Bruno Nicolai Essentials

Italian film composer Bruno Nicolai was a friend and collaborator of Ennio Morricone and their careers followed parallel paths. But where Morricone's spaghetti Western soundtracks explored the good, the bad—and of course the ugly—Nicolai's work tends to explore the darker side of morality. Though specialising in exploitation—scoring the notorious Caligula and Jess Franco's giallo films—Nicolai's work is gloriously vibrant. Never oppressive, his compositions feature jaunty strings and playful melodies—and communicate casual fluency in the swinging jazz and rock melodies of the ‘70s and ‘80s.