CREATORS-THE PAST.

 

 

Sci-fi and superheroes are in vogue at the moment, and these genres are not exclusive to tinsel town or Hollywood film makers. CREATORS THE PAST is a new Italian made movie, and although it is not a superhero movie it does have characters that are able to perform super-human fetes, well they are Gods so why not. what attracted me to the movie was hearing one of the many themes that the director Pierguiseppe Zaia had composed for the movie, now I am no normally a fan of directors composing the sores for their own movies, but in this case I have to admit I am wrong. Zaia began to sing and play piano at the age of four, he received extensive musical instruction and is classically trained, thus is in his own right a Maestro.

 

 

The score that he has written for CREATORS THE PAST is a compelling one awash with rich thematic material, mainly symphonic it is a grandiose work and one which has an eloquent and lush sound. It is great to hear so many themes that are developed and built upon to give them a greater impact. The composer integrating a near rock sounding guitar into the proceedings at key moments giving the work a contemporary feel , there is to this soundtrack a quality but also a sound that is innovative and highly appealing, proud brass and swirling and melodic strings conjure up a sense of vastness and a dramatic and apprehensive air also. I cannot say that the score sounds like any other composer, because it really does not, the originality of this score is evident from the off, the use of powerful percussion, choir and driving strings that are embellished and supported by brass is invigorating.

 

 

The commanding and strong willed strings form a foundation on which the composer lays the remainder of his score, building themes that are at times filled with romantic undertones, drama and can become full throttle action pieces in the blink of an eye that can take the listener on a white knuckle ride and purvey a vivid sense of unrelenting action. The choral work is performed in Latin and takes the form of chants that are underlined by strident strings that are accompanied by timpani and brass. Solo voice to is utilised in the form of soprano and at times a childlike sound is utilised. It is a score that I am sure will be popular amongst film music collectors, it is a proud and inspiring soundtrack and one that you should at least check out. Recommended.

Available on various digital platforms including Spotify.

HOUSE OF THE GORGON.

 

 

Composer Reber Clark has written some truly atmospheric and affecting music for movies and other such visual and audio projects. One of his recent film scores was for the feature HOUSE OF THE GORGON which was released at the end of 2019, it is an independent production, and has in it cast line up a number of familiar names such as, Caroline Munroe, Martine Beswick, Veronica Carlson and Christopher Neame. Written and directed by Joshua Kennedy, who at the age of just twenty-five has made sixteen movies, yes, I kid you not.  HOUSE OF THE GORGON’S initial attraction therefore for me personally was the cast and also the music which I heard before I saw the movie. The thing we have to remember is not to dismiss any independent or low budget film till we have actually viewed it, because at times we can be pleasantly entertained and surprised. Kennedy is a self-confessed anglophile and his cinematic likes and obsessions can be seen in some of his filmic output. Titles such as DRACULA AD 2015, ATTACK OF THE OCTOPUSS PEOPLE, VOYAGE TO THE PLANET OF TEENAGE CAVEWOMEN and ALPHA OMEGA MAN will give you some idea of where his inspiration comes from.  HOUSE OF THE GORGON is I suppose a fusion of old-style horror as in the films of Roger Corman and Mario Bava which is combined with the styles of Hammer, Tigon and Tyburn films with a little bit of Amicus thrown in for good measure and hints of Agatha Christie too. It’s a fairly-straight forward and simple storyline, if a horror/mystery can be straight forward at all that is. In which we see a young girl going to a house in a village where two weird sisters live, she is going there to marry her Fiancé who is portrayed by the Director Kennedy. Anyway, the Gorgon sisters played by Caroline Munro and Martine Beswick are looking eternal youth, and yes you guessed it they have discovered they can get this from the blood of a virgin. The film although low budget is surprisingly good, well I enjoyed it, and I loved the way that both Munroe and Beswick act it up and go way over the top. Veronica Carlson is also excellent in the role of Anna Banning a women struggling with a drink problem and also the Mother of the young girl, Carlson shows us a side of her acting prowess that maybe she had not been able to tap into during her Hammer days. The movie is filled with Hammer references and also has lines from various Hammer movies, the actors kind of throwing them in here and there, but when one thinks about it this was a stroke of genius from the writer/director as its a joy for real fans of Hammer’s gothic horrors and also I found myself thinking where I had heard that line before? I am not going to say to you that THE HOUSE OF THE GORGON is a horror masterpiece or even that I know you will relish it, but it’s a good yarn, yes there are a few problems with variable sound and at times the focus is much to be desired on the camera shots, but hey we cant all be Steven Spielberg and even he had to start somewhere.

I was however much impressed with the directors recreation of the cinematography and camera work of Hammer’s classic 1966 movie THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES with effective and inventive use of the colour filter within the sequence.
The music however is another story, this is a score that I will say is excellent, and yes, I will recommend that you go get it NOW!  (but order it online you must follow the government guidelines and stay at home).

 

 

 

 

Reber Clark has fashioned a pulsating and menacing sounding score, but also has managed to infuse romantic and melodious passages that evoke perfectly the sound and style of the Gothic Horror as relayed previously by both Hammer and American International Pictures. I was reminded of the music of James Bernard and Herman Stein when listening to the opening cue, it is grandiose and imposing with a sweeping theme being performed by strings, brass and piano with flyaway sounding woods, timpani, and underlying organ towards the cues conclusion. it is a luscious and darkly decadent piece, urgent and opulent but at the same time compelling and lavish. The strings maybe synthetic, but it is the way that the composer uses the tools at his disposal that gives us the overall sound that oozes quality and establishes a rich and totally absorbing style. The score contains a few short cues which are wonderfully atmospheric and do conjure up a distinct mood that is filled with fear and purvey a sinister and unsettling aura. But the work also has to it a few cues in which the composer can develop and bring to fruition more pronounced and thematic material, that ranges from full blown action and powerful passages to more apprehensive and low-key interludes.

 

The composer also employs choral support within the track EXORCISM, and melds this almost serene sound with a more unnerving and jagged style, which is effective and attention grabbing. He incorporates a chiming clock and then lets loose with a combination of brass, strings and percussion, the blaring and near discordant hors blasting and jolting the piece into a more urgent sounding composition. The choral work too becomes more threatening, but as the track comes to its end the music returns to a more settled style and even has to it a sense of hope. This is a score that you should own, I guarantee that you will love it. Recommended.

LOCKDOWN CHAT 3.

COMPOSER.   REBER CLARK.

Some of the composer’s most recent work include music for Joshua Kennedy’s feature length House of the Gorgon, winner of the 2019 Rondo Hatton Award for Best Independent Film, starring Caroline Munro, Martine Beswick, Christopher Neame, and Veronica Carlson – music for Clarke M. Smith’s film You Are Me, a concert band commission entitled Over the Sparkling Sea, for the Lisle School District, Lisle, IL, now published worldwide by C. Alan Publications, original music and orchestrations for the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society’s The Curious Sea Shanties of Innsmouth, Mass,  and re-orchestrating the prelude to Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Sinfonia Antarctica for wind ensemble. As composer for the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society’s Dark Adventure Radio Theatre he has composed music for The Haunter of the Dark   Mad Science, Dagon: War of Worlds,  The Case of Charles Dexter Ward,  Herbert West: Reanimator, and Bad Medicine. He is a highly creative composer and has a number of new projects in development.

 

 

Are you fully locked down and is it something you are dealing with day by day or have you a routine?

My personal routine has not changed much. My wife began telecommuting a day or so a week quite a while ago and we adapted without too much uproar. Now she telecommutes all day and in general things are fine. I am used to a quiet house when I’m working (like a quiet studio) so we had some very small noise issues but all in all I have not really changed anything. We are not on a hard lockdown. We can go to the store, exercise in the park, etc.

 

Have you been writing music and are you involved on a project at the moment?

Oh yes, I write and record every day. They really are two separate disciplines. Not that what comes out is any good but I think keeping the muscles exercised is important. I usually have a few projects going. I’m working with Joshua Kennedy on some upcoming movies and I’m working on two personal albums of music right now. I am producing my own short film which utilizes puppetry and effects and it is current set up in my basement. However, paying jobs continue to interrupt its progress which is fine by me! I have an album based on the poetry of Robert E. Howard and an album concerning Lovecraft’s Dream-Quest. There are a few other’s things which slip my mind at the moment.

3, Have you turned to listening to anything in-particular whilst you have been lockdown?

Not really. I don’t listen much for pleasure any more but I do when I research. Most recently I’ve listened to James Newton Howard’s score for “King Kong”, “This Island Earth”, a few months ago I was deeply into Max Steiner. I listen to some podcasts – “Voluminous” by the HPLHS and the Ray Harryhausen Foundation in Scotland has put up some discussions of the music in his films. Also the Berliner Philharmoniker’s online Digital Streaming is free now.

 

4. Do you watch the news just once a day or are you looking at it off and on all day?

Oh, God. The “News”. I get my briefing from Google News in the morning with breakfast. I might check it off and on during the day but not very much. I am interested in straight reporting and not opinions, so I avoid most news outlets. I never follow sports unless it’s sailing or the Tour de France. We have taken to calling our local news “Murders and Weather” which is just about the truth.

 

5. What about visual entertainment, what have you been watching, any movies or box sets at all?

Oh, yes. This is my main entertaiment. Before the plague I bought the entire run of Game of Thrones on blu-ray. I had not seen any of it before. I’ve now completed it and it was fantastic! We’ve just completed “Onward!” and “1917”. We watch quite a bit maybe one or two a night. So, there’s more but nothing is springing to mind right now. BTW I did buy Woody Allen’s autobiography and it’s excellent so far. Also, on order are Steven Smith’s bio of Max Steiner, a book on tiki culture and drinks entitled “Smuggler’s Cove” recommended by Sean Branney of the HPLHS, and “The South American Gentleman’s Companion” a treatise on cocktails from that region. On my Kindle I have “Red Brain” which is the second volume of collected Mythos stories by S. T. Joshi after “A Mountain Walked”, several Robert E. Howard collections, and some weird western stories.

 

6, Whats the food supply like where you are, are the stores better stocked now?

Food seems to be no problem. Paper products are hit and miss. We have never eaten out much and I do most of the cooking day to day anyway. I know how to stock a pantry and fridge with staples and make almost anything from that. Also, I’m learning to smoke meats which is fun on the weekends. They were rationing bread when last my wife went to the store but that’s no longer the case. The store has put stickers on the floor at checkout to keep patrons 6 feet apart. Alcohol is in abundance.

 

7, Do you think that films music and the way that we work and lead our lives will alter greatly when this is over?

Probably not for me. Most of my work is over the internet so as long as it’s up and running, and we have power, my procedures won’t change much. I do some live large ensemble work so I’m sure that will change but making music is making music and it will continue. Our local theatres have closed, and the parking lots are empty. So, theatre attendance will affect how things are distributed and where. I did notice the cost of mainstream films on streaming was very high when all of this started – up to $20 US per rental, but that has changed. First run films are mostly $5.99 US now – to stream.

8. Are you sharing any of you film music to others during the pandemic…

All of my stuff is completely free to listen to at

http://reberclark.bandcamp.com

There is also my website at

http://reberclark.com