Friday 9 March 2012

Assault On Precinct 13: Theme Cover Version (with video)



Quick blog!
This is my homage and cover version of the main theme to John Carpenter's infamous siege movie, Assault On Precinct 13.
Carpenter's theme for this gritty classic from 1976 is an exercise in electronic minimalism, for which he and his films would later become associated.

From beginning to end it states loud and clear that this movie means business, and eschews elaborate complexity in favor of a basic musical structure and simple phrasing.

The entire score for Assault On Precinct 13 (as with Halloween) was written in just three days,
and after more than 35 years still stands up as one of the most iconic, recognizable and defining scores from the 1970s.

In order to cover the theme tune, I had to really dig into the various elements section by section.
While doing this, I suddenly heard elements that had previously completely passed me by - especially in the accompanying string sections.
The timing wasn't anywhere near as obvious as I'd originally assumed, and I realized that although I'd listened to the piece dozens of times over the years - I'd never heard what was really going on underneath the recognizable signature bass-line and delayed percussion of this amazing theme.

It made me realize all over again that we / I assume a familiarity with so much music - and our ears deceive us into hearing things that aren't necessarily there, and completely filter out amazing and complex details which have been there all the time.

I've listened to music since I can remember.
Now I wonder if I've truly heard it, - or if I've only assumed that I have.

February 2012: The Official Inbred Trailer



Be afraid. Be very afraid, - because Alex Chandon's all-new horror opus is coming up FAST!

The fantastic Darclight Films are now sales agents for INBRED.
Their catalogue includes such fare as Wolf Creek, the forthcoming Wolf Creek 2, Storm Warning, The Hillside Strangler and many others - so we're in very good company.

Just after INBRED was shot, we very quickly put together a 40 second teaser for online promotion.
Alex cut together some scary information over an ominous, gliding, slow-motion reveal of some young folk doing something very unpleasant indeed, and I knocked together some music over the course of an evening.
Since then, the original teaser has reached almost three million hits on just one Youtube page alone.

In February, I spent some time scoring the 2012 INBRED trailer, which is be the officially circulated promotional material for the movie.

The NEW trailer is a lot more complex, and really lets people know what they are in for.
It was cut together by ace editor GARETH MOLAN, who is also a producer and director in his own right, and he has created a beautifully super-charged piece indeed.

This one took a little bit longer to score, and as usual - I was in regular contact with Alex about the audio content.

So far, the online response has been immense.
It's now at 90 thousand views in just two weeks.

INBRED is here!