Stephen King’s Graveyard Shift

Our music features a 4 voice all female choir, solo trumpet, slide guitar and the Synclavier Digital Music System. This score is an early example of film music combining electronic digital sounds, electronic analog sounds, acoustic instruments, choir and digitally sampled sounds. There was a lot of experimentation and improvisation involved in the process. Many of the percussive rhythms in the score were sampled loops derived from recordings of machinery at an abandoned early 20th century textile mill in Bangor, Maine located on the film set. The live players and choir were added to the tracks after the sampled loops and electronic elements most of the time.

I have deep admiration for the film’s director Ralph S. Singleton for trusting and urging two young composers to supply a musical voice that could be present throughout the entire film. He encouraged us to create music and ambient soundscapes unlike anything expected in the genre to date.

– Anthony Marinelli