Sounds of Horror: Le Matos
Hey there horror music lovers, and welcome to the long (and I mean looooong) overdue next entry in my ongoing series about all things horror music related. I mean, I did this supplemental entry not too long ago (coupled with a review of the accompanying film) for the soundtrack to UK produced documentary, In Search of Darkness, which you know I’m going to put a link to here. I’ve given a lot of thought to doing more of those kinds of shorter entries and pairing them with a film review in the future, but hit me up on the “tweetie” and let me know what you think.
Writing about music is much harder than I thought, due to the fact that it holds such a dear and important place in my heart because it was and still remains to be a huge part of my life, both personal and professional. In a previous writing life I used to post reviews of albums and concerts for a now defunct alternative music site, but that was different, and easier, for a few reasons: I only reviewed records that I was going to buy anyway because I was a fan of that artist and reviews didn’t really consist of tons of research that you didn’t already have access to via the records inner sleeve or CD’s booklet. You’d think it was tough to be impartial on a review of an artist you were already a fan of, but trust me; it wasn’t, because I am just that passionate about it.
My first entry in this series was easy because it was on such an iconic and legendary artist whose work currently spans decades (read more here), and I think as we journey further along in this series, you’ll find, as I did, that so much of what John Carpenter did back then, and still does today, has kind of influenced, not only a new genre, but so many current and aspiring artists. So when it comes time for me to do one of these exposés on a fairly young group (and when I use the word “young” here I’m referring more to the breadth of their career than their physical age), I want to make sure I get it right. And when you’re dealing with a young group, working mainly in indie film, in a genre that’s already pretty uncelebrated, the work is doubly more difficult. But let’s talk about it nonetheless, okay?
I first came across French Canadian duo, Le Matos, made up of Jean-Philippe Bernier and Jean-Nicolas Leupi, while viewing the now cult classic film, Turbo Kid, on Netflix. If you’ve seen it, then you know it was a film meant to look like it came out in the ‘80s, but took place in the ‘90s, yet, was released in 2015. But that’s what makes the film so awesome. Definitely more along the lines of science fiction, taking place in a post apocalyptic landscape that was all the rage of actual films from the 1980’s,Turbo Kid is a beautiful blend of Mad Max meets BMX Bandits, or Rad, depending on what part of the world you grew up in, with a splash of Small Wonder (yeah, that’s right, I went there.) Watch it for Michael Ironside as the nemesis that commands the devious, and scene stealing Skelotron, then stay for the gore effects the caliber of which any horror fan can appreciate.
Le Matos were lucky early on to have teamed up with fellow Montrealers, directing trio RKSS (made up of Anouk Whissell, François Simard, and Yoann-Karl Whissell), having provided music to virtually all of their features and shorts since 2010. Their brand of retro sounding ‘80s synth wave seemed to fit perfectly into RKSS’s equally inspired brand of nostalgic, neon-tinged storytelling. Their sound is no mistake either, with both members citing influences from the likes of Harold Faltermeyer (composer of Beverly Hills Cop’s score and catchy Axel F theme song) as well as Mike Oldfield (composer of The Exorcist’s haunting theme song, Tubular Bells), and of course, the incomparable John Carpenter. Yet, both men admit to finding influence from some of the more recent pioneers to channel that old retro sound like Mr. Robot’s genius composer, Mac Quayle, who some of our readers may know better from his work on American Horror Story.
But the real reason why I decided to feature Le Matos in my ongoing series of horror music was mainly due to their work on 2018 thriller, Summer of 84. Directed by the aforementioned RKSS and featuring cinematography by Le Matos’s own Jean-Philippe Bernier, the film takes place in a small sleepy town of the pacific northwest where a serial killer the papers are dubbing “The Cape May Slayer” has struck again and a small group of best friends spend their entire summer trying to prove the killer is their neighbor. In my review of the film I compared it somewhat to 1989 dark comedy The Burbs but with less comedy and more darkness. I also gave it a five out of five, by the way. Yeah, the film is filled with a ton of ‘80s pop culture nods, but the synth based score itself ranks up there with the likes of other ‘80s horror films like Halloween and The Thing. And the boys of Le Matos seem to be the most pleased with the work they put into this one in comparison to their others… at least so far. Unlike the double disc release of the Turbo Kid score and soundtrack (one disc for each), JP and Jean-Nic admit to doing much more research on film scoring, including going back and watching some of their own favorite films and TV shows to study the cueing and intermingling of how the music and picture influence each other. And despite the rushed production and strict deadline, they still managed somehow to produce something they could be most proud of.
Some other notable releases by this genius duo I’d like to mention, although maybe not so horror related, are the score for the web series, Exode, and the single for a song by the name of Complete Memory Recovery. In the former, a lone space traveler tries to contact the mother ship from which his escape pod has been launched so that he can speak to his wife and daughter one last time before they burn up upon reentry in a nearby planet’s atmosphere. Yeah, I know, pretty friggin’ dark, right? The cinematography (once again provided by Jean-Philippe) brilliantly captures the claustrophobia of that tiny escape pod so well and the performance of Emmanuel Bilodeau, who plays protagonist, David, is truly spectacular in his portrayal of desperation. As far as the latter goes, well, I just like the song.
So, that’s it guys and gals, another entry in my ongoing music series officially in the books. For more on Le Matos and their work, be sure to check out their official bandcamp page for links to purchase their entire catalogue, including their non-score based music. To see their stuff in action, check out Summer of 84 streaming on Shudder, Turbo Kid streaming on Prime Video and Shudder and the amazingly depressing Exode now streaming all four parts on YouTube. Thanks for reading, keep jamming, and we’ll see you next time for another entry in my Sounds of Horror series.
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