John Carpenter Announces Release For New Halloween OST

As I wrote in my extensive review for the event, when I told people that I was attending a performance by John Carpenter in Seattle a couple of years back, the general response — after clarifying that it was, in fac,t the filmmaker that I was referring to — was to ask, “What’s he going to be doing?”  Some assumed that it might be a speaking engagement of some sort.  As the director of such iconic films as They Live, The Thing, Escape From New York, Big Trouble In Little China, and The Fog, it’s understandable why it’s his visual work that people so closely identify him with, but with the tremendous impact that he’s left in the music world, it’s still surprising that so many are unaware that he was also the one behind the magnificent scores that accompanied the majority of his cinematic triumphs — The Thing, which was handled by Ennio Morricone, being the exception.  The Evening With John Carpenter that I attended consisted of the master of horror taking us through a retrospective of his career, performing various numbers from his soundtrack work as clips from the corresponding movies were projected in the background.  Assisting him on stage was a backing band that included two very special collaborators: Cody Carpenter, his son from his first marriage with scream queen/author, Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog, The Thing, Swamp Thing, Creepshow, etc) manned a second synth set up, while his godson, Daniel Davies — the son of Kinks guitarist/songwriter/vocalist, Dave Davies, who moved in with the Carpenter family as a teenager — played the guitar.  Believe it or not, the rest of the players were comprised of members from Tenacious D‘s backing band.  But the film scores themselves were not truly the impetus to get the semi-retired auteur out touring his music for the first time in his career; he actually had all new material to unleash onto the world.  In fact, he had two full albums worth.

Both the first Lost Themes album, which was released in 2015, as well as its sequel the following year, were comprised of material that was never intended for film.  In fact, the first album wasn’t really intended for anything in particular, only recorded by John and Cody for fun during breaks between their sessions hanging out and playing video games.  After a new music lawyer asked if he had any fresh material available, Carpenter handed over the largely improvised recordings they had made.  Shortly after, he was surprised by a call informing him that he’d been offered a record deal by the Sacred Bones label.  Davies was brought into the fold officially and, after their debut, Lost Themes II became a more focused effort, simply by being created with the intention of becoming an album from the beginning.  The collaboration, as well as both releases, proved incredibly solid, and it’s been amazing to see Carpenter live out a second career, of sorts, this late in his life.  The latest project finds the director continuing to move forward, while coming full circle, as the trio takes things into what is the most ambitious direction yet.  Carpenter revisits a milestone in his filmography which yielded what is easily the most identifiable compositions of his career, as he Cody, and Davies release the original soundtrack to the upcoming all new Halloween film by director, David Gordon Green (Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals) and co-written by, none other than, Danny McBride.

When Halloween came out in 1978, it was the first one of his films to have John Carpenter‘s name pasted above the title and set the tone, not only for his career, but for the horror genre in general.  Although it was created out of necessity, the low budget film’s synth-driven soundtrack helped to pioneer a sound that has been pilfered by, and influenced endless other composers and filmmakers for decades.  But while Halloween went on to become one of the most successful horror franchises in history, Carpenter only ever directed the initial film.  He co-wrote the 1981 followup, but by the third film, Season Of The Witch (1982) — the sole installment not to include Michael Myers — his involvement was limited to being a composer.  After that, the creator ceased to have any real further involvement, whatsoever, over the last 36 years.  Throughout it’s (de)evolution, the Halloween franchise took all manners of conflicting turns and shifts in storyline, without the benefit Carpenter‘s singular focus and vision.  When hacky-ass Rob Zombie attempted to resurrect the franchise in his own vision with the 2007 remake, it largely missed the mark, something which Carpenter has been notoriously vocal of.  In contrast, David Gordon Green and McBride‘s upcoming version operates as a sequel, but only to Carpenter‘s original movie from 40 years ago, dismissing those that followed.  From the information and previews that are out, the new sequel already appears to demonstrate much more reverence and respect for what established that first film as such a classic.  Not only does it brings back Jamie Lee Curtis to reprise her role as protagonist, Lori Strode, but Michael Myers (aka “The Shape”) is even being played by Nick Castle, who handled the role in the original and later went on to become a filmmaking in his own right, directing films like The Last Starfighter, The Boy Who Could Fly, and Major Payne.  Of course, the most exciting aspect for fans is the long-awaited return of John Carpenter himself, who is operating as executive producer, along with composing the music for the film with his new trio.  It truly does have the potential of a promising collaboration with Green and Carpenter both focused on trudging forward into new and fresh territory, without abandoning the core essence and principles behind the legacy.

Of working on the new soundtrack, Davies states, “We wanted to honor the original Halloween soundtrack in terms of the sounds we used.”  Adding, “We used a lot of the Dave Smith OB-6, bowed guitar, Roland Juno, Korg, Roli, Moog, Roland System 1, Roland System 8, different guitar pedals, mellotron, and piano.”

The process was markedly different than during the more casual production of the Lost Themes albums, as it saw the trio setting music to images together for the first time, but it’s a challenge that they appear to have been up to, thriving under the more demanding structure and deadlines related to film composition.  Of the experience, Carpenter says, “It was great.”  Explaining, “It was transforming. It was not a movie I directed, so I had a lot of freedom in creating the score and getting into the director’s head. I was proud to serve David Gordon Green’s vision.”

“Being limited by the length of time in scoring the sequence, we focused on the director’s tempo, timing, and vision,” Davies elaborates. “He would tell us what he had in mind, how long the cue should be, what emotion he wanted, and we would take it from there. It’s only the three of us, there is no elaborate system. We wrote, performed, and orchestrated everything.”

The soundtrack hits shelves on October 16th, which is also the same date as the film release, but physical pre-orders are available now through Sacred Bones.   Along with the CD and standard black vinyl format, there is a slew of additional vinyl variants for this one as well.  Below is a list of what’s available along with the hyperlinks to the items where currently applicable.

“Bloody Pumpkin” Vinyl – Books-a-Million