Africa Viva by Gianfranco Reverberi

Africa Viva is a collection of nine tracks composed by Gianfranco Reverberi in his Roman studio in the early 1970s, originally created to score films and documentaries and filled with psychedelic elements, hypnotic grooves, and ancestral rhythms.

“African Flute” and “Around the Stars”, respectively the opening and closing themes of Viaggio tra le stelle (a documentary television programme produced by RAI), were released in 1971 on an extremely rare 7-inch single under the pseudonym South African Combo. Today, this record is highly coveted by collectors of Afro-funk grooves. However, the entire album stands as a vibrant example of Italian library music, through which Reverberi celebrates tribal sounds with avant-garde compositions full of rhythmic complexity, transporting listeners into vivid and evocative soundscapes.
Percussion plays a leading role, weaving mesmerizing polyrhythms that evoke the essence of African music. The result is a fusion of enchanting and organic sounds, enriched by instruments such as the kalimba, bass, bongos, flutes, and electric guitars.
Particularly noteworthy are the more experimental tracks, such as “Tepee”, characterized by mystical and peculiar choirs, and “Fabbrica 2000”, where industrial sounds merge with real instruments like percussion and piano.

Blending Afro-jazz, folk-rock, psychedelia, and ambient, Reverberi crafts an immersive and surreal sound, both eccentric and deeply meditative.

Welcome to the Four Flies Vaults, a digital collection of rare Italian music specially recorded for film, radio and television, most of which is available for sync licensing. Here you can discover hidden gems from the golden age of Italian film and library music. All albums have been remastered from the original analog recordings.