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1) Sampling and Replaying the 'Phantasm' Score
How a horror classic became a source of sampling and interpolation in R & B, death metal, video game scores, and rap.
https://microchop.substack.com/p/sampling-and-replaying-the-phantasm
How a horror classic became a source of sampling and interpolation in R & B, death metal, video game scores, and rap.
https://microchop.substack.com/p/sampling-and-replaying-the-phantasm
2) Doug E. Fresh and The Get Fresh Crew were the first trendsetters to make use of the 'Phantasm' theme, opting to replay elements of “Intro and Main Title” on “Play This Only at Night” from their 1986 debut album 'Oh My God.'
3) With Dennis Bell, Ollie Cotton, Doug E. Fresh, and Get Fresh Crew co-DJs Barry Bee and Chill Will all earning a producer credit, they employed their own unique blend of synths to breathe new life into Fred Myrow and Malcolm Seagrave’s masterwork.
4) Chill Will used a Yamaha DX7, Korg Poly-61, and Ensoniq Mirage on the track, while Dennis Bell and Bernard Wright played “guitar” solos from the DX7, Mirage, and Oberheim OB-8—Bell on the DX7/Mirage and Wright on the OB-8.
5) The end result is a captivatingly dark cut that introduced the Phantasm score to a new generation of listeners eight years after its release. https://microchop.substack.com/p/sampling-and-replaying-the-phantasm
6) Two years later the short-lived New Jersey rap group Live & Direct made their own contribution to the “Intro and Main Title”-sampling/interpolating canon on the energetic cut “Rock Bass Line.”
7) With song co-producers David Schratz and Robert Hanna mixing up elements of Rush, The Brothers Johnson, and LL Cool J alongside eerie horror movie chords, the MCs in Live & Direct do a solid job rhyming over the hard-hitting instrumental.
8) Two years after Live & Direct ripped the mic on one their lone 12” release, Swedish death metal pioneers Entombed replayed parts of “Intro and Main Title” on the title track of their seminal 1990 LP 'Left Hand Path' around the 3:50 mark.
9) An enduring classic in the genre, the song has since been included in the soundtrack for 'Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned' while 'Left Hand Path' the album was ranked #82 on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time.”
10) From early rap records and death metal, it was only a matter of time before Phantasm’s “Intro and Main Title” found into the world of computer and video game music. https://microchop.substack.com/p/rap-samples-and-unexpected-replays
11) Prolific game, film, and television composer Keith Tinman replayed it masterfully in 1995 for his gorgeously dark scoring of the 'Addams Family Values' on SEGA Mega Drive and Super Nintendo.
12) Though tracks like “Dark Dungeons” almost steal the show with their layered sophistication, Tinman’s nod to Coscarelli’s horror classic on “House of the Dead” is equally impressive.
13) The song and the soundtrack as a whole are perfect for the Halloween season—intricate compositions that seem darker than a family friendly affair like 'Addams Family Values' would imply. https://microchop.substack.com/p/sampling-and-replaying-the-phantasm
14) Regular Micro-Chop readers are probably asking themselves at this point, “Did any ‘90s Memphis rap tapes sample Phantasm?”
Of course they did—several city legends and pioneers made good use of the movie’s theme song. https://microchop.substack.com/p/john-carpenters-halloween-theme-was
Of course they did—several city legends and pioneers made good use of the movie’s theme song. https://microchop.substack.com/p/john-carpenters-halloween-theme-was
15) It seems like Tommy Wright III and DJ Paul/Juicy J were the first to do it in ‘94—Wright with “Don’t Start No Shit” from his underground classic 'Ashes 2 Ashes, Dust 2 Dust'
16) and Paul/Juicy J on their 'Part 2 Da Exorcist' selection “On Da Scene Wit Da 45 Glock.”
17) As is the case throughout the rich rap histories of Memphis and New Orleans, both cities shared a fondness for the same sample sources. https://microchop.substack.com/p/john-carpenters-halloween-theme-was
18) Three years after the aforementioned releases of Tommy Wright III and DJ Paul/Juicy J, Beats by the Pound/The Medicine Men member Craig B tried his hand at replaying “Intro and Main Title” on Master P’s weed smoking anthem “Pass Me Da Green.”
19) Selected from P’s ‘97 record 'Ghetto D,' this song serves as a perfect time capsule for an era where No Limit was an incredibly prolific, dominant force in and outside of New Orleans.
20) Interpolations and replays weren’t just limited to rap, death metal, and video game scores. The 'Phantasm' theme also showed up in other surprising places—like former Jodeci lead singers K-Ci & JoJo’s multi-platinum 1997 duet debut 'Love Always.'
21) On the album cut “Baby Come Back” producers Andrew Braxton, Derrick Garrett, Fred Rosser, and Jeff Redd replay “Intro and Main Title” over a straight Jackson 5 sample,
22) all while K-Ci & JoJo croon a plea of forgiveness to their former lovers. This may sound like an odd mish-mash of elements, but it’s surprisingly effective.
23) Sadly, Phantasm co-composer Fred Myrow passed away 20 years after the release of Phantasm at age 59. Before his passing he and Coscarelli continued to work well with each other into the ‘80s and '90s, as the industry veteran also helped score Phantasm II and Phantasm III.
24) Unfortunately, despite his interesting, lengthy, and varied work as a composer, Myrow—like so many musicians—struggled to find adequate compensation throughout his career. https://microchop.substack.com/p/sampling-and-replaying-the-phantasm
25) Regardless of the headaches money caused, he loved his life’s work. "While finances were stressful for Fred, music was always pure joy," his daughter Rachael Myrow told Kevin L. Jones’ in a 2017 KQED feature article. https://www.kqed.org/arts/13813192/phantasm-fred-myrow
26) And, despite the sometimes terse dynamics between recording artists and producers who sample or replay their creations, Rachael Myrow is pretty sure that her father’s diverse musical tastes would make him a fan of the many reimaginings of his score. https://www.kqed.org/arts/13813192/phantasm-fred-myrow