I don't write horror movie music, do I?

R

reklus

New member
So I keep getting told that my solo experimental music should be used as background noises for horror movies. This is not what I'm going for when I mix these things.

This song:

http://music.metafilter.com/1635/untitled-creep-rough

Is one I'm often told is straight out of a scary movie.

These are two of the more noisy tracks.

http://music.metafilter.com/1651/My-God-is-dead

http://music.metafilter.com/1725/granny-6

I tend to like those more.

If you want comparison of what I do when not solo, you could also check stuff out by my band, The Next.

This song mocks black metal kids who think that satan is everything to them, but don't realize that they're worshipping a fallen servant of a powerless diety.

http://music.metafilter.com/1670/Satan-Love-Song

here's our myspace page.

http://www.myspace.com/thenextri
 
Greg_L said:
It's just noise. To me, it's neither scary or musical. You "performed" it well, I suppose.
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I assume you're talking about the second two songs, not the last two?

I get a lot of "ooh scary" about the first one. I don't see it, is all.
 
I listened to My God is Dead....

- there's not enough musicality IMHO for this piece to be used in it's current form/length in a horror movie. BUT, I believe you could take sections and insert them in different spots in the soundtrack. Again, your ideas could paly a role in a horror movie soundtrack but as it is written it is too long and would fatigue a listener/watcher....

I applaud your creativity - hope you find an outlet for it to be appreciated...have you had any indie film success ? :cool:
 
let's see... Lyrics are "kill kill kill" Uh, you do the math.

Dude, I like that you are going in a different direction but you have to have a hook IMO, you have to "Let them know when to clap". If you want to be dark ala NIN you have to do so with skill, hooks, exceptional equipment and orginonal ideas. I am not saying to stop what you are trying at all, I am saying it was a good attempt but go back and revisit the "song".
 
Sorry, but my response is: huh?

Believe me, I get the urge to sit at a keyboard and explore soundscapes. But eventually I stop and try to write music.

I know--this IS music, or this IS art. Okay. Not for me. I'm the guy who cancelled his season tickets to the Symphony Orchestra because they got "edgy"--I like Mozart & Beethoven in the classical genre, and, well, at least something musical in all others.

There's an audience for us all though, so good luck!
 
TaintedDb said:
let's see... Lyrics are "kill kill kill" Uh, you do the math.

Dude, I like that you are going in a different direction but you have to have a hook IMO, you have to "Let them know when to clap". If you want to be dark ala NIN you have to do so with skill, hooks, exceptional equipment and orginonal ideas. I am not saying to stop what you are trying at all, I am saying it was a good attempt but go back and revisit the "song".
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I don't have any songs with those lyrics as, most of the reklus stuff is found sounds or time based effects and very little vocal work.

I'm definitely not trying to be dark with any of my songs.
I honestly just crap stuff out and work improv style for the "reklus" stuff.
I just create a picture of what's going on in my head and shit it out.
It started with tapeloop stuff I did with four track equipment and worked its way to a 26 track setup with a decent space, but that's being used mostly for (not often) recording our band "The Next". The band is a straight rock thing with themes that usually come more from the desire to piss off the audience than any real intent.
 
ido1957 said:
I listened to My God is Dead....

I applaud your creativity - hope you find an outlet for it to be appreciated...have you had any indie film success ? :cool:
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No success, but a friend who makes artsie fartsie films in Italy "stole" a few of the reklus songs for at least 2 of her shorts.

The song I was earlier referring to was the untitled creep song.

I feel awkward talking about my noise stuff in a forum, so my entire attitude and writing style changes. I usually only play the stuff for people in the "scene"- whatever that is - and for my bandmates who for differing reasons like my solo projects despite being into vastly different genres.

The word stuff is useful.
 
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sorry, listening on lap top. It was "kill you, tell you", is that correct?

Either way, you KNOW it sounds like horror music, you just wanted to post it here for people to listen under the guise that "this is not horror music is it" that was my point. You know damn well what it sounds lilke.

I actually like it in a way though. I jsut think with all that gear and recording ability we could get a hook or something. Then again, where else can get you get review for that style? www.horrormusicrecording.com ? meh.. It's cool, just not music to me.
 
TaintedDb said:
sorry, listening on lap top. It was "kill you, tell you", is that correct?

Either way, you KNOW it sounds like horror music, you just wanted to post it here for people to listen under the guise that "this is not horror music is it" that was my point. You know damn well what it sounds lilke.

I actually like it in a way though. I jsut think with all that gear and recording ability we could get a hook or something. Then again, where else can get you get review for that style? www.horrormusicrecording.com ? meh.. It's cool, just not music to me.
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No, I think it was "can you, will you"

No I still say that it's not horror music, I thought it was neat soundscape that gave a feeling of walking through a bit of a dark storm.

Horror music has that "kill kill kill now now now now" thing - catchy and with a hook that pulls you into a specific time in a movie.

I guess this is not the forum for this genre. I'm not like that freak Jordan to think that my stuff is a masterpiece, but I do think that for the genre these're respectable pieces. The other songs (my god has died and granny 6) were part of an unfinished noise/rock opera I was working on 5+ years ago. I've not been able to make that sort of thing lately because I've been obsessed with building up my practice space/recording studio thing while playing in The Next as the singer.

Now, that is a project I'm proud to be part of, even if we've only got crappy recordings up right now.

-Thanks for being kind everyone.
 
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The first song definitely sounds like it's going for a horror vibe.

The other ones sound more like your standard industrial techno/noise. They'd sound out of place in any movie except the wierdest sort of Cronenberg mindf***s.

The last one is a low-fi blues/punk jam session. It sounds kind of like something Danzig might have done, but that doesn't qualify it for a horror movie.

As other people have said, there's not a lot of "music" in the usual sense in these songs (with the exception of the last one), but that doesn't mean there isn't a market for them. There is an underground scene that's really into this sort of industrial (though the only band I can cite off the top of my head is Abstinence). Even if there wasn't, whatever; play what you want to play even if people don't like or understand it.
 
VomitHatSteve said:
The first song definitely sounds like it's going for a horror vibe.

As other people have said, there's not a lot of "music" in the usual sense in these songs (with the exception of the last one), but that doesn't mean there isn't a market for them. There is an underground scene that's really into this sort of industrial (though the only band I can cite off the top of my head is Abstinence). Even if there wasn't, whatever; play what you want to play even if people don't like or understand it.
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The last one is with my band, The Next. Not at all related to my solo stuff.

There's more music by The Next on

http://www.myspace.com/thenextri

We describe ourselves as dirty dirty rock and roll.

I mostly provided that as contrast to what my solo project is.

The main thrust of the solo stuff is to burn through some of the ideas and feelings in my head and make them visible in a mostly non vocal way. I'm a singer most of the time and I don't play any instruments well enough to be comfortable playing them in the band context so I really like having the noise stuff as a valve.

here are two more of the reklus songs, they're more musical - more electronicish.

http://music.metafilter.com/1745/reklus-track-one

http://music.metafilter.com/1734/softfunnynothome


Thanks for the feedback!
 
reklus said:
So I keep getting told that my solo experimental music should be used as background noises for horror movies. This is not what I'm going for when I mix these things.

This song:

http://music.metafilter.com/1635/untitled-creep-rough

Is one I'm often told is straight out of a scary movie.

These are two of the more noisy tracks.

http://music.metafilter.com/1651/My-God-is-dead

http://music.metafilter.com/1725/granny-6

I tend to like those more.

If you want comparison of what I do when not solo, you could also check stuff out by my band, The Next.

This song mocks black metal kids who think that satan is everything to them, but don't realize that they're worshipping a fallen servant of a powerless diety.

http://music.metafilter.com/1670/Satan-Love-Song

here's our myspace page.

http://www.myspace.com/thenextri
Click to expand...

I really, really like it! It kind of reminds me of the strange, obscure stuff Marilyn Manson would throw on his earlier singles (Revelation #9 on the Get Your Gunn single). I do have to admit, there are a lot of sounds and tones used in your stuff that could be used in horror movies. And I would definitely think twice before you actually call these "songs". A musical piece has to meet a certain criteria before it can be classified as a "song". Right now, I'd say they're more like an "audio experience".

You've definitely got something going on here. Personally, I would like to hear just how weird you can get with it. And whatever you do... Don't ruin these with vocals. They're great the way they are!
 
Hey, thanks for posting this stuff. Every once in a while someone post some noise like this and I always like to give it a try.

I too prefer the 2nd two solo efforts. The 1st one does indeed remind me of halloween (the movie, not the season), and the sounds used just aren't as compelling to me.

The next two are pretty intense though.

I particularly like the beginning of the 3rd piece granny-6. Rather than a horror movie, the beginning made me think of a scene from a war movie where a badly injured soldier is about to be airlifted in a chopper and, as he loses consiousness, the chopper starts to sound like that.
 
STAT1STICK said:
I really, really like it! It kind of reminds me of the strange, obscure stuff Marilyn Manson would throw on his earlier singles (Revelation #9 on the Get Your Gunn single). I do have to admit, there are a lot of sounds and tones used in your stuff that could be used in horror movies. And I would definitely think twice before you actually call these "songs". A musical piece has to meet a certain criteria before it can be classified as a "song". Right now, I'd say they're more like an "audio experience".

You've definitely got something going on here. Personally, I would like to hear just how weird you can get with it. And whatever you do... Don't ruin these with vocals. They're great the way they are!
Click to expand...

heatmiser said:
Hey, thanks for posting this stuff. Every once in a while someone post some noise like this and I always like to give it a try.

I too prefer the 2nd two solo efforts. The 1st one does indeed remind me of halloween (the movie, not the season), and the sounds used just aren't as compelling to me.

The next two are pretty intense though.

I particularly like the beginning of the 3rd piece granny-6. Rather than a horror movie, the beginning made me think of a scene from a war movie where a badly injured soldier is about to be airlifted in a chopper and, as he loses consiousness, the chopper starts to sound like that.
Click to expand...

Well there ya go--for every couple of me, there's a couple of them. Like I said, I'm sure you've got your audience, so stick with it and good luck!
 
I've seen and heard this sort of thing before on this site. It's always the same sort of post, as was mentioned. You know what it sounds like, you created it. No, it's not music, and no, it won't have a wide audience, but you do have the start of something here. Just keep in mind, it's a start. There is a far cry between the aforementioned Abstinence and what is posted here.

But you are on the right track...
 
Rokket said:
I've seen and heard this sort of thing before on this site. It's always the same sort of post, as was mentioned. You know what it sounds like, you created it. No, it's not music, and no, it won't have a wide audience, but you do have the start of something here. Just keep in mind, it's a start. There is a far cry between the aforementioned Abstinence and what is posted here.

But you are on the right track...
Click to expand...


I've never heard of Abstinence, or really any noise band. I've just been doing this stuff as a vent for urges unable to be sated by singing.

My focus is really on creating a loud, wierd, fun live performance, which kind of goes against the whole "noise thing". The noises should create the mood for the show and drive it along, I like to create pictures in people's head that hopefully match up with what I'm doing live. I've not performed as Reklus in a few years, but I'm working on a new album and I plan on revisiting my noise rock opera.

For the most part people in my town (Providence) that are into noise music aren't the people I'd want to hang out with. There is a huge audience for this stuff, but being that I'm violently anti-hipster I've got a bit of a problem.
 
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