Umberto
Under the name Umberto, Los Angeles-based electronic musician Matt Hill composes music that pays homage to the soundtracks of '70s and '80s horror films, as well as other musical genres from the era such as Italo-disco and ambient. Following the release of 2009 debut From the Grave..., his music quickly gained a cult following among fans of retro-styled synthesizer music, and it wasn't long before he was scoring actual soundtracks, such as 2012's Night Has a Thousand Screams. While Umberto has mainly been a solo venture of Hill, he has collaborated live and on record with additional musicians, particularly Justin Carrick.
Originally from Kansas City, Hill became a touring member of Justin Wright's psych/Krautrock-inspired Expo '70 project during the late 2000s. Umberto's debut album, From the Grave..., was originally issued by Wright's Sonic Meditations label in 2009. The album was reissued on vinyl by Permanent Records in 2010, eventually going through several pressings as Umberto's fan base grew. Second album Prophecy of the Black Widow appeared on Los Angeles-based Not Not Fun that year. Umberto released several singles and EPs in 2011, including the '80s action movie-inspired 7" Freeze! and the more spacious Final Exit and Welcome to the Chillzone.
In 2012, Umberto's first proper soundtrack, Night Has a Thousand Screams, was released by Mogwai's Rock Action label. The project returned to Not Not Fun for the release of the 2013 full-length Confrontations and 2014 12" Temple Room, which revisited the leadoff track from Prophecy of the Black Widow in two extended disco mixes. A few other singles (including "La Llorona" and "The Child") appeared in 2014 as well. Umberto's second soundtrack, the Antoni Maiovvi collaboration Law Unit, was issued by Death Waltz (home to numerous reissues of vintage horror soundtracks) in 2015. The label also released a stand-alone Umberto single titled "In the Night." He returned to Not Not Fun again in 2016 with the full-length Alienation. The album included vocals by Edward Tonoyan and Viktoria Gokun, and went in more of an '80s ethereal/darkwave direction than Hill's previous work.
After a three-year absence, Umberto signed to Thrill Jockey in 2019 and released Helpless Spectator, which featured cellist/bowed banjo player Aaron Martin and pedal steel guitarist "Idaho Joe" Winslow. While the album was a bit of a departure for Hill, he returned to horror-disco with the Outskirts of Reno EP, issued by Giallo Disco.
© Paul Simpson /TiVo
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Law Unit
Original Soundtrack - Erschienen bei Death Waltz Originals am 17.05.2015
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Night Has a Thousand Screams
Alternativ und Indie - Erschienen bei Rock Action Records am 29.10.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Archenemy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Original Soundtrack - Erschienen bei Masterworks am 29.01.2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Outskirts Of Reno EP
Progressive Rock - Erschienen bei Giallo Disco am 04.10.2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Confrontations
Electronic - Erschienen bei Not Not Fun am 05.02.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prophecy of the Black Widow
Electronic - Erschienen bei Not Not Fun am 26.10.2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Break My Heart
Marvin Klein, Umberto, Jon Davis
Electronic - Erschienen bei Ninetone am 26.11.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alienation
Electronic - Erschienen bei Not Not Fun am 03.06.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Can't Shake You
Dance - Erschienen bei Up All Night am 29.10.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
From the Grave…
Alternativ und Indie - Erschienen bei Permanent Records am 06.04.2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
WEPLAY Summer EP 2020
House - Erschienen bei WEPLAY Music am 03.07.2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Amore Ciao
Italien - Erschienen bei FreshVibesArtists am 16.02.2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MusiC Day
Giorgio Rey, Rames, Rois Carolus, Umberto
Pop - Erschienen bei MB77 Tracks am 24.03.2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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