Hunka Munka

Keyboardist Roberto Carlotto from Varese, whose nickname was Hunka Munka, began playing since his childhood, though his musical career was seriously compromised by an aircraft accident that caused him some heavy injuries.

His beginnings as a professional musician took him to play in England, Germany and Switzerland, where he even had the chance of supporting such artists like Rod Stewart and Colosseum. In Italy he had previously played with Big 66, I Cuccioli and later with Ivan Graziani in Anonima Sound, in 1970, before entering a solo career starting with a single in 1971.
As a solo artist, Carlotto was easily recognised by his very good technical quality and the high level of his equipment, that included an incredible number of different keyboards and even the early examples of tape drum machines.

His only solo album, Dedicato a Giovanna G., with his outrageous cover, is a soft-prog album, obviously dominated by Hunka's keyboards (especially his self-customized Hammond organ) and odd tremolo voice resembling Demis Roussos or Bee Gees. Among the backing musicians were drummer Nunzio "Cucciolo" Favia from Osage Tribe and guitarist Ivan Graziani, that had also played in Anonima Sound before leaving for a successful solo career.
The album contains 11 short tracks, two of which also released on single, mostly in a pop style and sometimes marred by orchestral and backing singers arrangements, like in Io canterò per te. Anyway it contains some nice moments for prog fans, like Ruote e sogni, the album's longest track with very good organ playing.

After the album release Carlotto joined Dik Dik in 1973, again with drummer Cucciolo and they played together for many years as "Carlotto & Cucciolo". He also released an electronic album in 1984, Promise of love (Atlantide AMX 12003), under the name Karl Otto.
In the early 2000's the collaboration with keyboardist from Calabria Joey Mauro, talented user and repairer of vintage keyboards, for the proposed revitalisation of the Hunka Munka name, didn't give results. Carlotto joined the reformed Analogy and played with them from 2011 until the end of their concert activity in 2016, then he assembled with Joey Mauro and other musicians a new version of Hunka Munka that released in 2021 the LP Foreste interstellari.

LP
Dedicato a Giovanna G.	Ricordi (SMRL 6096)	1972	foldout toilet bowl lid shaped cover - lyric inner
	AMS/BTF (AMS 52LP)	2012	reissue with same cover as the original - issued on black vinyl and in a limited orange vinyl pressing
Foreste interstellari	Black Widow (BWR 237)	2021	single cover with inner - standard black vinyl and limited 66 copies issue with embossed cover, photo booklet and blue marbled vinyl
CD
Dedicato a Giovanna G.	BMG (74321-98448-2)	2003	reissue of 1972 album with the same gimmix cover as original, in mini LP format - now deleted
SINGLES (with picture sleeve)
Fino a non poterne più È pura fantasia	Ricordi (SRL 10647)	1971	both unreleased tracks
Io canterò per te Cattedrali di bambù	Ricordi (SRL 10675)	1972	both tracks from Dedicato a Giovanna G.
'A cartulina 'e Napule Caro amore	CGD (10087)	1978
Dolce mela Sull'aeroplano	Numero Uno (ZBN 7214)	1981
PROMOTIONAL AND JUKEBOX SINGLES (with blank cover)
Fino a non poterne più	Ricordi (JB 24)	1971	jukebox single - backed with Milva/La filanda

A rare album, Dedicato a Giovanna G. had a gatefold cover with the foldout side shaped in the form of a toilet bowl lid.
It's been reissued on CD in March 2003 by BMG with a mini-LP cover reproducing the original and obi, as part of their "Dei di un perduto rock" series, and later repressed in October of the same year when a second batch of those CD's came out.
The CD was announced by BMG as being also available with standard jewel case (cat.no. 74321-98447-2) but was probably never issued in this form.
The first Italian vinyl reissue came out in 2012 on BTF, in standard black vinyl and limited orange vinyl issues, both reproducing the original artwork.

The LP has been reissued in Korea (Si-Wan SRML 6090) on vinyl in a limited edition of 1000 copies with the original cover, and later with single design (Si-Wan SRML 2011), and on CD with the same foldout design.
Also in Japan on LP (K28P 718) and CD by Crime/King. Another Japanese CD was released on Strange Days (BVCM-37589), again with shaped foldout cover, as part of the series Italian Rock - Paper Sleeve Collection - Part III.

Hunka Munka's first single, Fino a non poterne più/È pura fantasia, was issued in Brazil on Ricordi.
These two tracks, not on the LP, also appear on a Japanese 9-track promo compilation on Nexus, called Nexus International Italian Rock Special (cat.no.SSY-17) that also includes singles' tracks by Krel (pre-PFM), New Trolls, Ricordi d'Infanzia and Patrizio Alluminio (Alluminogeni).


Dedicato a Giovanna G. - LP

Dedicato a Giovanna G. - cover with open lid

Foreste interstellari - LP

Fino a non poterne più - 7" single cover	Io canterò per te - 7" single cover

Dolce mela - 7" single cover

Thanks to Alos, Guilherme Tofani, Joey Mauro and Antonio Calcagno for information and pictures.