John Carpenter Collaborator Daniel Davies Announces Debut Solo Album ‘Events Score’ on Lakeshore Records
Daniel Davies has announced the impending release of Events Score, an eight-song collection of otherworldly instrumentals that expands on the musician’s distinct talent for wringing modernistic soundscapes from vintage synths. Perhaps best known for his role as a collaborator and co-writer on horror auteur John Carpenter’s recent Lost Themes and Anthology albums (as well as a pillar of his live band’s subsequent tours), Events Score marks Davies’ first proper solo album. To accompany the announcement, Davies has shared “Shadows Alive,” a melancholy theme built on a glassy synth melody arpeggio, bolstered by a creeping, expansive low end.
Set for digital release on August 31 via Lakeshore Records (with limited edition vinyl and cassette versions arriving via Burning Witches Records), the label behind the soundtracks for Stranger Things, Before the Flood, The Walking Dead, and more, Events Score marks a rare non-OST entry in to the burgeoning labels’ oeuvre.
While not a soundtrack in practice, the album began as a brainstorming session for a movie. “I was talking with a friend about writing a sci-fi film, but I’m not a screenwriter so I wrote an album,” states Davies. “I could imagine huge spaceships cracking the sky, giant sand-snakes barreling through the desert, or someone drifting across the bottom of the ocean with just barely enough light to see the creatures beneath. It’s the score to all that…” This evocative ambience is underscored by an inscription on the back cover of the album: THIS IS SCIENCE FICTION.
In a sense, the album recalls the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s forward-thinking incidental music from the 70’s, whose experiments with emerging electronic music technology generated soundtracks for films and programs not yet made. Expanding on his recent scoring work, Davies carves sonic worlds from a combination of vintage synthesizers and soft synths, guitars, and percussion. “I’ve always loved the sound of synthesizers but didn’t get heavily into them until around 2014 when I started working with John Carpenter on Lost Themes,” he states. “That’s when my love of synths bloomed. John is a pioneer in this genre and his distinctive approach is very inspiring.”
Events Score track list
1. One 60 Clone
2. Single Machine
3. Shadows Alive
4. XXT
5. Endless Blue
6. In Hiding
7. Body Obtained
8. Stasis