CARPENTER, JOHN

it was a decade ago in 2024 that John Carpenter recorded the material that became Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood's great second acts.

These lively, synth-driven songs, written in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and his godson Daniel Davies, ushered in a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. In the years that followed, Carpenter, Carpenter and Davies released nearly a dozen musical projects, including a growing number of studio albums and the score for David Gordon Green's Halloween trilogy. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they've struck gold again, this time drawing inspiration from the rich history of the film noir genre.

Since the first Lost Themes, John has described these compositions as "soundtracks for the movies in your head". On the fourth installment of the series, these films are noirs. Like the movie genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs "noirish" is sometimes hard to define and can't simply be reduced to a collection of tropes. The scores of the great American noir films were largely orchestral, whereas the Carpenters and Davies rely on a solid synthesizer and guitar framework. So the noir quality is something you instinctively understand when you hear it. "Some of the music is heavy guitar riffs, which is something you don't hear in old noir movies," Davies notes. "But somehow it's connected in an emotional way".

The chemistry between the trio is right, Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine - like the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John's own Christine. That chemistry has helped fuel one of the most productive stretches of John's creative life, and Noir proves it's far from enough to produce brilliant results.

"I think that's who we are," John summarizes. "Daniel is the adventurer. He pushes for new sounds, new directions. He tries things that I haven't thought of yet. He's much more daring than I am, and he enriches the whole thing. Cody is the musician. He's a genius when it comes to music. He understands music. We're relying on him to save us."

And what about John's contribution? With his typical understatement, he concludes: "I'm the experience. I've done music for movies."