It’s just five notes plucked out on a piano, so sparsely arranged that it feels like barely more than a sketch, so simple that an untrained player can easily pick it up, but it’s one of cinema’s greatest musical accomplishments. By now, John Carpenter’s hypnotic theme to his 1978 horror masterpiece Halloween has embodied slasher-stalker anxiety for generations of filmgoers, and woven itself so into pop culture that it’s become musical shorthand for the entire horror genre. And like the seemingly unkillable Michael Meyers, it’s back once again. 

In 2018, Carpenter returned to the franchise his iconic creation spawned for the first time since 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch, erasing the 40 years of sequels and reboots that happened under other filmmakers, and returning the story to his original vision. While directing duties for the new Halloween and its sequels have been turned over to David Gordon Green, Carpenter has stayed on to provide them with their unmistakable sonic identity, as integral to Halloween as Michael Meyers’ death’s-face mask and glimmering butcher knife. 

Carpenter has been composing and recording his own scores since he created the soundtrack to his first film, 1974’s Dark Star, on a EMS VCS 3 modular synthesizer. While originally a cost-cutting measure, he continued scoring most of his films even after he started making multiplex staples in the 80s and 90s, with the soundtracks to the Halloween series, They Live, and Escape from New York becoming classics in their own right.  

Over the past two decades, Carpenter’s directed only one feature (The Ward in 2010), but during that time he’s come to be recognized as much for his musical vision as his filmography. His boldly assertive compositions and pioneering use of synthesizers have inspired musicians in cinema and far beyond. His influence has been felt from the underground to pop radio, and played a foundational role in the modern synthwave movement. Since 2015, Carpenter’s released three albums of original music on Sacred Bones, created alongside Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, with remixes provided by some of his more notable fans. 

Like the film itself, Carpenter’s score to the second installment of the new Halloween trilogy, Halloween Kills, stays true to the spirit of what made the 1978 original great while bringing it firmly into the present. The music is unmistakably Carpenter: the sinister vintage synth tones, the breath-stealing sense of menace that he conjures with just a few dissonant notes. But with a broader sonic palette, new digital techniques at his disposal, and a deeper sense of musicality, the Halloween Kills score is the work of a master artist who nearly 50 years into his career continues to push his creative limits and find new ways to thrill and terrify his fans.

He Appears

Stand Off

Bet On Yourself (Johnny Gargano)

Made for the Unity Asset Store, where you can purchase it for use in your projects.

Unity Asset Store

Leggendaria Iperborea

This album contains sixteen tracks each between three and six minutes in length with the exception of the last track which around seven minutes long. I used these songs in a mix to perform live during a yoga class and they could also be used for meditation, relaxation, working or studying.

Pay What You Want

I See The Tree, I See The Skies (Ambient)

Stream / Buy: https://bit.ly/41Q6esB

HD SUBSTANCE
DIRECTORS (LP)
HXAGRM RECORDS
[HXAGRM057]

01. Hd Substance - David Lynch
02. Hd Substance - Francis Ford Coppola 
03. Hd Substance - Fritz Lang
04. Hd Substance - Stanley Kubrick
05. Hd Substance - Akira Kurosawa
06. Hd Substance - Jess Franco
07. Hd Substance - André Malraux
08. Hd Substance - John Carpenter
09. Hd Substance - Maya Deren
10. Hd Substance - Paul Morrissey
11. Hd Substance - Pedro Almodovar
12. Hd Substance - Roger Corman
13. Hd Substance - Stan Brakhage
14. Hd Substance - Emir Kusturica
15. Hd Substance - Robert Altman
16. Hd Substance - George Lucas
17. Hd Substance - Kenneth Anger
18. Hd Substance - Andréi Tarkovski
19. Hd Substance - Josef Von Sternberg
20. Hd Substance - Sergéi Elsentein
21. Hd Substance - Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
22. Hd Substance - Sam Peckinpah
23. Hd Substance - Luis Buñuel
24. Hd Substance - George Kuchar
25. Hd Substance - Brothers Lumière
26. Hd Substance - Ed Wood
27. Hd Substance - Ingmar Bergman

WARNING THIS IS NOT DANCE MUSIC

This extended work is meant for careful listening to help you in your everyday duties. To assist you in travels, to clean your senses after or before the club. To help you meditate or sleep. For your workouts or your hikes, and of course if you want also for braindancing.

This is the third and final installment of the cinema inspired trilogy, this time focused on ambient and IDM textures.

All tracks were written and composed at Hd Substance Lab / Studio B using digital synthesizers and sequencers only. Except Brothers Lumière and Ed Wood, recorded and composed at Studio A using only analog machines and mixers.

Members of the band in no particular order:

Kawai Q80 Ex sequencer, Kawai K1 Keyboard synthesizer, Kawai K4r Rack synthesizer, Korg M1 Keyboard workstation, Korg Wavestation Keyboard synthesizer, Roland D110 Rack synthesizer, Yamaha SY99 workstation, Yamaha V50 workstation, Yamaha Ys200 workstation, Yamaha Sy35 synthesizer, Casio Cz 5000 synthesizer, Ensoniq SQ 1 synthesizer, Laney Desctech 1202 mixer, Behringer Dr600 reverb, Behringer Fx600 multi fx, Pioneer Da 05 DAT recorder.

Brothers Lumière & Ed Wood instruments:

Behringer Monopoly synthesizer, Polyend Medusa synthesizer & sequencer, Kawai Sx 240 synthesizer, Behringer Odyssey synthesizer, Behringer Crave synthesizer & sequencer, Arturia Microfreak synthesizer, Roland Alpha Juno 1 synthesizer, Novation Peak synthesizer, Behringer System 55 synthesizer, Akai MPC 2000XL sampler & sequencer, Elektron Digitakt sampler & sequencer, Mackie 24/8 Bus Mixer.

Info text written by @Hd-Substance.

Supported by Remy Unger, Slam / Orde, Samuli Kemppi, Lefrenk, Alavux, Vibrations of Gravity, JANEIN, Akenaton, 30drop, Dr. Motte, R/D/V, Hioll, Kleitia Shqarri, Test, Drucal, Hugo Rolan, Dimi Angelis, Ctrls303, Tuber, R-010, Electric Rescue, Bando, Paco Osuna, Electric Indigo, Alderaan, Biotech, Nicolas Cetina, David Verdeguer, Hypnotic Black Magic, CØRE / Daniel Kyo, Ana Alves, 808 Radio, Takaaki Itoh, Yoikol, Tucca Premiere, Matteo, G02 / Heat, LENNY (MT), Drop-E, A4, Humanoid Gods, Richie Hawtin, Samsara, Joline Scheffler, Jancen, Angel Molina, Dax J, Juri Heidemann, Syrob, Ignez, Oscar Mulero, Atico Corp, PWCCA, MasCon, Jamaica Suk, Danny Fiddo, Amby Iguous, Dan Indicator, Di.Capa, Arof, Structweird, Arnaud Le Texier, Kenny Dahl, Slam / Stuart, Filip Xavi, Anton Banks, Annie Hall, Valody, Korben Nice, Dj Angulo, Leandro Gámez, Alberto Sola, Club Furies, Mathys Lenne, Roll Dann, CRAVO, VCO, Zadig, Casual Treatment, Kessell, Irakli, PTTRNRCRRNT, Ivet, Arjun Vagale, Kwartz, Joton, Marcel Flenger, SLV, Markantonio and more…

Feedback: https://bit.ly/4hPWfYK

Release date: May 5, 2025

Composed, Mixed and Recorded at Hd Substance Lab / Studio B and Studio A by Luis Rozalén (Madrid, ES).
Mastered at Javha Studios using TDM technology by Tadeo (Pontevedra, ES).
Artwork by Cosmic Alchemist (Valencia, ES).

@ All rights reserved.

@HxagrmRecords
Valencia (ES)

Hd Substance - Pedro Almodovar [HXAGRM057]

Continuing the loose series of "What If"s, here's how I imagine John Carpenter (circa 1981) might have done a Doctor Who theme. 

Synths used: Arturia Prophet VS, ARP Odyssey VSTi, LinnDrum samples, Amore Grand Piano, NI FM7. Also used was the Ferric Classic Tape simulator to give the mix a bit of retro crunch. 

Doctor Who is a trademark of the BBC. Doctor Who Theme composed by Ron Grainer, originally arranged by Delia Derbyshire and the Radiophonics Workshop. This has no official connection to John Carpenter.

Aaron Meets Michael

John Carpenter

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