Who could forget the strident violins in the shower sequence in Psycho? Or the 'duhduh-duhduh' in Jaws presaging the arrival of the Great White Terror? Some of the best horror films have the most memorable soundtracks: Halloween (original), Session 9, The Exorcist, Carnival of Souls, Suspiria, and the list goes on.
Released back in 2000 on BSI records, The Unspeakable by electronica musician Raz Mesinai (aka Badawi) is a rarity: a stand-alone soundtrack without a film. Using 3 vocalists, violins, viola, contrabass, harpsichord, piano and bass, Badawi creates an almost classical soundtrack reminiscent of old Hammer films, yet with aspects of 20th century music. But with 'doom dub,' off kilter vocals, and creepy counterpoint, this is one contemporary scary ride.
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It begins with an orchestra tuning up, followed by applause. Then 'Intro/Chamber of Souls' morphs into a gentle, dissonant mix of wispy processed keyboards. Next, 'The Child Sleeps' begins with Badawi's feel for harmonizing weird vocals with strings and keyboards; this sound approach serves as a creative template for the rest of the piece. Until midway point, The Unspeakable also gives a nod to soundtracks like The Shining.
That film score included pieces from Ligeti and Pendereckski. These brooding, intense pieces stretched the limits of massed, solo, or small group violins, cellos, violas and more into truly ominous atmospheres. Badawi uses a much smaller group to achieve the same effect, but doesn't ignore the beats in the process. 'The Bitches' bustles with staccato, processed strings, while 'Skeleton Dub' sounds like a corrupted, hacked music box. Combining his talent for orchestrating, processing, mixing and picking like-minded musicians, Rez's The Unspeakable boasts that not all soundtracks need a film to call home. A welcoming ear will just do fine.
Next Up: Barry Adamson's film noirish Moss Side Story.
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