Ex Machina - Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow

Last week the OST to Ex Machina was released. I thought that 2012's DROKK album by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury was a one off but here they are again working as a duo. This time it's a soundtrack for a sci-fi thriller. Unlike the previous DROKK OST, I think this one actually got used for the film's score. For Ex-Machina they have expanded the sound palette beyond mere John Carpenter synth homages to include real instruments like guitars and brass. As there are no drums we end up in pretty much dark ambient zones on this soundtrack with occasional Berlin school style synth flourishes. Amongst the impeccable throbs and drones there's also....shhh!.... a bit of a post-rock vibe on some tracks where a guitar is utilised. Sometimes the drones mutate into into thick squalls of intense gloom. So we've got the 70s, 80s and 90s covered then. Depending on your point of view this is either a derivative throwback or retro(future)licious.

John Carpenter - Lost Themes

WHAT THE FUCK???

What a nice surprise to brighten the gloom of my past week or perhaps add to the gloom but that will make me happy. Why didn't someone think of this earlier? Just get John Carpenter the music composer to do albums without the films. The films, have been nowhere near as brilliant and influential as his scores. I don't necessarily hate his movies but I think his scores are 20th century masterpieces. I dunno if I've heard anything by him from this millennium, though. Anyway lookout Zombi, Pye Corner Audio, Drokk and Umberto the real deal is here to give you a run for your money as just a recording artist. I'm a little excited by this prospect I must say. Halloween 1, 2 & 3, Escape From New York, Assault On Precinct 13, Christine, The Fog and Prince of Darkness are among my favourite pieces of music of all time! I'm not the only one who thinks this. Check out industrial music, 90s Memphis Rap, Techno, Doomcore et al. as well as 21st century genres like Deep-Tech and Ratchet. I was only saying the other day right here on this blog that John Carpenter might be the most influential musical artist of the 21st century. His music is universally adored and held in high esteem. Let's hope this record lives up to our expectations. If not, don't worry there will be another Umberto record around the corner (I hope) and whoever else Carpenter is currently influencing like Xander Harris, Gesaffelstein, Shay & Sinista etc.

This sounds very good indeed. It more than makes up for the lack of a new Umberto album last year.

DROKK

Now this a bewdy. One dude from Portishead and one other dude. It's a soundtrack for a movie that didn't want it in the end I think. Anyway it's good gear, probably the movie's loss there, even the Mrs was diggin it. She said it would be a good soundtrack to Neuromancer, did they ever attempt to make a movie of that? So you're probably gettin a picture of dystopian future cities, cyberpunks, 2000AD, old fashioned ideas of futures that never arrived etc. This is a topshelf homage (and there are a few) to the music of John Carpenter and Alan Howarth (and inadertantly or not to thier influences like Goblin, Tangerine Dream et al.). One track had me wanting to dig out my old Add N to X cds. Weird 3/4 of a cd cover, which I kinda like. Harsh minimal synth tones for the escape from Mega City One.



Diggin these grooves.
More Nigerian 70s gold.
Soundway Records have
done it again! 





On the fence at the moment
with Laurel Halo's 2012 LP
Quarantine.