A ”Molto Groovy Christmas” with Carlo Poddighe

In 2014, Molto Groovy Christmas remade holiday favorites
inspired by Italian and French movie soundtracks from the 1960s.
Tracks also reference Esquivel, Jimmy Smith’s soul-jazz, and other
out-there sounds, and the project as a whole is defined by
unlikely, psychedelic textural juxtapositions over gently funky
grooves. The album came with a mystery, though. The cover reads,
“Roman Coppola and Alessandro Cassella presents,” but it’s not
until you open the package that you discover who actually made the
music. That task fell to Italian musician and producer Carlo
Poddighe, who arranged the songs and played all the parts.  
This week, Carlo Poddighe tells the story of the album and talks
about the fun and the challenges that accompany having a studio
full of the vintage gear needed for a project like this one. 
  Molto Groovy Christmas isn’t on Spotify or Apple Music,
but CDs and mp3s are available through Amazon and a few vinyl
copies remain for sale at the album’s Bandcamp page.   
Poddighe talks about the influence of a number of Italian
soundtrack composers including Ennio Morricone, the best known in
the United States. A Morricone track is included, as is a track
from the 1995 album Vampyros Lesbos Sexadelic Dance Party, a
very psychedelic collection of soundtrack music that prompted
renewed interest in European soundtrack music from mid-‘60s to the
early ‘70s.  If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe
to Twelve Songs wherever you get your podcasts so that
you don’t miss an episode.