Antoni Maiovvi & ANTA

Berlin by Bristol analog synth wizard Antoni Maiovvi has teamed with Bristol prog rock act ANTA to create "Church of the Second Sun," a mash-up of sorts of horror synth and heavy prog.  It rules.  Check out the video for "As Above, So Below" below and download the album here or pre-order the upcoming vinyl release here via Mondo Tees.

Pye Corner Audio

Hey gang!  The electronic and synthesizer purveyors of Pye Corner Audio have a new album of subtly sinister electro-jams out on More Than Human Records called "Prowler."  Listen to "She Hunts at Night" below and grab the album, if you're living stateside, from Mondo Tees.

Black Channels

Not that i was ever skeptical of the endeavor to begin with, but Death Waltz Records' foray into non-soundtrack releases, aptly titled Death Waltz Originals, has been pretty damn cool, featuring music from Umberto, PYE Corner Audio, and more.  The latest is an EP from UK duo Black Channels, a blending of horror film score aesthetic, gothic synths, haunting folk vocals, and patches of industrial ambience.  Listen to "Oracles" and "Depth of Field" below and get the record here.

Pye Corner Audio

Experimental electronic artist and analog synthesizer enthusiast Pye Corner Audio have a new 10" single out on Death Waltz/Mondo...and it's already sold out, though you can probably still procure one at your local independent record store...if you have one near you.  Anyway, listen to A-side "Stars Shine like Eyes" below and get lost in your own audio space.

Phantasm

Alright!  Fred Myrow's and Malcolm Seagrave's score to Don Coscarelli's weirdo-horror masterpiece "Phantasm" is coming back into print after a 35 year absence.  Mondo unveiled the thing at last weekend's Frightmare in Dallas at a screening of the film, and it should be available online in the very near future.  This is an amazing score for all of you horror soundtrack nerds out there.  Listen to "Main Title" below and rejoice.

Federale

While i wasn't able to catch them last week, one of the bands i learned about during SXSW is the Spaghetti Western infused psych rock of Federale.  The band, featuring members of Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Black Angels appear on the excellent soundtrack to Iranian vampire flick "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night," which should have an online release from Mondo/Death Waltz in the near future.  The songs used on the soundtrack originally came from the group's 2012 album "The Blood Flowed like Wine," which you can get here.  Listen to the dusty and desperate title track below.

Maniac Cop 2

Mondo Tees is issuing Jay Chattaway's awesome score to 1990's "Maniac Cop 2," and that makes me super happy.  What's also awesome is that the label will have a pop-up record store shilling soundtracks of theirs as well as Death Waltz, Waxwork, One Way Static, and more during SXSW next week.  I can't wait.  In the meanwhile, listen to "Pyromania Death March" below, grab the LP here, and read about the SXSW record store here.

Cannibal Holocaust

Just when i think that Mondo Tees can't get any cooler, along comes their "Cannibal Holocaust" LP, issued for the first time on vinyl with amazing artwork by comic book illustrator and artist Jock.  Riz Ortolani's score to the notorious Italian cannibal movie is beautiful unto itself, and that beauty works with all the disturbing images of the film, somehow keeping it...well, not grounded...but from simply being some piece of trash cinema.  The album should be available from Mondo online sometime in the near future, unless you are one of the folks lucky and demented enough to attend a screening of the film on Valentine's Day with a four course meal at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin.  Read all about that here.  I'm totally demented enough, but alas, we don't have a sitter.  C'est la vie!

Listen to "Cannibal Holocaust (Main Theme)" below.

Black Sunday

Happy Super Bowl Sunday everybody!  The good folks over at Mondo have put up a pre-order for the full soundtrack to the 1977 thriller "Black Sunday" by composer John Williams with amazing cover art from Jay Shaw.  The movie is about a terrorist plot to blow up a blimp at a football stadium during the Super Bowl, and features an excellent unhinged performance from Bruce Dern, and Robert Shaw trying not to seem too drunk.  What a wonderful time.  Today only, Mondo is offering up Patriots and Seahawks color vinyl variants.  Get the record here and sample some tunes below.

Favorite Soundtracks of 2014

As a record collector, i am a constantly evolving devotee of whatever niche gets my blood pumping at the moment, whether it be obscure psych rock bands, releases from underground punk labels, or private press oddities.  The last couple of years has seen my collection of vinyl soundtracks and film scores virtually explode, as i hunt down hard to find original pressings and pick up all of the wonderfully and lovingly made reissues.  The film score revival is in full bloom right now, and i could not be happier.  So, here are my top 5 soundtrack releases for the year, both old and new.

5. The Visitor by Franco Micalizzi
As usual, Mondo did a bang-up job of putting this release together, from the beautiful Jay Shaw artwork to the mastering of Micalizzi's bonkers score to Michael J. Paradise's bonkers 1979 movie.

4. Ms. 45 by Joe Delia
Joe Delia's haunting piano-based score to Abel Ferrara's 1981 revenge flick finally saw it's first official release this year thanks to the good folks over at Death Waltz and cover artist Alice X. Zhang, and it is absolutely criminal that it took that long.

3. Looper by Nathan Johnson
The score for Rian Johnson's 2012 film comes courtesy of his cousin Nathan Johnson, and consists of an often cacophonous mix of small orchestra and sampled and processed percussion effects.  At times it's unsettling, at others beautiful, but it pairs perfectly with the film.  Oh, and Mondo's release is absolutely gorgeous, a gatefold LP with a cover of gold bricks wrapped in a burlap sack designed by the ever-amazing Jay Shaw.

2. Only Lovers Left Alive by Jozef Van Wissem and SQURL
It wasn't only a great year for reissues, we had some excellent scores to new films this year as well.  The score for Jim Jarmusch's "Only Lovers Left Alive" features an amazing blend of experimental guitar playing and warped rockabilly performed by his own band SQURL and the amazing composer Jozef Van Wissem.  The album plays just like the movie...fucking cool.

1. Under the Skin by Mica Levi
I debated putting Mica Levi's wonderfully haunting and minimalist score to Jonathan Glazer's extraordinary "Under the Skin" on my best albums list, but held it out for soundtracks instead.  The music is all at once spellbinding and nightmare inducing and fits the picture perfectly.  It is mind-boggling that this is Ms. Levi's first film score.  She nailed it.

Next week, i will try to compile some of my favorite movies of the year...but i'm going to try to watch some more of them first.

Wolfcop

So, there's this film making its way through the festival circuit right now called "Wolfcop."  I honestly don't want to know a thing about it, as i would like to be completely cold to the hilarity and the madness before i watch the movie...and i will watch this movie.  That aside, i got a taste of the retro-sounding soundtrack that will be issued by One Way Static (that's the cover art above), and available exclusively at this weekend's Mondo-Con in Austin, though there should be more available after that.  It sounds pretty fun.  Take a listen to the excellently titled "Burchard Von Worms" by score composer Shooting Guns below, and then marvel at the movie poster art below that.

Fantastic!

A Cat in the Brain

Continuing their ever-impressive string of soundtrack releases, Mondo Tees issued a beautiful edition of Fabio Frizzi's score to the Lucio Fulci gorefest "A Cat in the Brain," featuring awesome cover art from We Buy Your Kids.  Take a listen to "Sequence 1" below and be on the lookout for the vinyl release online in the near future.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

For the last few weeks, the awesome folks over at Death Waltz Records, purveyors of horror scores galore, have been teasing an upcoming release of something they have been calling Death Waltz Originals.  Well, the announcement was made yesterday that said original release is a brand new and original score to Tobe Hooper's classic 1974 film "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" performed by horror score enthusiasts/revivalists Umberto and Antoni Maiovvi.  Even better, next month at Mondo-Con here in Austin, they will be screening the film with an accompanying live performance of the new score.  Even better still, the LP will be available to ticket holders.  I'm stoked.  Word on the street is that they've only pressed 800 of these, and that they'll only be available at the Mondo-Con screening and then later on at Beyond Fest in LA.  I want.  I want.  I want.  Listen to "Meathook" below.

Halloween

I realize that Halloween is long gone, but i just got my copy of Mondo's reissue today on beautiful orange vinyl with that kick-ass cover art above.  So damn it, it's going to be Halloween for just a little while longer.  And they're still in stock!  Go get it here now.

Mondo Tees and Tales from the Crypt

Mondo Tees held an excellent gallery opening last night featuring prints and original artwork inspired by "Tales from the Crypt," both the legendary EC Comics series and the classic HBO TV show (both of which i adore).  To celebrate, Mondo's record line released three versions of the theme on 7" vinyl.  And, as we all know, limited edition horror vinyl makes me a happy panda.  I'm not sure if the records will be available on Mondo's site or not, but check for updates anyway, and watch and reminisce about the TV series' opening below.

Maniac soundtrack

William Lustig's classic, ugly 1980 film "Maniac" gets the remake treatment this year in a new film featuring Elijah Wood.  The remake is shot primarily from the point of view of the killer, and looks like it could be a pretty interesting and gory fun ride.  The soundtrack to the new film comes to us from the singularly named Rob, and is a mesh of 80's synth and drone tones (an homage to the original brilliant score from Jay Chattaway).  Mondo is releasing the new soundtrack stateside (that's the cover art above), which is only fitting seeing as their first vinyl release was a reissue of the original film's soundtrack.  Death Waltz is releasing the LP (with different cover art) on the other side of the pond, and as far as i can tell, both record labels are already sold out, so you'll have to procure a copy through other means.  For now though, you can listen to album closer "Juno" featuring vocals from Chloe Alper.

Re-Animator

In the last two years, we've seen a surge in film soundtrack oriented record labels reissuing classic/cult movie scores with new packaging and covers courtesy of a number of different graphic artists.  The results have been fantastic.  And so, following in the footsteps of Mondo and Death Waltz, we have Waxwork Records and their debut release, the soundtrack to the 1985 fan-favorite "Re-Animator" by Richard Band.  Pre-order here and then wait anxiously for it's late July release, and in the meantime, listen to "Prologue" below.

They Live

The UK's Death Waltz Records clearly desire to knock it out of the park with each subsequent release.  From the soundtracks they select to reissue to the always knock-your-socks-off art print covers that accompany each release, i am blown away every time.  Their newest reissued film score goes to none other than the John Carpenter masterpiece "They Live," featuring the synthy blues of the director and co-composer Alan Howarth.  Artist Gary Pullin really did an excellent job with the cover art as well.  It's out now, so you should get it!  Listen to "The Siege of Justiceville" below.

And if reissued horror soundtracks with new original art covers are your bag, check out Mondo for some equally excellent releases as well (though they sell out crazy quick).

The Deadly Spawn

Aside from an excellent array of film posters and prints, the folks over at Mondo Tees have been putting out an awesome string of vinyl soundtrack releases over the last year and a half (see "Maniac" and "The Beyond"), and the new release of the monster movie madness that is 1983's "The Deadly Spawn" is no different.  The packaging is beautiful and the remastering of Michael Perilstein's original score is fantastic.  Unfortunately, the record is already sold out, but if you live in the Austin area, there are probably still copies available at Waterloo or End of an Ear.  Listen to "End Theme" below.