On October 13, Big Secret Records will release a digital version of the soundtrack to Texas indie horror film 13 Tracks to Frighten Agatha Black, which follows in “the grand tradition of horror on wax” (Fangoria) on Bandcamp.
The tracklist is arranged as sides on an LP, including the score on side one and selected scary stories from the film on side two. The score, which was fully improvised by a quartet featuring Jesse Chandler (Beth Orton, Madison Cunningham, Pneumatic Tubes) and Big Secret Records alum Bob Cummins Jr. is funky but tense – Goblin meets John Carpenter – with flute, fuzzed-out guitars, bongos, and a tasteful amount of synthesizer. Early reviews of the film (out now on Blu-Ray and streaming on Tubi) praised its music – RUE MORGUE said, “the musical score is eerie and unnerving.” Finally, each music cue is coming to Bandcamp.
Selected stories from the film are also included in the soundtrack (due to legal issues, the film’s opening narration performed by horror icon Udo Kier could not be released in this format). Still, there are some names that will pique any genre fan’s interest: Robocop’s Angie Bolling is “The Seer” and Silent Night, Deadly Night 5’s Van Quattro narrates the vampiric tale “The Uninvited.”
Writer/director Bradley Steele Harding explained how vintage scary story records led to a DIY horror film that took on a life of its own: “The basic concept for 13 Tracks to Frighten Agatha Black came about in 2004 when I became obsessed with scary story and sound effects records primarily from the 60s and 70s. After months of listening to these creepy gems, I wrote a film treatment about a young woman who rediscovers a box of scary story records from her childhood – and becomes obsessed with them.” Fast forward through a year of shooting and editing, a pandemic, a few reshoots and a scoring session, and 13 Tracks found a home with distributor Bayview Entertainment where it was immortalized on Blu-Ray and released on the streaming site Tubi.
Of the soundtrack, Harding said, “I think you will be pleased with the various tracks on this LP – best heard in the blackest hours of a cold and windy night, when reason is lost to the wind….” Letterboxd users and horror pillars Fangoria and Rue Morgue have agreed.
With enough online interest, the soundtrack will be pressed on vinyl with alternate takes from the scoring dates and additional scary stories. Fans can anticipate the release on https://13tracks.bandcamp.com/ and look forward to the follow-up feature from Bradley Steele Harding, Occult Canvas, currently in pre-production.
