While writing my latest horror-infused song cycle OUROBOROS, set to premiere October 28-29th in NYC with Beth Morrison Projects, I spent much of the past year in quest of the most unsettling, haunting sounds. I won’t be surprised if my end of the year Spotify Wrapped is filled with Disasterpeace’s stalking synths in It Follows, Goblin’s 70s prog soundtrack for Giallo film Suspiria, or screeching jumpscares from Joseph Bishara’s Insidious, as I trapsed around for months casually studying them while picking up groceries or walking my dog. I’m appreciative of this music that invites you to sit through your discomfort, rather than shy away from it:
Melissa Achten – second body (2020)
LA-based Melissa Achten is a harpist and improviser who coalesces ritual, fantasy, and the occult in captivating performances. For her work, second body, she built an acoustic pedestal amplifier for her harp to sit upon in order to create a ghostly reverberance. In her own words, it is an “exploration of the underworld” of the instrument, offering us an ominous, body-horror inspired soundscape.
Alex G – We’re All Going to the World’s Fair: End Song (2022)
One of the more understated horror films of the year was non-binary filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun’s We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. The film centers around a lonely young girl who gets wrapped up in a dark viral challenge akin to those you may have found in the 2000s on Creepypasta or Youtube (think Bloody Mary or Candyman). Indie singer-songwriter Alex G perfectly captures the depersonalization and despondency felt by the protagonist in the score and with the beautiful but haunting lyrics in “End Song.”
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