There are times when projects just seemed doomed from the start. Ideas, however grand they may be, sometimes never quite make it due to unforeseen forces. You may even start to wonder if what you envisioned was somehow never meant to be - cursed, if you will. I was beginning to believe my latest comp was vexed…
Lo, and behold, after much sweat and some bloodshed, I am proud to release 2011’s Halloween mix entitled - “My Dearest Killer” - featuring 15 exclusive tracks by some of my favorite artists of 2011 (and 2010). For this comp, I asked artists to either compose a giallo soundtrack inspired tune or cover/rework their favorite horror film song. What I received was more than what I ever could hope for.
From The North Sea’s horror/drone opening, “Broken Bats”, to the amazingly lush reworking of a track from the film “Jacob’s Ladder” by ∆AIMON - those that did reworks/covers are entirely atmospheric, down right spine tingling and fresh. Dream Boat contributed with an eerie rendition of the “Rosemary’s Baby” theme song and CVLT CLASSICS churned out a super funky track entitled “Tropico”. Inspired by “Let The Right One In,” Running In The Fog delivers a sweetly seductive ode to a vampire in “Let It In”.
For the original songs, I worked with some people again and some first timers. From the ever prolific Ʌ (Arc) that appeared on “Abraded Ghosts” in 2010 - once again serving up an ominous nebulous/goblinic composition. Basketball Camp executed a pulsating paranoia tune, “Fuhhly,” and GOSTS supplied sublime giallo-disco in “Knife Couture”. Others delve into conjuring the ethereal/supernatural being - such as Kidcity’s remorseful “What Have You Done“ and Majical Cloudz - to bit of a playful search for apparitions from Poor Spirits. Not to forget the atmospheric “look over your shoulder” pieces from Magic Fades and Moon Mirror. Lastly, I’m extremely grateful to Lust for his “Night Voyeur” tune since I reached out to him somewhat last minute and, like a champ, created a funky erotic-giallo piece.
Also honored to be FINALLY working with one of my favorite people ever - Ghibli turns in an exploitation-disco tune entitled “Patrick”. And, like all good horror films that leave you wanting for more, you don’t know if the good guy or villain prevailed.
I want to give my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who took time out of your busy schedules to create this extremely wonderful body of work. Words alone cannot express enough gratitude to each and everyone one of you involved. And without further ado - “My Dearest Killer…“
My Dearest Killer… - Unholy Rhythms Halloween Mix 2011
- The North Sea - Broken Bats
- Ʌ (Arc) - URIEL (AT KARNAK)
- Dream Boat - Rosemary
- CVLT CLASSICS - Tropico (Instrumental Mix)
- Basketball Camp - Fuhhly
- GOSTS - KNIFE COUTURE
- Kidcity - What Have You Done
- Majical Cloudz - Love From The Loon
- Poor Spirits - Where Is That Ghost?
- Running In The Fog - Let It In
- Magic Fades - DONTHANGUP(GURLIMSCARED4U)
- Moon Mirror - The Music Box Portal
- LUST - Night Voyeur
- Ghibli - Patrick
- ∆AIMON - Jacob’s Ladder (SONNYBOY)
Get it here
♪ File under: halloween, halloween 2011, unholy rhythms comp, giallo, giallo inspired, giallo disco, erotic disco, exploitation funk, dark, drone, atmospheric, imaginary horror film, instrumental, swamp-fi, murky, chilling, ethereal, love song to vampires, keep telling yourself - this is only a soundtrack, this is only a soundtrack…
If you’re ready for it, here is the third installment of the Cactus-Mouth/Unholy Rhythms collaborative mixtape series. Since we did mixtapes for Christmas and then Valentine’s Day we realized that our third effort should also have a theme. So I came up with the idea of covering songs from the late 1950’s through the early 1960’s. It was a special time in pop music, a more innocent time. It’s also the music that we were raised on. I have fond memories of taking naps as a little kid while my parents listened to Sam Cooke, Patsy Cline, The Everly Brothers, and others. So this was a special project for me.
We asked some of our favorite artists to choose and cover one of their favorite songs from this specific era. Each artist had their own favorites and they also knew which sort of song would best fit their individual style. In addition, the stellar artist The Future Cat lent her talents to the beautiful lady on the cover artwork. All together the result was more amazing than I could have ever hoped. U/R and I have been working on this mixtape for a couple months now, so we’re really excited for everyone to hear it. We would also love to endlessly thank each of the artists that worked on this for us. Many of them had hectic schedules, but found time to help us out. This is all their work, we take no credit.
Now there are bound to be some familiar faces on this mixtape, but hopefully there are also some that are new to you. Each artist is absolutely amazing and is totally deserving of your time, so I encourage you to check them out. Oh, and I’ve also included a link to the original songs so you can check them out too (so just click the original artist). OK, I’ve blathered on enough. We now proudly present you with:
Tears On My Pillow: Part I
1 Mutual Benefit - “Cupid” (Sam Cooke)
2 Chains of Love - “Stay” (Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs)
3 Sore Eros - “Palisades Park” (Freddy Cannon)
4 Adelyn Rose - “Broken Hearted Melody” (Sarah Vaughn)
5 Die Jungen - “I’m Sorry” (Bo Diddley & the Carnations)
6 Tashaki Miyaki - “Nothing Can Change This Love” (Sam Cooke)
7 M o r o - “Sound of Silence” (Simon & Garfunkel)
8 Heavy Hawaii - “All I Have to Do Is Dream” (The Everly Brothers)
9 Blue Jungle - “Who’s Sorry Now” (Connie Francis)
10 His Clancyness - “Love Hurts” (The Everly Brothers)
11 Wisdom Tooth - “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” (Tiny Tim)
12 Piresian Beach - “Where You Gonna Go” (Art Guy)
13 Le Chevalier - “Non, je ne regrette rien” (Edith Piaf)
14 Grandpa Was a Lion - “Moon River” (Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini)
*And if you guys like Tears On My Pillow: Part I, then keep your eyes peeled because you’ll looove Part II. It should be out in a few weeks!*
After a number of delays, we are finally able to present you with Volume 01 of this compilation! My gratitude and heartfelt thanks go out to to the artists involved (in both volumes) and a super duper shout out to my eternal partner in crime - Cactus Mouth.
♪ File under: compilation, cactus mouth, unholy rhythms, covers, 50s-60s