John Carpenter has detailed a new instalment in his Lost Themes release series. The film director and composer will share Lost Themes IV: Noir on May 3 via Sacred Bones Records.
Following 2021's Lost Themes III: Alive After Death, the 10-track Lost Themes IV: Noir finds Carpenter once more at work with son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies.
Davies shares in a release how the aha moment for Noir came upon studying a book of noir film stills gifted to Carpenter for Christmas by wife and producer Sandy King.
"I was looking through it, and I thought, 'I like that imagery, and what those titles make me think of. What if we loosely based it around that? What if the titles were of some of John's favorite noir films?'"
While scores for noir films were predominantly orchestral, the album finds the Carpenters and Davies working mainly with synthesizers and six-strings. As Davies explains, "Some of the music is heavy guitar riffs, which is not in old noir films. But somehow, it's connected in an emotional way."
You can hear how those sounds come together on album opener "My Name is Death," arriving today alongside a miniature noir film directed by Ambar Navarro. The visual stars Natalie Mering (Weyes Blood), Staz Lindes (The Paranoyds) and SadGirl's Misha Lindes.
Pre-order Lost Themes IV: Noir.
Lost Themes IV: Noir:
1. My Name is Death
2. Machine Fear
3. Last Rites
4. The Burning Door
5. He Walks By Night
6. Beyond The Gallows
7. Kiss the Blood Off My Fingers
8. Guillotine
9. The Demon's Shadow
10. Shadows Have a Thousand Eyes