Behind the Couch

It Follows is the insidiously creepy tale of a young woman who becomes the target of a relentless supernatural stalker after she has sex with her boyfriend. The intensely atmospheric electronic score - courtesy of San Francisco-based Rich Vreeland, aka Disasterpeace - is one of the most distinctive horror scores in recent memory, and was described by one critic as sounding “as if [John] Carpenter had Trent Reznor around to score Halloween back in 1978.” Rich very kindly took the time to have a chat with me about, amongst other things, composing the score for It Follows , video games, horror films, musical influences, Adventure Time and more. Head over to Paracinema to read the interview and listen to some of the creepy score.  The following interview was published on Paracinema.net on 27th March 2015  In Conversation with Disasterpeace  It Follows composer talks video games, horror films, musical influences, and Adventure Time. Written and directed by David Ro...

Set over the course of one night in a too-quiet house in which a satanic altar and the remnants of an infant sacrifice are discovered, The Devil’s Business charts the doomed descent of two contract killers into a web of conspiracy, blood-sacrifice and diabolism. Scored by Crippled Black Phoenix front-man Justin Greaves, the music for The Devil’s Business is a suitably low-key, moody affair punctuated by moments of soaring post-rock. Greaves specialises in cinematic soundscapes – which he describes as ‘end-time ballads’ – rife with apocalyptic connotations and macabre subject matter, but always imbued with a shard of hope. Head over to Paracinema to read my article on it and listen to a track.  The following article was published to Paracinema.net on 30th January 2015 The Devil’s Business – Justin Greaves  Greaves produces cinematic, post-rock soundscapes, rife with apocalyptic connotations and macabre subject matter, but always imbued with a shard of hope.  Se...

Earlier this year when Kate Bush announced a series of live shows (her first since 1979’s Tour of Life ) fans the world over waited with baited breath to see what would happen. Before the Dawn , a 22 date residency at the Hammersmith Apollo, sold out within minutes of tickets going on sale. Despite several friends and myself trying on various sites, I was unable to obtain a ticket; until a friend of a friend revealed she had a spare. I was therefore lucky enough to go and see Kate perform on 16th September with said friend, and it was an evening we shall both treasure forever… Bush has almost always had a reputation for being reclusive, which has of course led to her being viewed through a particular shroud of mystique. In the words of one critic, she “got all the madwomen down from the attic and into the charts.” Few figures in contemporary music are as original, idiosyncratic and visionary as Kate Bush, and fewer, even those who share the same mythic reputation, could generate...

With its blushless exploration of adult themes such as sado-masochism, pain and pleasure, and its searing imagery of grisly body-modification and skinless resurrections, Hellraiser marked writer/director Clive Barker as an extraordinarily singular voice in horror. Based upon his novella The Hellbound Heart , it tells of individuals who seek the most extreme forms of self-gratifying pleasure before losing their lives (and souls) to a group of sinister, self-mutilating figures from another dimension. To say bloodshed ensues is a vast understatement. While the film boasts a deliciously gothic score courtesy of Christopher Young, Barker had originally commissioned British industrial outfit Coil to score the film. The ‘bowel-churning’ soundscape they delivered wasn’t considered commercial enough by the studio, though the band later released it in various collections of their work. Head over to Paracinema to read about the unused Hellraiser score and listen to a couple of tracks. ...

A couple of years back I wrote a piece about the influence of horror cinema and Gothic literature on the music of Kate Bush. I recently acquired The Whole Story , a ‘best of’ compilation released by Kate in 1986, and have since become rather obsessed with one of the tracks featured on it: Experiment IV . Said track was written especially for the compilation and released to promote it. Along with the accompanying video it once again demonstrates Kate Bush’s singular vision as an artist - and a lover of horror. Taking the storyline from the song quite literally, the video tells of a top secret and highly dubious government experiment to create a sound that can kill. That sound is, of course , portrayed by Kate in the video – initially as an alluring siren-like wraith (underpinning the notion of deadly music at the heart of the song; sirens lured seamen to watery graves by bewitching them with their irresistible but deadly voices), and then as a nightmarish spectre reminiscent of a ba...

John Carpenter and Alan Howarth, circa 1981. This month marks the first anniversary of the Audiodrome: Music in Film series over at Paracinema.net . As such, we wanted to do something special to mark the occasion. When the idea of producing a podcast was suggested, we decided to focus on the work of a composer who has not only a long and wide-ranging career in film soundtracks, but whose work is distinctive, original and enjoyable to listen to. John Carpenter is not only a renowned filmmaker responsible for some of genre cinema’s most influential and entertaining titles – he is also an accomplished musician. Experimenting with analog synthesizers and digital synthesis at a time when the technology was only just beginning to be explored, his trailblazing early soundtracks highlight him as a true pioneer of electronic music. Head over to Paracinema.net to download the podcast , and let me guide you through Carpenter's moody scores, film by film.  And while you're ther...

It’s that time of the month again to head over to Paracinema.net and check out the latest instalment of Audiodrome . This month I take a look at Angelo Badalamenti’s evocative and moody score for Fire Walk With Me , David Lynch’s dark and disturbing prequel to his cult TV show, Twin Peaks . The film follows the harrowing last seven days in the life of high school home coming queen Laura Palmer, as she descends into a nightmarish abyss of drugs, prostitution and abuse. Fire Walk With Me marked a drastic shift in tone from the beloved series: gone are the cherry pies and damn fine coffees, and all that remains is an unsettling tale of domestic abuse, incest and filicide. Badalamenti’s jazz-based score perfectly immerses us in this strange world, which while dangerous and dark, is not without its moments of abstract beauty. While you’re over at Paracinema’s online lair, why not pick up the latest issue ? It’s really rather good and all the articles address the theme of revenge in...

It’s that time of the month again to head over to Paracinema.net and check out my  latest instalment of Audiodrome . This month my ears have been getting rather bloody, indulging in the onslaught of Chu Ishikawa’s cacophonous industrial soundtrack for Tetsuo: The Iron Man and its equally brutal follow up, Body Hammer . Shinya Tsukamoto’s searingly visceral film is the graphic tale of a lowly salary man’s descent into a metal-encased nightmare, as his body suddenly begins to turn into scrap metal. Tetsuo combines Cronenbergian body horror with Lynchian existentialism and filters it all through a gritty, William Gibson-esque cyberpunk aesthetic. Ishikawa’s ferocious soundtrack perfectly enhances the disturbing imagery, frantic editing and dystopian vision of the films. While you’re over at Paracinema’s online lair, why not pick up the latest issue ? It’s really rather good and all the articles address the theme of revenge in genre cinema… The following article was publis...

The latest instalment of Audiodrome: Music in Film is now up over at Paracinema.net . This month I check out Carlo Rustichelli’s rather swanky and often spooky score for Mario Bava’s ravishing giallo blueprint, Blood & Black Lace (1964). Infused with the sultry rhythms of the tango, Rustichelli’s music highlights the more sensual aspects of Bava’s lurid film about a sadistic killer preying upon the models of an elite fashion house. Skip on over to Paracinema to read it and listen to a track. While you’re there, why not think about ordering yourself a copy of the brand new issue of Paracinema Magazine. With articles such as When Life Gives You Razor Blades: Bloody Vengeance in Hobo with a Shotgun by Christine Makepeace; Revenge is a Dish Best Served Raw and Wriggling: Park Chan-Wook’s Vengeance Trilogy by Samm Deighan; Going Back Home: Post-Vietnam Masculinity in Rolling Thunder by Adam Blomquist and Chainsawing Well is the Best Revenge: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2‘s Tex...

Head over to Paracinema.net to check out my latest instalment of Audiodrome: Music in Film . This month I’ve been listening to Paul Giovanni’s inspired score for Robin Hardy’s folk-horror masterpiece, The Wicker Man . Heavily informed by paganism and old folk music, Giovanni’s meticulously researched soundtrack combines adaptations of traditional pieces, poems and original compositions. Why not pick up the latest issue of Paracinema while you’re there? Amongst its lurid delights are articles such as Panic in Detroit: RoboCop and Reagan’s America by Andreas Stoehr; Blood on the Rubber Chicken: Horror Parodies of the Early ’80s by Mike White; and Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures from Hell by Todd Garbarini. All great stuff, written by hardcore fans of genre films for hardcore fans of genre films. The following article was published on Paracinema.net on 23rd January 2012 The Wicker Man – Paul Giovanni  Informed by ancient rituals, paganism and indigenous folk music. A ...