HAPPY HORROR-DAYS.

HAPPY HORROR-DAYS EVERYONE. Come in dont be shy, …Take a seat or why not cozy up on the couch with your favourite soundtracks from a plethora of horror tales that are filled with festive frolics which are festooned with macabre and chilling trimmings. Are you sitting comfortably……. Lets Begin.

Howlin Wolf  Records wish you all a Happy Horror-days with their release of the music from the anthology Deathcember, available now for shipping,

Will you dare to open the door?

DEATHCEMBER, is a holiday-themed horror anthology series soundtrack, with an international ensemble of renowned composers, directors, and actors. Produced by Dominic Saxl, Ivo Scheloske, and Frank Vogt, DEATHCEMBER brings to life a feature-length advent calendar – each door a portal to terror and demented holiday fun! So, will you dare to open the door?

The DEATHCEMBER “Main Theme” and “Suite” are composed by award-winning composer Andrew Scott Bell, performed by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra with Péter Illényi conducting, featuring oboe soloist Judit Borzsonyi, and clarinet soloist Gyorgy Ree. The melodic and sweeping opening theme adds the perfect sense of enchantment and wonder for the advent season. In addition, Andrew Scott Bell composes the transition suites that wind through the score like a snake in the guise of holiday ribbon. Segment scores are a brilliant mix of amazing international talent from Belgium, Canada, Germany, Serbia, UK, and USA. among others, showcasing the talents of composers Andrew Scott Bell, Stephan Nicolas, Nemanja Mosurovic, Jeffrey Peter Mayhew, The NightStalker, Michael Kaufmann, Eduardo Daniel Victoria, Steffen Britzke, Dag Lerner, Nikola Nikita Jeremic, Medhat Hanbali, Erik Lutz, Peter Litvin, Dirk Steffan Buro, and Michael Kohlbecker.

The DEATHCEMBER soundtrack comes with a 32-page booklet including a foreword by producers Dominic Saxl, Ivo Scheloske, and Frank Vogt along with a note from segment director Sam Wineman about his friend and collaborator, Andrew Scott Bell. In addition, the booklet features notes by composers Stephan Nicolas, Jeffrey Peter Mayhew, Michael Kaufmann, Eduardo Daniel Victoria, Nikola Nikita Jeremic, Medhat Hanbali, and Dirk Steffan Buro, all beautifully packaged in a jewel case with exquisite artwork by Adrian Keindorf (booklet cover), Flavio Greco Paglia (booklet back), and art direction and designs by the magnificent Luis Miguel Rojas.

And whilst you are ordering this ominous horror soundtrack why not take a look at other festive horror scores that we know Yule love…

Silent Night Deadly Night, 2 CD set.

You’ve made it through Halloween, now try and survive Christmas.

This two-Disc Set for the 35th Anniversary of SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT. Disc One is the complete score by Grammy-winning composer Perry Botkin and Disc Two contains the songs written for the film by renowned songwriter and singer Morgan Ames. This is a very limited repressing available for a limited time …these will not last long!

On November 9th of 1984, a mentally-tortured and deranged Santa was unleashed on an unwitting public, and the result was a mayhem of whimsically evil holiday fun that thrills horror film lovers annually. The film also provoked the ire of those who wanted to censor the concept of an unhinged Santa. Screenwriter Michael Hickey sardonically recalls, “America’s moral guardians decided that nobody of any age should be permitted to see any entertainment that was not suitable for a six-year-old child.”

The concept for a killer Santa was the creative muse of film producers Scott Schneid and Dennis Whitehead and brought to life for celluloid by screenwriter Michael Hickey and director Charles E. Sellier, Jr. ..The film follows Billy Chapman from his disturbing encounters with malevolent grandfather Chapman through the horrific murders of both of his parents by an evil Santa on the lam. Afterwards Billy and his brother are sent to an orphanage with a stern disciplinarian Mother Superior (brilliantly played by Lilyan Chauvin), and Billy finally lands at the toy store with the bumbling Mr. Sims, who after having him dress up as Santa, finally sends Billy over the edge as a Santa who has EVERYONE on his “naughty” list!

The score by composer Perry Botkin is a classic electronic score from the ’80’s that is truly one of the most celebrated elements of this perennial cult classic. The composer recounts, “I’d never seen a slasher movie in my life until I watched SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT, so I had no preconception about what a slasher/horror score should sound like, or what other horror composers had done in the past or were doing at that time. I just sat down with my Mac Plus, banged away, and out came the score.” …And what came out is a brilliant mash-up of frenzied horror cacophony blended with melodious euphony, and a virtual carnival funhouse of electronic holiday madness. As an added treat, the release features a second disc with all of the songs written by Morgan Ames, which throughout the film add just the right touch to contrast the merriment of Christmas against the backdrop of a horror film.

For the SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT 35th Anniversary Edition, sound engineer Ian Zapczynski sourced Perry Botkin’s score from the 192 kHz direct transfers of the composer’s original analog master tapes, with the tape-to-digital transfers supervised by Howlin’ Wolf Records at Avatar Studios in NYC. It was important to salvage every piece of audio that would be of interest to soundtrack collectors, and at the highest audiophile-grade quality possible, securing this as the definitive edition of the complete SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT soundtrack set on CD. All tracks for Perry Botkin’s score were fully remastered from the flat tape transfers, and digital restoration techniques were used where necessary, with care to remain faithful to the high quality of the master recording. In addition, two short tracks that were not previously released are added to the tracklist, including the film’s opening “Santa’s Watching.” The construct for this soundtrack edition centers around the original mixes used in the film and the alternate mixes prepared for an ’80’s LP release that never came to fruition. Each alternate mix contains audible differences from its corresponding track, most notably a heavier use of reverb and stereo separation on the tracks mixed for the never released ’80’s LP.

Howlin’ Wolf Records’ 35th Anniversary Release for SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT is a pressing of 300 CDs, featuring the unforgettable original poster art for the film, a 20-page deluxe booklet with liner notes by Co-Executive Producers Scott Schneid & Dennis Whitehead, Screenwriter Michael Hickey, and Composer Perry Botkin, all balanced against a canvas of beautiful designs and vivid imagery by graphic artist and long-time Howlin’ Wolf Records Art Director Luis Miguel Rojas.

GOOD TIDINGS.

JeanMichelNoir’s wickedly delightful score for GOOD TIDINGS is filled like a Christmas stocking with mayhem and menacing holiday cheer. Evil Santa’s everywhere, beware, there is a new and more terrifying breed of unremorseful and sinister Santa à la the Christmas shocker GOOD TIDINGS! To up the ante, there is not one, but three, twisted masked killers to flee – a trinity of terror! The most malevolent Father Christmas of the troupe is none other than composer JeanMichelNoir, indulging one of his other creative passions as an actor, filmmaker, and storyteller. He discusses the intent to make a film that was “straight-up unapologetic horror” with a performance as the “scariest bad guy” possible. There is no spoiler in proclaiming, mission accomplished!

JeanMichelNoir, self-described as the “playful demon,” is one of the creative entities who live within Liverpool artist, composer, musician, filmmaker, and actor Liam Ashcroft. Ashcroft is a prolific artist and creator who moves seamlessly between the inner creative forces that drive him. Be it JeanMichelNoir (the composer), Mugsmasher (the political activist), or Liam Ashcroft (the master for channeling all internal creative forces), the output is always an unbridled fury of fierce originality!

GOOD TIDINGS has the progressive operatic feel of Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells,” and JeanMichelNoir credits Goldsmith’s “Ave Satani” as an influence, using his voice to chant woeful Latin-translated phrases to fashion a “scary carol.” Whatever the influences, they are molded, twisted, and contorted into a form that is distinctively JeanMichelNoir.

GOOD TIDINGS features a 16-page booklet with liner notes by composer JeanMichelNoir and beautiful original cover art by Austin Hinderliter (Creepy Carves). The packaging is exquisitely designed by acclaimed Howlin’ Wolf Records Art Director Luis Miguel Rojas weaving a tapestry of psycho-Santa promo shots from the film with vibrant imagery of the composer in a colorful giallo-infused style.

SILENT NIGHT.

Silent Night – Scary Night.

Chime in the holidays in style with SILENT NIGHT by award-winning composer Kevin Riepl (CABIN FEVER: PATIENT ZERO, CONTRACTED, ABCs OF DEATH). Featuring dark ambient chills, orchestral thrills and holiday sleigh bells, Riepl’s score puts a foreboding spin on the perennial classic “Silent Night.” Commenting on Riepl’s music for SILENT NIGHT, director Steven C. Miller heralds, “Kevin’s score is visceral, emotional, and straight up brutal. Working with him has clearly elevated the film.”

SILENT NIGHT is a loose remake of the horror classic SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT. The film’s stellar cast includes Malcolm McDowell (Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE), Jaime King (SIN CITY, MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D), Donal Logue (SHARK NIGHT 3D, BLADE), Lisa Marie (SLEEPY HOLLOW), Brendan Fehr (FINAL DESTINATION, X-MEN FIRST CLASS), and Ellen Wong (SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD). McDowell and King star as a small-town sheriff and deputy on the hunt for a murderous Santa Claus terrorizing their community on Christmas Eve. But with the streets full of Santas for the annual Christmas parade, the killer is hiding in plain sight. He’s made his list, checked it twice, and the naughty are going to pay with their lives.

The score is expanded and remastered by David McConnell at Thread Audio.

SILENT NIGHT features an 8-page booklet with liner notes by composer Kevin Riepl and wickedly festive designs by Luis Miguel Rojas. For a limited time orders placed on the Howlin’ Wolf Records website will ship with an additional insert booklet autographed by composer Kevin Riepl. This offer is available while supplies last.

Better Watch Out.

You might be Home, but you’re not Alone.

The score for BETTER WATCH OUT is the work of the acclaimed composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Brian Cachia. The score is performed by the Bratislava Studio Symphony conducted by Vladimir Martinka and concludes with a somber arrangement of “Carol of the Bells,” featuring Mark Buys on guitar.

BETTER WATCH OUT is a horror/dark comedy written and directed by Chris Peckover, which has been described stylistically as a HOME ALONE inspired romp in the mold of a Tarantino film. The film stars young Australian actors Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller, and Ed Oxenbould, and features performances by well-known Hollywood actors Patrick Warburton (SCREAM 3) and Virginia Madsen (CANDYMAN). DeJonge and Oxenbould delivered standout performances in M. Night Shyamalan’s THE VISIT, and again in BETTER WATCH OUT, now with another remarkable young actor Levi Miller (PAN). Rounding out the cast of impressive up-and-coming actors are Aleks Mikic and Dacre Montgomery (STRANGER THINGS).

The music for BETTER WATCH OUT embodies everything that is wonderful about Christmas-themed horror films with orchestral music that ranges in musical texture from melodic and sentimental, to whimsical, to dark and foreboding. Brian Cachia sparingly and effectively accents with sleigh bells and chimes to ring in the wicked holiday mayhem.

BETTER WATCH OUT features a 12-page insert booklet with liner notes discussing the composer, director, cast, and score, all beautifully packaged with designs by Howlin’ Wolf Records Art Director Luis Miguel Rojas.

A Cadaver Christmas.

Ring in this Christmas season with William Campbell’s lively and entertaining score for the yuletide zombie romp, A CADAVER CHRISTMAS, directed by Joseph Zerull. William Campbell is a composer, pianist and improviser whose music has been performed throughout North America by orchestras, chamber groups, vocalists, in theater productions, and can be heard in the documentary, “Finding Face” (Spin Film). As a pianist he has performed with multiple new music groups including the acclaimed Sonoran Consort. His first solo piano CD, simply titled, “Piano Songs,” was released in 2011. Campbell is the recipient of numerous composition awards, as well as a member of ASCAP and CCLI, and is a board member of the Iowa Composers Forum, helping to organize festivals of contemporary music. He earned degrees from the University of Arizona (B.M.), the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (M.M.), and the University of Oregon (Ph.D.).

A CADAVER CHRISTMAS features a fun, rhythmically-brooding score that takes the listener on a journey through a demented holiday soundscape blending the aura of classic horror and science fiction with the sounds of Christmas!

A CADAVER CHRISTMAS is beautifully packaged featuring an 8-page booklet showcasing cover artwork by The Dude Designs with colorful and haunting designs by graphic artist Luis Miguel Rojas. For a limited time orders will ship with an additional insert booklet autographed by composer William Campbell.

Hurry and get your Christmas Horror lists in, Santa and his elves are already busy.

CLICK HERE……..http://howlinwolfrecords.com/store.html

MOVIE MUSIC ITALIANO UNO.

The first in a series of reviews and news old and new about music from Italian movies.

After so many years fans of Guido and Maurizio De Angelis, will be in raptures as BEAT records in Rome finally release the score for Banana Joe.

It’s been four decades since the movie first appeared in cinema’s and is a much-requested soundtrack amongst the fans of the composers and devotees of Italian film music. It has been something of a mystery as to why this score has never seen the light of day until now that is, and a title that is long overdue taking its place in the composer’s discography alongside so many other cherished works for TV and Cinema from the 1970’s and in this case the 1980’s. Thanks to locating  the original master tapes in Cabum archives, the label of the siblings it has been possible to prepare this deluxe CD with a 16 pages coloured booklet. It is a perfect gift for the festive season, and once heard is a score that will be returned to again and again.

This is however a ltd edition with BEAT releasing both LP (DDJLP15DLX), and CD (DDJ28DLX), with numbers restricted to seven hundred copies, so hurry and order it now. The booklet boasts liner notes by Daniele De Gemini of BEAT and is remastered by Enrico his brother. The artwork used is the original work of the great artist Renato Casaro. If you love Italian movie scores and are a follower of the sometimes-quirky style of De Angelis, and catchy vocals this is an essential purchase.

Staying with BEAT and the label have released for the first time onto compact disc the music from Commissariato Di Notturna, a 1973 comedy directed by Guido Leoni and starring Gastone Moschin, Rosanna Schiaffino, Maurice Ronet, Luciano Salce, Carlo Giuffré, Giorgio Ardisson, Antonio Casagrande, Emma Danieli, Giacomo Furia, and Gisela Hahn.  Plus, La Supplente a movie that successfully mixed both comedy and sex which was released two years later in 1975.  The film was directed by Guido Leoni and starred Carmen Villani, Eligio Zamara, Carlo Giuffré, Dayle Haddon, Alvaro Brunetti, Gisela Hahn, Gastone Pescucci, Giusi Raspani Dandolo, Giacomo Furia. For Commissariato di notturna  composer Renato Rascel wrote a score based on a central theme that he repeated throughout the movie in various arrangements and was performed by a variety of instrumentation, the theme which was pop orientated and upbeat at times  was performed by the choir of Nora Orlandi Coro 4+4, as well as being given a tango treatment and then delivered by a moog synth.

The score also contains an affecting and haunting love theme entitled Addio Sera, which is performed by solo guitar that is underlined by piano and supported by strings, and in one variation is performed with solo female voice. La Supplente, is a little different although just as rewarding and entertaining with the composer employing Latin rhythms that weave in and out of the proceedings purveying romantic interludes and joyous passages. The score too has its fair share of drama which is conveyed perfectly via the utilization of orchestral textures and colours that are enhanced by choral performances.

Another release from BEAT that will be available soon is the full score for The Tiffany Memorandum, which is the work of Riz Ortolani, the film is essentially a homage to the worlds of James Bond, Matt Helm and the Our Man Flint movies. This time around BEAT have included extra cues and improved sound quality, again another worthy addition to your Italian film music collection.   

Fellow Italian soundtrack label Digit-Movies have re-released Maestro Bruno Nicolai’s The case of the scorpion’s tail (Italian title; ‘La coda dello scorpione’), The case of the bloody iris (Italian title; Perché Quelle Strane Gocce di Sangue sul Corpo di Jennifer?), All the colours of the dark (Italian title; Tutti i Colori del Buio) and Your vice is a locked room and only I have the key (Italian Title; Il Tuo Vizio è Una Stanza Chiusa e Solo io ne ho la Chiave) on compact disc but this time in a very desirable box set.

The four thrilling and arguable most well-known soundtracks composed by the Maestro for Giallo movies are once again brought to life in this deluxe edition, many thought that these impressive works for the genre would never resurface but at last more collectors can now savour the enticing work of Nicolai. Who is a composer that was at times ignored and underrated.

The set comes with new artwork on the outer box that houses the four discs and new notes within a booklet of thirty-two pages. The set is also available as a four CD and two LP set with different artwork, the LP edition contains, double marbled yellow vinyl with a selection of the best themes of the four soundtracks, one for each side of the records.

Four CD’s containing the full scores, a thirty-two-page booklet and a poster. Certainly, a feast for fans well worth looking at if you did not get these releases first time around.

A box set of vinyl seven-inch singles that has been released by Four Flies Records in Italy is Alessandroni Proibito-Music from Red Light Films 1977 to 1980. The collection contains fourteen tracks from composer Alessandro Alessandroni, which are spread over five discs and show a very different side to the composer, because they display a more experimental and pop orientated style that maybe many have not heard from him in the past. We associate him with Morricone more than any other film composer, but Alessandroni was essentially the sound of the Italian western score, as a whistler, guitarist and choral director and performer for many other composer’s as well as Morricone, often he was overlooked and he himself once told me that he was “A Performer Not A Star”. Today his persistent presence and important role within Italian film music from the early 1960’s through to the 1990’s has been finally recognized by music professionals and enthusiasts alike, and quite rightly so he is also now considered the true father of Italian library music – a genre whose sound he shaped and was responsible for developing since 1968. Looking at the Four Flies website there is a treasure trove of Italian quality movie music there plus albums by composers who worked in both film and in the composition of library tracks and easy/lounge music.  Check it out I am sure you will find something.

This box set contains music from the four soft-core erotic films that included hard-core sequences and, therefore, fell somewhere in-between normal commercial distribution and the underground scene of adult movie theatres. Many being screened in what was referred to as specialty cinemas or art house picture houses. The films are Lulu La Sposa Erotica, La Parte Piu Appetitosa Del Maschio, Incontri Molto Ravvicinati…Del Quarto Tipo and Emanuelle a Thaiti. It’s an interesting collection, that contains compositions that are jazz influenced and purvey that steamy sound associated with many Italian movies of the 1970’s and 1980’s. But also at times resemble The William Tell Overture and even bare some resemblance to Hotel California by the Eagles without the vocals. It is a must have for fans of Italian movie scores and is also available on the likes of Spotify. The vinyl edition is wonderfully packaged and presented, and the music is something that you will return to and treasure forever.

A DECADE OF MOVIE SCORE MEDIA. MMI TALKS TO MIKAEL CARLSSON.

Over the past ten years the soundtrack label Movie Score Media has in my opinion outshone many other such labels that specialise in the release of film music. MSM have been responsible for releasing somewhat obscure but at the same time innovative and groundbreaking film scores. The label has always championed new talent in the film music arena and brought to the attention of collectors numerous composers who would probably not have had their music for film and TV released. Label owner,composer and producer Mikael Carlsson is obviously the driving force behind this practice of releasing fresh and original soundtracks so I asked him about the label and basically how he worked.

What inspired you to become a soundtrack label producer?

Excellent music by lesser known composers! Before I launched MovieScore Media a little more than ten years ago, I was making a living as a news editor for 15 years with film music journalism as a hobby, first publishing my own magazine in Swedish – MovieScore – in the early 90s and then being heavily involved in the UK publication Music from the Movies for around a decade. I also formed the Film Music Critics Jury back then, which then turned into the quite prolific International Film Music Critics Assocation. As I was writing hundreds of CD reviews and conducting many composer interviews, I began to take more and more notice of excellent scores from smaller films by up and coming, not very well known, composers. I felt that this music deserved more attention, and that it oftentimes had much more to offer than the blockbuster soundtracks everyone buys. In 2005 I launched MovieScore Media and decided to switch from journalism to a full time devotion to music. The label was not my main focus in the beginning as I was also an aspiring film and television composer, writing music for some Swedish series, but the label soon became the most important part of my activities, and it still is.

So when you are looking for a score to release, what do you actually look or listen for?

It used to be quality of music only. I have released many scores for films that no one, including myself, actually saw. The music was great, and deserved to be heard by more people. Of course, from a commercial standpoint this is risky business, and I quickly learned two things: I needed to release music on CD – physical product – that would attract soundtrack collectors, and I needed to find a balance between musical quality and commercial appeal in the film title itself. The competition today is very tough, and it’s really difficult to find the right titles to release where all the right criteria are met.

What is the first step or steps when you decide that you would like to release a score, do you approach the composer or maybe the film company?

It depends. If it’s a score by a composer I know and maybe have worked with on previous albums, I probably reach out to him or her first. It’s quite rare though that composers are in control of the copyright, so eventually I am going to be in touch with the company that owns the music, usually the film company. It has become far more common in the past years that I am approached by composers too – the other way around.

Is it better if the composer of the score is involved when you are working on a release?

Yes, absolutely. I’ve only done a handful of releases where the composer was not involved, usually for rather sad reasons, i.e. the composer not being alive. If that is the case, I still like to have someone who used to work closely with said composer listen to my album cut for feedback. I remember that I was in touch with Eric Colvin on the Basil Poledouris album (”The Legend of Butch and Sundance”) and Blake Neely, Ilan Eshkeri and Steve McLaughlin on the Michael Kamen (”Back to Gaya”), for instance. For a current score, sometimes the composer already has an album cut ready for mastering, but the most common scenario is that I am sent the complete score and do the album cut for the composer to approve.

Have there been any scores that you wanted to issue but have been refused access to them by either the composer of the film company, and what were the reasons for this, if you can tell us?

Yes, there are many scores I’d like to release but there are sometimes many obstacles, and the most common one is that the film company simply is not interested. Many of them sit on great scores, but the score album business is generating too little money for them to be interested. Only on a couple of occasions has a composer refused to have a score put out.

Many soundtracks are limited to a run of 500 or less, have you ever thought I wish I had produced more, and what titles would you say are the better sellers for your label?

We ran into a problem with our release of ”Let the Right One In” back in 2008. At the time, we usually had our CD releases limited to 500 copies. But this particular title sold out so quickly and the demand was so big, that we decided to lift the limit as there were no contractual reasons for it. To this day, it’s one of our best selling albums and we decided to never do the marketing trick with limited editions again. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the albums we do will be available forever, in fact most of the CDs we do are only 300 units. Should there be a surprise hit, we are able to do more, but in most cases we don’t have that luxury.

Going back just a few years, the horror film score was something of a no go area for record labels, it was not really until films like the OMEN, THE HOWLING, SILVER BULLET, PIRAHNA etc that horror soundtracks started to get released, now we see a landslide of quite low key horror films having their soundtracks released, why is this do you think, film music collectors tastes or a younger audience watching the horror films?

For me personally, horror scores are quite often offering interesting writing. There are of course the whole jungle of ”cheap horror scores” which are just cliche, but the best of the music written for this genre is also some of the most innovative in film music as a whole. I really don’t know if there is a horror ”trend” actually. I think that the scores you mentioned got released more because of the era they come from – the great late 70s early 80s period, which a lot of soundtrack fans are attracted to.

You set up a separate label from Movie Score Media to concentrate on scores from horror movies, these have included a lot of works by composers who are relatively unknown to collectors, is this quite risky considering the current financial climate?

Yes, if the ”mother label” – MovieScore Media – is known for putting out some rather obscure scores (and I don’t mean obscure in a negative way), than Screamworks Records is even more of a niche label. The challenge is when you have a small film with music by an unknown composer which happens to be interesting and of high quality. Sometimes I see myself more as an artistic director than a producer, because in those cases the producer in me tells me that the commercial problems with such a product are too many. But the artistic director in me has a stronger voice, and that’s why you see some of these scores being released, even though they are small.

Have you ever embarked on a project and mid way through found that tapes are in such bad condition or there is a technical hitch etc that it becomes a non viable project?

Very rarely do I work with archival materials or vintage scores, so no, that has never happened to me.

Do you compete with other soundtrack labels for soundtracks at all, or do you set your sights upon material you know your customers will appreciate, or do film companies or composers come to you with their scores?

Clearly, I have my own niche, but the market today is oversaturated. When I started out ten years ago, it was much easier to get exposure for a release, and to have it pop up as an ”outsider” among the more high profile score releases. Today, also with the explosion of the digital music market, there are so many film music albums coming out every week. The average number during the first half of 2016 is 45 soundtrack releases per week. So yes, the competition is very tough and for a small niche label it’s a huge challenge to try and motivate the fan base to spend their money on our albums – even though the music is great, it’s only natural that they would first purchase music by the more well-known, perhaps even legendary, composers – and then you have all the new big blockbusters coming out.

How long does it take to assemble all the music and then produce an actual compact disc of a soundtrack?

It depends. The assembly itself doesn’t take long in most cases – the composer or film company delivers the complete score, usually online in digital format. But the actual editing process – editing, sequencing and mastering – can take at least a couple of days. In most cases I do all of this and the composer is then having a listen to it all, may come back with usually just minor requests which are fixed in a day. In a few rare cases composers are very detail oriented and then, of course, the process is longer. I trust my musical instincts a lot when I do an album cut, and sometimes the composer is surprised by the new shape of the score presentation. In 9 out of 10 cases that surprise is of a positive nature. They are happy to discover that the album has a structure and makes sense musically. But it happens that I go down the wrong path with a score, and then of course the composer has final approval and we tweak it. I would never put out a score without the composer being happy with the presentation.

Do you find that collectors are now downloading more than actually buying the physical CD?

iTunes is my biggest source of income, more than CDs, so yes, probably. You also have the streaming services like Spotify which is growing. The market is changing in quite revolutionary ways, but there are still a hardcore collectors segment that would only buy physical product.

WORRY DOLLS was one of your recent projects and releases, a wonderfully dark score by Composer Holly Amber Church, do you think you will release more scores by her, as I understand the CD has already sold out?

No, that’s incorrect, last time I checked there were plenty of those left. I hope that we can do more albums together, WORRY DOLLS was our second project after RITES OF SPRING that came out in 2012.

Is there any score you would like to release if you were given the green light?

That list would be too long to put in this article…

MOVIE SCORE MEDIA do seem to release newer scores or current soundtracks, would you consider releasing any vintage material like other labels such as KRONOS with their gold series or Hillside with the Italian westerns they release etc or maybe a series like GDI did a number of years back when they issued the Hammer scores?

Well, we have the Discovery Collection where we released almost 20 scores, including the last scores written by Basil Poledouris and Michael Kamen. I don’t know what qualifies as ”vintage”, but those are at least not current – those are mostly scores for films that came out at last a decade ago.

Would you ever consider releasing a best of MSM collection, like we used to see years ago with labels such as UA?

I have been giving that some thought, given our ten year anniversary this year. I don’t know yet if there will be any though… the hard part is to choose from over 300 releases!

DIGIT MOVIES. -INTERVIEW WITH THE ITALIAN SOUNDTRACK LABEL.

This interview took place a few years ago as the label were almost ready to release their 100th compact disc.

1. Was it your own interest in film music that persuaded you to establish Digit movies the recording label ?
It was a HUGE PASSION for CINEMA and FILM MUSIC, of course! We wanted “save” the film music masterpieces from Silver and Golden ages
presenting them with the best possible presentation, packaging and sound restoration.
Digit-movies was born like a kind of game, nothing serious in the beginning…and now we are close to our 100th CD!

2. Who decides what scores are going to be issued on your label ?

The titles are decided as a STAFF project, in our staff we have people that are specialized within different genres of films etc, . Many mixed ideas together can produce very good end products.

3. Are there any soundtracks that Digit movies have wanted to release but have not been able to, due to copyright difficulties etc ?
No, luckily this has never happened all of our projects have been given the green light.

4. You have released a number of CAM soundtracks, this was something of a breakthrough as many companies had tried without luck to work with CAM, will this be an ongoing collaboration, and do you envisage releasing any westerns scores that CAM have ?
Yes, our relationship with CAM is very good.
They are very good friends and we enjoy a co-operative association with them very
Western scores from the CAM archive will be among our future releases.
5. What have been your most popular releases to date ?

 SODOM & GOMORRA, LO CHIAMAVANO TRINITA’ and OK CONNERY

6.Do you try and involve the composers with the release process, ?

Yes, sometimes the composers are involved, especially Ennio Morricone, and 

Composers such as Stelvio Cipriani are very friendly and cooperative!

7. Have there been any scores that you have handled that have been in such poor condition that you have been unable to restore them ?

For examples the GENTLEMAN JOE master tape was in very poor conditions.
We tried our best to restore it, anyway it was a very important Western title, having it with a just so so sound condition was still good, at least we have rescued it!

 

8. Italian film music seems to be as fresh and vibrant as it was back in the 1960,s and 1970,s, what do you think is the appeal of Italian movie music ?

Film Music had big names in the past , today film music is still a predominant part of actual Italian Cinema with new names such as Guerra, Buonvino, Vivaldi, Abeni,Plivio and De Scalzi etc. and Ennio Morricone, at 78, is still hugely creative and prolific.

11. Do you think that in the future, Digit movies might release some non Italian soundtracks ? Ie; British, French, German etc.

Why not! 

Effectively we issued some score for American movies like PIRANHA II, CATACOMBS, and not forgetting SODOM AND GOMORRAH, possibly the most ambitious compact disc project of them all!
12. How long does it take approximately to work on a title. From start to finish ?
This varies according to the project in hand. Restoring the sound, assembling the CD master, making the graphic etc..

13. Your releases are always well packaged, wonderfully illustrated and contains notes and information on the film etc, do you think that notes and colourful illustrations and packaging is an important factor ?

Yes, Of course. The best presentation is something we wish always for making collectors around the world happy and satisfied.

14. When you look at a score that has already been issued on compact disc such as, PREPARTI LA BARA and THEY CALL ME TRINITY, what factors do you take into account before you decide to re-issue ?

The main factor to take into account is how much extra music was not included in the original release and it depends firstly on the master tapes conditions and how much indent music is available.

15. Have you a favourite film score at all ?
Claudio’s favourite score: LOGAN’S RUN by Jerry Goldsmith
Luca’s favourite score: CASPER by James Horner

Many thanks to both Luca and Claudio for their time and for answering the questions.

 

 

BAND MOON RISING. ( FULL MOON/MOONSTONE RECORDS).

A brief look at the film production company of Charles Band

FULL MOON.

Originally published in Music From The Movies 1990/91.

Full Moon productions is a company that was founded by film maker Charles Band, the company has been producing low budgets movies mainly of the Horror variety since 1988 and has enjoyed considerable success with this particular genre, cornering the market in what are essentially termed or looked upon as B movies or straight to video/DVD productions. This success has even surprised Band himself, and during the mid to late 190’s the company began to produce up to ten full length feature films per year, again these were aimed at the straight to home video market and did not receive a cinema release. “We are making movies now that are for the video market that would have been full blown cinema releases a few years ago” said Charles. “Today’s theatrical market place is so unforgiving, that if you bomb out with just one film, it could be the end of the company. So in my opinion there is no shame in releasing a movie in a premiere situation directly for home viewing”.

 

 Charles grew up in a family that was immersed in the film industry, from the age of nine he and his family moved to Italy, where his Father Albert band made a handful of Spaghetti westerns, and also was involved in the production of a number of Sword and Sandal epics. Charles said that his love of fantasy began as a child when he read the Marvel comics, which featured super heroes such as The Incredible Hulk, Spiderman and the Fantastic Four. He gained much of his experience via hands on training after his Father put him to work on the film sets of movies he was either directing or producing. Charles would do a number of jobs, these ranged from numbering negatives to assisting with sound equipment and cameras. At twenty one, Charles returned to the United States and made his first feature film which was entitled MANSION OF THE DOOMED, which starred the late Richard Basehart. After this Charles went on to produce and direct a couple of 3D features, PARASITE and METALSTORM for Avco Embassy and Universal respectively.  In 1982/83 Band founded Empire Entertainment under whose banner he released films such as RE-ANIMATOR,TRANCERS and GHOULIES. However Band found that buying pictures from other suppliers tended to water down the companies overall product, so in 1988 FULL MOON was born.

Band and Full Moon went on to release numerous production, granted many were of the low budget variety, but many ranged in budget from one and a half million Dollars to three Million Dollars, and up wards of six million Dollars as in the case of THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM. Which was one of the company’s biggest movies during the 1990’s. To say that Full Moon is just a film production company is certainly an understatement, Band has been busy creating a whole line of merchandising which includes, Trading Cards, T.Shirts, Sweat Shirts, Comic Books, and a great series of model kits. “I suppose we are creating the comic books of the future here” said Band. Charles’s Father Albert was not only active as a film maker in Italy he worked alongside John Huston on THE ASHPHALT JUNGLE and THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE. “I am from the old school of film making” remarked Mr Band snr. “ I never had just one genre that I loved, unlike my son, I always found if I liked the story whatever the subject matter, I would make the movie, but Charlie, he sticks to the same genre”. Albert worked with Charles on DOCTOR MORDRID, and also co-produced the Disney fantasy comedy HONEY I BLEW UP THE KID which was directed by Stuart (THE RE-ANIMATOR) Gordon.

During the early 1990’s Charles decided to expand the company’s merchandise from the films that they had released, he formed a sister company called, MOONSTONE RECORDS, this branch of the company packages and releases the soundtracks from the films that are produced by Band’s film company. Soundtracks such as MERIDIAN by Italian Maestro Pino Donaggio, SUBSPECIES by Aman Folk, NETHERWORLD by David Bryan, PUPPET MASTER 1 and 2 and THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM by Richard Band have all seen releases on the MOONSTONE label.  Whilst Charles is the man behind the camera as it were producing and directing movies, his younger Brother Richard is the man behind the music. “I am a composer who is as much dedicated to music as Charles is dedicated to film”. Explained Richard, “I have my own business, and I work freelance for other producers and film companies not exclusively for FULL MOON”.  Richard also lived in Italy for nearly eleven years. “I fell in love with classical music and through my Father I also learnt a lot about films by visiting the sets”.  The composer taught himself guitar, for a while touring Italy as a flamenco guitarist, he then took up rock music for a period of seven years. When he returned to the United States in 1972, he attended the music conservatory in Los Angeles. Richard got his first opportunity to break into film scoring in 1977 when he collaborated with Joel Goldsmith on the score to the low budget sci-fi romp LAZERBLAST.

His first score for his Brother was in 1978 when he wrote the soundtrack for THE DAY TIME ENDED. This was followed by another Band Brother’s joint effort PARASITE. The composer admits he has done so many fantasy type movies that he feels “It has given me a particular style which I tried to develop. There are certain film music composers, Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams and also the great Miklos Rozsa, that have worked for many many years within the industry and consequently have developed a definitive sound, but they have worked to refine this sound and when you get this sound you are inevitably asked to do certain types of movies”.

The composers score for THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM is creating a stir amongst collectors, and it is in fact a highly atmospheric and imposing soundtrack, the sound achieved is not a million miles away from the AVE SANTANI chorus in Goldsmiths THE OMEN. “Thank you for that, I don’t think I set out to get that sound, but it worked for the movie and to be compared to Goldsmith, that’s a compliment. I got sick whilst doing the score so maybe I should get a fever more often and I can produce some more great scores”. Richard has composed the music for approx-fifty movies, at least twenty of these have been for his Brother Charles.