John Carpenter’s music masterclass

The master of horror reveals the secrets behind his spooky film scores

BE CONFIDENT

Carpenter scored his debut film, 1974’s Dark Star, out of “necessity”, he says. A long-time fan of electronic music, he realised that with synths, he could make epic-sounding music on his own. “We needed original music, so we figured it out.” What made him think he could pull it off? “Stupidity, I guess!” he laughs. “I didn’t know any better! I always had that confidence.” As he developed as a composer, “the chops got better”, but he wouldn’t put himself on the same level of his heroes — the likes of Bernard Herrmann and Vangelis — he says. “I’m just a bum director who was forced to make music. That’s all I am.”

BE FLEXIBLE

Carpenter is primarily known for his synths, but there are some meaty guitars on Lost Themes III: Alive After Death, his latest album of music for imaginary films. “It’s just instinct,” he explains. “What will sound better for it?” A surprising instrument gave birth to his classic Halloween score. “The biggest influence there was my dad teaching me 5/4 time [signature] on the bongos. That’s where it came from. I just played it on a piano.” He recorded the entire score in three days — a luxury compared to others. “I had one day on Assault On Precinct 13,” he explains. “I picked five or six themes and cut them in the movie whenever I needed them.”

BE INSTINCTIVE

“All of it’s been improvised,” he says of his music, from his old scores to his recent albums. And there’s never a formula — he just feels it. “There’s no mystery,” he says. “I wish there were a formula, I could sell it to you!” The key is to just go with the gut — and his music has become more personal with time. “That’s what I love about it. I have a second career really late in my life. And a second career is very personal. It comes from me, it comes from my inside. I’m really delighted by it.”

BE ATMOSPHERIC

All of Carpenter’s music drips with atmosphere, although he scoffs when asked what he does to get in the zone himself. “Like burning a candle, or incense? Shrouding myself in darkness? No,” he laughs. “It’s just the studio downstairs in my house.” He does, though, want the music to conjure images in our heads. “My suggestion to you is to get in a car late at night, maybe with the one you love, and go driving down an empty street. Rainy streets would be great. And listen to my albums. You will be transported. Transported, I guarantee you.”

BE A ROCK STAR

Of late Carpenter has been touring the world with his band, hitting stages to play his new music alongside his classic film scores. The adulation has given him a new lease of life. “It’s fabulous!” he exclaims. “It’s just the greatest! There’s nothing like playing Escape From New York in front of a crowd. It stirs me up! There’s a piece of music that Bach did, and when I listen to it I think, ‘Life has meaning.’ And I have the same meaning when I play some of my own tunes. It’s meaningful to me. Here I am.”

JOHN CARPENTER’S LOST THEMES III: ALIVE AFTER DEATH IS OUT ON 5 FEBRUARY