Since 1974, John Carpenter has been behind some of the most iconic films of the last 40 years. He introduced the world to the slasher with Halloween, turned Kurt Russell into the greatest unsung action hero ever, and created a number of influential film scores with his then-partner, Alan Howarth.
Now 66, Carpenter has decided to step away from the camera and explore his passion for music with his upcoming solo album Lost Themes, which only happened because his son Cody insisted.
"This album happened by accident. It wasn't my choice," Carpenter tells Exclaim! from his Hollywood home. "My son and I were together a couple of years ago playing videogames and we went downstairs to my Logic Pro computer music setup and improvised music for a couple of hours. Then back to videogames, then back to music, and over a period of time, we had about 60 minutes of finished music. Some of it was blues, some of it was rock'n'roll, but most of it was score music."
Even though Carpenter had finished music, the thought of putting it out for people to hear didn't really cross his mind.
"[My son] went off to teach in Japan, and I sat on it with no plans to release it," he says. "And then I got a new music attorney and she asked if I had anything new. So I thought I'd send her what Cody and I had been working on, and two months later I had a record deal! How easy was this?"
After signing a deal with Sacred Bones, the songs on Lost Themes (out February 3) are just the beginning for Carpenter's burgeoning music career. Though he doesn't have much to say about the recent reissues of his past scores by boutique label Death Waltz Recordings, Carpenter is happy to talk about the future.
"Musically, I'm working on a blues record, another Lost Themes-type record, and some rock'n'roll," he admits. "The future is bright — I may do some more stuff. I'm ready to have Beyoncé open for me! That'd be something else!"
Now 66, Carpenter has decided to step away from the camera and explore his passion for music with his upcoming solo album Lost Themes, which only happened because his son Cody insisted.
"This album happened by accident. It wasn't my choice," Carpenter tells Exclaim! from his Hollywood home. "My son and I were together a couple of years ago playing videogames and we went downstairs to my Logic Pro computer music setup and improvised music for a couple of hours. Then back to videogames, then back to music, and over a period of time, we had about 60 minutes of finished music. Some of it was blues, some of it was rock'n'roll, but most of it was score music."
Even though Carpenter had finished music, the thought of putting it out for people to hear didn't really cross his mind.
"[My son] went off to teach in Japan, and I sat on it with no plans to release it," he says. "And then I got a new music attorney and she asked if I had anything new. So I thought I'd send her what Cody and I had been working on, and two months later I had a record deal! How easy was this?"
After signing a deal with Sacred Bones, the songs on Lost Themes (out February 3) are just the beginning for Carpenter's burgeoning music career. Though he doesn't have much to say about the recent reissues of his past scores by boutique label Death Waltz Recordings, Carpenter is happy to talk about the future.
"Musically, I'm working on a blues record, another Lost Themes-type record, and some rock'n'roll," he admits. "The future is bright — I may do some more stuff. I'm ready to have Beyoncé open for me! That'd be something else!"
