dirty grooves, heavy jams, bistro boogie and Javanese wah-wah.