Daniele Luppi and Michael Kiwanuka drop a new LP
Daniele Luppi has taken a treasure trove of forgotten Italian film music and transformed it into a lush, modern cinematic romance on his latest album, Wilma. The project is a masterclass in sonic excavation, treating vintage soundtrack fragments not as relics, but as raw material for entirely new narratives.
Luppi’s debut volume in this experimental trilogy arrives on October 9 via Verve/slowplay, promising an experience that bridges the gap between archival history and contemporary emotional depth.
The creation of Wilma began with Luppi’s deep access to an extensive library of recordings made by some of Italy’s elite session players from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s—the country’s equivalent of the legendary Wrecking Crew. He didn’t simply revive these sounds; he approached the vintage material with the meticulous eye of a filmmaker, excavating cues from obscure feature films, commercials, documentaries, and industrial subjects that had long been relegated to storage.
This process of finding and reshaping evolved into a unique narrative. Luppi layered these found tracks with new vocals, lyrics, synths, and live drums, utilizing vintage gear like the 1984 Yamaha DX7 and Lexicon PCM70. Instead of being a documentarian, Luppi stated, he used the existing material as found footage, editing and reshaping it into an entirely original story.
The resulting soundscape is deliberately warm and analog, perfectly capturing the universal longing for love and the complexities of modern romance. The project features collaborations with UK singer/songwriter Michael Kiwanuka on the lead track “To Some Degree,” where Kiwanuka’s profound sense of humanity shines through. Vocal and songwriting contributions were shared between Kiwanuka and Orion Sun, with lyrics penned by Shungudzo.
The album’s filmic sensibility extends beyond the music itself. The cover art is a visual masterpiece, featuring a publicity still of actress Edith Scob photographed by Spanish avant-garde artist Antonio Gálvez on the set of Luis Buñuel’s 1969 satire The Milky Way.
Luppi’s creative vision is supported by a pedigree of work that spans rock and pop, having previously crafted scores for numerous film and television productions and collaborated with artists such as Danger Mouse, Broken Bells, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Karen O, Parquet Courts, and Gnarls Barkley. The album Wilma stands as a compelling testament to how history, sound, and emotion can be woven together into something entirely new.
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