John Carpenter was always been a triple threat. In addition to being a master film director/writer in the field of horror and suspense, he has also been behind many of the original scores to his films, most notably the iconic themes to Halloween and Escape From New York.
Despite his musical skills, Carpenter has always geared his compositions strictly for film — that is until now. Early next year, Carpenter will release his first non-soundtrack album, appropriately titled Lost Themes.
“Lost Themes was all about having fun,” Carpenter says. “It can be both great and bad to score over images, which is what I’m used to. Here there were no pressures. No actors asking me what they’re supposed to do. No crew waiting. No cutting room to go to. No release pending. It’s just fun.”
That freeing method is evident on the first released track from the record, “Vortex,” which sounds like the theme to an early ’80 neo-noir thriller that never existed. But whereas his soundtrack work usually abbreviates itself to whatever the visual sequence calls for, “Voretex” unfolds in a way the Carpenter has never been able to explore before.
In addition to Carpenter’s own layered synths, pianos, and beats, the album also features collaborations with his son Cody (who is a member of the band Ludrium) and fellow composer Daniel Davies (I, Frankenstein). No word has been released yet if Carpenter plans to tour the record (but if so, that’d be pretty amazing).
Lost Themes will be out February 15, 2015 on Sacred Bones. Listen to “Vortex” below.