THE GHOUL
Ostensibly a film about a cop who goes undercover to solve a double murder, The
Ghoul starts to look a bit more complex as the plot unfolds. It’s several films in one,
and the music had to reflect this. There’s the noirish police procedural with its dark,
brooding strings and atmospheres; the intimate story about depression, with its
tasteful, muted electronica; the party segment with its eclectic roster of made-up hits
(we couldn’t afford to licence anyone else’s songs, so I had to write them all); and the
end section where it all comes to a head, with its whirling collages of noise.
It helped that we had a loose schedule. We were all putting our own time and money
into it - the budget for the whole thing was basically zero pounds - so the post-
production took a while. Nothing got approved until everyone was happy, including
me. It was nearly eighteen months between the first and last sessions for the film,
during which time I did Series 2 of Crackanory and the first series of Murder in
Successville. Having that extra time gave me more scope to try things out, to get
things wrong, and to refine what did work into the best thing it could possibly be.
FROM THE SOUNDTRACK
DEEP COVER
Aug 28, 29 & Sep 1, 2014
HI MUM
Feb 24, 2011; Sep 5, 2014; May 6, 2015
KING TOMMY
Sep 16 & 25, 2014; May 13 & Jun 3, 2015
THROUGH A WINDSCREEN
Aug 27 & 29, Sep 1 & 12, 2014; May 5, 2015
THE YEARNING (Opening Titles)
Jan 24, 2014; May 5, 12, 20 & Jun 5, 2015
CASE NOTES
Sep 3 & 30, 2014
THE IMMORTALITY LOOP
Oct 20 & 21, 2014; May 22, 2015
A TYPICAL CHRIS DAY (early mix)
Sep 3, 4, 5 & 10, 2014
INTO THE WOODS
Sep 29 & Oct 7, 2014; May 14, Jun 3 & 5, 2015
EARLY TAKES & ALTERNATE CUES
THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRIS: PART 1
Jul 29, 2013; Sep 5, 2014
THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRIS: PART 2
Sep 8, 2014
FOSSILS (vocal mix)
Sep 19 & 26, 2014
2014 - 2015
TRIGGER EPISODE
Oct 14, 2014; May 19 & Jun 3, 2015
This is, I hope, a decent, representative selection from the soundtrack. I’ve tried to
include a bit of everything: the doomy strings, the churning synths, the atonal mash-
ups - even the brave attempt at dub. But I’ve spared you the drum and bass.
Most of the synth work was done with Spectrasonics’ Omnisphere (my go-to synth),
with orchestral flavours from EastWest’s Hollywood Strings and instruments for the
various ‘band’ pieces from Native Instruments’ Komplete series. So although some of
it might sound like it was played by real musicians (if I did my job properly), it’s just
me, noodling away in my home studio. And that voice on STAY AWAKE WITH ME?
That’s me as well, for better or worse.
STAY AWAKE WITH ME (vocal version)
Sep 23 & 26, 2014; May 13 & Jun 6, 2015
NAMING THE GHOUL (stripped)
Oct 1, 2014; May 14 & Jun 3, 2015
ONE WAY OUT/COMPLETING THE LOOP
Oct 21, 2014
With my background in comedy songwriting, I’d never tried anything quite like this
before, but it opened up a whole new world. The Ghoul gave me the chance to
explore a much wider range of moods, techniques and genres than I was used to -
blending classical, pop and jazz with dark ambient soundscapes and electronic
improvisation - resulting in what I’d call my first ‘serious’ piece of work, and one of the
most enjoyably stress-free experiences of my professional life. Nearly ten years on,
I’m still intensely proud of it. The BAFTA nomination stunned us all, but it’s a very
welcome indication that, even though all this stuff was new to me, I didn’t mess it up.
With eternal thanks to Gareth Tunley and Tom Meeten, who engaged me to work on
this spectacular, glittering diamond.
Oh and if you haven’t seen it, you can watch the whole film here.
If you want to hear the full thing, it’s available on Bandcamp. You can listen to a few
of the raw synth improvisations from the film here if you’re that way inclined. There
are other tracks I wrote in the same sessions here. But I’ve included a few alternate
cues at the bottom of this page: a couple of longer edits, plus a few other pieces that
made their way into earlier cuts of the film.
CASE NOTES was in the film for so long, I still instinctively think it’s in there, but I’m
pretty sure the scene got cut and we lost it. A shame because the slide guitar and
voice go together beautifully. There are more variations on it here (see PURSUIT).
Both parts of THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRIS are from earlier cuts of the film, which might
have placed more emphasis on Chris following people. At least, that’s what I see in
my mind when I hear this stuff.
FOSSILS was written for the party sequence. You can hear about three seconds of in
the finished film, but I chose not to include it on the OST release. I wrote the
impenetrable lyrics in about five minutes, just so you know. But if you squint very
hard, they still kind of work in the context of the plot.
NAMING THE GHOUL: fun fact - it’s actually the same tune as INTO THE WOODS. In
earlier incarnations of the score, I placed more emphasis on this tune. At one point I
even wanted it to play over the opening credits. But it faded into the background as
time wore on and you barely even hear it in the final film.
ONE WAY OUT/COMPLETING THE LOOP is an earlier edit of what became THE
IMMORTALITY LOOP. It’s not quite so hyper-concentrated, so you get to hear a little
more of the elements that make up the final thing. I’m never quite sure which version
I prefer, so it’s great to have them both finally in one place. I’ve uploaded all the
original improvisations here if you want to compare and contrast.
2014 - 2015
THE GHOUL
Ostensibly a film about a cop who goes undercover
to solve a double murder, The Ghoul starts to look a
bit more complex as the plot unfolds. It’s several
films in one, and the music had to reflect this.
There’s the noirish police procedural with its dark,
brooding strings and atmospheres; the intimate
story about depression, with its tasteful, muted
electronica; the party segment with its eclectic
roster of made-up hits (we couldn’t afford to licence
anyone else’s songs, so I had to write them all); and
the end section where it all comes to a head, with its
whirling collages of noise.
It helped that we had a loose schedule. We were all
putting our own time and money into it - the budget
for the whole thing was basically zero pounds - so
the post-production took a while. Nothing got
approved until everyone was happy, including me. It
was nearly eighteen months between the first and
last sessions for the film, during which time I did
Series 2 of Crackanory and the first series of Murder
in Successville. Having that extra time gave me more
scope to try things out, to get things wrong, and to
refine what did work into the best thing it could
possibly be.
FROM THE SOUNDTRACK
DEEP COVER
Aug 28, 29 & Sep 1, 2014
HI MUM
Feb 24, 2011; Sep 5, 2014; May 6, 2015
KING TOMMY
Sep 16 & 25, 2014; May 13 & Jun 3, 2015
THROUGH A WINDSCREEN
Aug 27 & 29, Sep 1 & 12, 2014; May 5, 2015
THE YEARNING (Opening Titles)
Jan 24, 2014; May 5, 12, 20 & Jun 5, 2015
THE IMMORTALITY LOOP
Oct 20 & 21, 2014; May 22, 2015
INTO THE WOODS
Sep 29 & Oct 7, 2014; May 14, Jun 3 & 5, 2015
TRIGGER EPISODE
Oct 14, 2014; May 19 & Jun 3, 2015
STAY AWAKE WITH ME (vocal version)
Sep 23 & 26, 2014; May 13 & Jun 6, 2015
This is, I hope, a decent, representative selection
from the soundtrack. I’ve tried to include a bit of
everything: the doomy strings, the churning synths,
the atonal mash-ups - even the brave attempt at
dub. But I’ve spared you the drum and bass.
Most of the synth work was done with Spectrasonics’
Omnisphere (my go-to synth), with orchestral
flavours from EastWest’s Hollywood Strings and
instruments for the various ‘band’ pieces from Native
Instruments’ Komplete series. So although some of it
might sound like it was played by real musicians (if I
did my job properly), it’s just me, noodling away in
my home studio. And that voice on STAY AWAKE
WITH ME? That’s me as well, for better or worse.
If you want to hear the full thing, it’s available on
Bandcamp. You can listen to a few of the raw synth
improvisations from the film here if you’re that way
inclined. There are other tracks I wrote in the same
sessions here. But I’ve included a few alternate cues
below on this page: a couple of longer edits, plus a
few other pieces that made their way into earlier
cuts of the film.
CASE NOTES
Sep 3 & 30, 2014
A TYPICAL CHRIS DAY (early mix)
Sep 3, 4, 5 & 10, 2014
EARLY TAKES & ALTERNATE CUES
THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRIS: PART 1
Jul 29, 2013; Sep 5, 2014
THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRIS: PART 2
Sep 8, 2014
FOSSILS (vocal mix)
Sep 19 & 26, 2014
NAMING THE GHOUL (stripped)
Oct 1, 2014; May 14 & Jun 3, 2015
ONE WAY OUT/COMPLETING THE LOOP
Oct 21, 2014
With my background in comedy songwriting, I’d never
tried anything quite like this before, but it opened up
a whole new world. The Ghoul gave me the chance to
explore a much wider range of moods, techniques
and genres than I was used to - blending classical,
pop and jazz with dark ambient soundscapes and
electronic improvisation - resulting in what I’d call my
first ‘serious’ piece of work, and one of the most
enjoyably stress-free experiences of my professional
life. Nearly ten years on, I’m still intensely proud of it.
The BAFTA nomination stunned us all, but it’s a very
welcome indication that, even though all this stuff
was new to me, I didn’t mess it up.
With eternal thanks to Gareth Tunley and Tom
Meeten, who engaged me to work on this
spectacular, glittering diamond.
Oh and if you haven’t seen it, you can watch the
whole film here.
THE GHOUL
(ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK)
Available for streaming and download
exclusively on Bandcamp
ONE WAY OUT/COMPLETING THE LOOP is an earlier
edit of what became THE IMMORTALITY LOOP. It’s
not quite so hyper-concentrated, so you get to hear a
little more of the elements that make up the final
thing. I’m never quite sure which version I prefer, so
it’s great to have them both finally in one place. I’ve
uploaded all the original improvisations here if you
want to compare and contrast.
CASE NOTES was in the film for so long, I still
instinctively think it’s in there, but I’m pretty sure the
scene got cut and we lost it. A shame because the
slide guitar and voice go together beautifully. There
are more variations on it here.
Both parts of THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRIS are from
earlier cuts of the film, which might have placed
more emphasis on Chris following people. At least,
that’s what I see in my mind when I hear this stuff.
FOSSILS was written for the party sequence. You can
hear about three seconds of in the finished film, but I
chose not to include it on the OST release. I wrote
the impenetrable lyrics in about five minutes, just so
you know. But if you squint very hard, they still kind
of work in the context of the plot.
NAMING THE GHOUL: fun fact - it’s actually the same
tune as INTO THE WOODS. In earlier incarnations of
the score, I placed more emphasis on this tune. At
one point I even wanted it to play over the opening
credits. But it faded into the background as time
wore on and you barely even hear it in the final film.
