Project Overview
Since the 80's, alongside my work in contemporary electronic music, I've been working as a composer, arranger, producer and engineer in film, TV and theatre music. In all that time of working to picture, or to the demands of the script, or the director, or the producer, I've always imagined how exciting and complete an experience it would be for the audience if the process was some how reversed.
Imagine if the script was the music? That the storyboard was derived from sounds, ideas and text within the music - rather than the music being added to create the emotional world for the images and text.
I was asked a few years ago to contribute to an album of imaginary film music - the result was my piece Mr. Alucard. In the process of writing the piece I created a basic narrative, or expressive zones, and then set about writing the music to that structure. Although the album was never realised, Mr. Alucard was later released by another record company. Animator Rui Martins was so impressed by Mr. Alucard that he created a wonderful and uniquely detailed film to the music. In the long process of the computer animation I never told him the detail of the narrative I wrote my piece to - he just responded to the music as it is. The result is stunning.
The success of Mr. Alucard is the template I've used for this entire project. I've extended the working method over 9 pieces - covering an enormous range musically and expressively, but linked by one over-arching theme - horror. Each of the pieces is derived from a strong and well-researched narrative sourced from different cultures and delving into the darkest corners of human experience and fears. The cultural range not only adds richness but also highlights the basic human truth that we all feel fear and we all need horror stories in our culture.
Despite my work in the mind-numbingly optimistic world of dance music in the 90's, I've come to realise that my compositions are always more successful and complete when they are derived from the dark side. My idea of "happy" in music was often too big and scary for people - but my idea of scary would give them nightmares. In Horrorshow I've explored this aspect of my work in depth, drawing on the full extent of my experience in music and film to unearth the most chilling and unsettling themes and sounds. The music is now complete - we need only add the films.
To that end I've already begun (on a budget of zero) to put together a team of directors, choreographers, musicians, video artists, dancers, writers, animators and actors who are working away or waiting for the call.
The final artefact of Horrorshow could be in a number of forms - an episodic TV show, a cinema film, a DVD, live performance, multimedia performance, cinema presentation with live aspects, a traditional music album or a series of singles - it's all possible and each will function as promotion for the others.
Jono Podmore aka KUMO - Feb 2010
