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Baker's Dozen

Spencer Hickman Of Death Waltz Records’ Favourite Horror Soundtracks
Spencer Hickman , October 31st, 2013 05:37

Spencer Hickman founded and runs Death Waltz Records, a label that puts out classic and obscure horror soundtracks in mouthwatering vinyl reissue packages. In a Baker’s Dozen Halloween Special, he chooses his favourite OSTs for us

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The Legend Of Hell House - Director: John Hough, Soundtrack: Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson
This film is, hands down, my favourite ever haunted house film. It’s fucking brilliant. It’s about a team of people who are sent into investigate strange goings on in this house. One of them is a scientist, one’s a paranormal investigator and it’s just fucking bonkers. All of the [camera] angles are just really unsettling. The score is Radiophonic Workshop-related and so far ahead of its time. Delia Derbyshire is essentially making sound effects so the score is very pulsing, throbbing, unsettling electronica. Even more so than the sort of stuff they would have done for Dr Who or Quatermass. It’s got this weird drum effect which is almost like a heartbeat which runs through it. It’s got this Moog riff that runs all the way through it. I love films from the 70s generally but this is not like any other film score I’ve heard from that period because it sounds like odd electronica. It’s so far ahead of the time. I wish I could release this score but it’s gone. Lost forever. There’s a bootleg of it but it’s got all the dialogue on it. I spoke to Brian and he doesn’t have it. It’s really upsetting. Especially when you’re running a label you think, ‘Fuck! I want to release that...’ But maybe it’s out there somewhere…