Review: The Hologram People - Isola Dei Morti Viventi

Now, movie soundtracks, especially Italian horror, is one subject I could bore on for hours and hours - from the undisputed masters (Morricone, Nicolai, Frizzi, Umiliani and of course the mighty Goblin) to the less lauded but just as essential (Orlandi, Ortolani, Cipriani and, oh, loads others). The reason I mention this is because in recent years these soundtracks have been 're-discovered' and re-evaluated by a raft of new musicians. This is a very good thing. However, there is a downside to this...more on that later. Two people who have distilled the essence of these soundtracks, along with seventies funk, lounge jazz and composers like David Axelrod, are Jonathan Parkes and Dom Keen, who as their alteregos Dreamlord and Kosmische, ply their trade as The Hologram People. Their 2022 album 'Return to Chapel Perilous' was one of my favourite albums from that year followed closely by their 'Village of the Snake God' released via the brilliant Library of the Occult. Their stock-in-trade is 'faux' soundtracks, that is, soundtracks to films that don't exist.

Faux soundtracks - here is the downside to the recent resurgence of the classic soundtrack composers; many people have made soundtracks to non-existent movies and many also make, in my opinion, one fatal error and that is they force the narrative with their music. They clumsily try to portray the (non-existent) action or fake some dramatic dialogue to force the situation on the listener. If you listen to the greats, as listed above, for the most part they react to the action on the screen. Artists like The Hologram People understand this and so the album plays like a genuine soundtrack - no clumsy forced narrative or unecessary dialogue, just bloody good music that is designed to compliment a film, albeit a film that does not exist. This authenticity is key to this album and what makes it such an enjoyable listen. I will go so far as to say that it sits quite happily next to 'Cannibal Holocaust' (Ortolani) or some of Morricone's 70s output.

To add to this authenticity there is a 'back story' to go with the album; a doomed project by fabled director Guiseppe Giovanni that was suppressed by the studio only to be evenually released in 2020. I won't go into the whole thing but would say, if you buy the vinyl, please take time to read the cover, an ingenious piece of writing that feeds into the fiction brilliantly. On that subject, one must recognise the fantastic artwork by Gerry Carnelly. *Addendum* research has thrown up a real film by this title directed by Bruno Mattei from 2007, this album is nothing to do with that at all. The real film sounds terrible, but so terrible I wanna see it!

Musically 'Isola Dei Morti Viventi' has all the elements found in prime seventies soundtracks. The overture 'The Green Inferno' is full of ominous strings, foretelling of something evil coming while 'Night Sweats Pts 1 & 2' is so goddamned funky and deeply psychedelic imbued with some sweeeeet jazz. There are some tropes employed in this album; the ethereal, wordless vocals of the main theme (courtesy of Siobhan Lynch) is a classic feature of many a soundtrack, in this case it is accompanied by some wonderful acoustic guitar bringing a touch of the exotic to the otherwise dark synths. You get a real feeling of chiaroscura. The wordless vocals (this time by Alice Russell) return in 'March of the Living Dead' but this time accompanied by some gruesome sounds of the restless undead. Funkiness is never far away in proceedings, 'Worst Case Scenario' could have been lifted from a blaxploitation movie while the also everpresent jazz influences can be heard in the wonderful 'Cocktail di Zombi' - think Mancini scoring a Fulci film.

Regardless of what genres and styles are utilised in what tracks, it is important that one listens to this album as a whole. It ebbs and flows with a well-crafted fluidity and, as I mentioned early, it compliments rather than signposts the action. Craft is definitely the right word as well, Parkes and Keen have proved to be real craftsmen who obviously have a deep love and knowledge of music, especially soundtracks and the whole 70s 'lounge' oeuvre. The authenticity of this album is something to be admired and lauded - in short 'Isola Dei Morti Viventi' is an amazing album by amazing musicians. It is released on Dreamlord Recordings on 10th February on deepl blue sea 180g vinyl complete with Obi strip



LINKS

Dreamlord Bandcamp