I Am Curious (Giallo): Q & A with Giallos Flame

Is the Giallos Flame one person? Is it a band? Or is it all a big secret? How did this all come together?
Giallos Flame is Ron Graham who plays all the instruments apart from drums; a whole host of funky session drummers take care of that. I decided to get the Giallos thing together in about 2001 after getting right back into the Italian horror and thriller scene which I was into as a kid in the 80s. I loved the music of Goblin and wanted to do something along those lines to bring back that sound. Unfortunately I couldn’t play any instruments so it took a while before I could do anything worth listening to!

How would you describe your music to the average listener. . . say, someone who had never heard of Goblin or Fabio Frizzi?
I remember being stuck in customs in Toronto, getting my bags searched and all that bollox and one of the guards finding some of my music equipment and asking what I do. Obviously he wouldn’t have a clue about Lucio Fulci or Dario Argento so I just said think of the Dirty Harry soundtrack! And he knew straight away; (it was) a lot easier!

What are some Italian horror films or crime thrillers that you would recommend to someone who was interested in learning more about this particular genre? Any top picks?
Well , all the classics of course, from Lucio Fulci—Zombi 2 (aka Zombie), City of the Living Dead, The Beyond, House By the Cemetery—to Dario Argento, with Profondo Rosso (aka Deep Red), Suspiria, Tenebre, his “animal trilogy” (Four Flies on Grey Velvet, The Cat o’ Nine Tails and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage—ll three of which feature scores by Ennio Morricone).

For crime flicks it’s got to be Enzo Castellari ! He’s the man, and you got loads there: La Via Della Droga (aka The Heroin Busters), High Crime, and Il Cittadino Si Ribella (aka Street Law), plus stuff like Rome Armed to the Teeth (directed by Umberto Lenzi) and Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man (directed by Ruggero Deodato).

What are some of the key instruments you use in creating your music?
The main thing you got to get right is the drums; the drums of the 70s sound so much better as opposed to modern recordings: a lot heavier and funkier, players then knew how to play and not just whack! For keys I use analogue synths, Prophet 600, Jupiter 4, Juno 60. Then you got the classic Hammond sounds and also a Vox Continental. Guitars: I have a nice old Italian 60s valve amp what does the trick but my favourite bit of kit is a cheap old analog delay. You can put anything through that and it just instantly dirties it up.

What is an example of your creative process? For example, do you watch Dawn of the Dead or The Beyond and then start working on some new tracks?
Normally I start with a drum track, depends what kind of groove the drummer has laid down, whether the tempo is upbeat or nice and slow. Then I think of what could work well with it. If its up tempo you end up with some kinda chase sequence, where slow usually ends up all menacing and stalking.

Since your music is so heavily influenced and inspired by film soundtracks, has anyone ever contacted you in regards to scoring their film?
I have scored a number of films, the first one I contributed to was the infamous Murder Set-Pieces (2004), then I did the end titles for a film with Tom Savini called Death 4 Told.

My first full score was Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! with Trent Haaga from the Troma camp. This is just about to get a DVD release for Easter! It’s a real cool indie film and people should definitely check it out.

I did the music for the winner of Tarantino’s Grindhouse competition: Hobo with a Shotgun and they are in talks to get this into a feature film which I will be scoring also.

Also this year is a film that’s caused so much controversy and it isn’t even out yet: Black Devil Doll, which I recorded under the name Bamboo Gods. This is gonna be an instant cult classic, the first Blaxploitation film to be shot for decades! Real cool stuff.

What is in your CD player or on your record player as we speak? What have you been listening to lately?
I don’t really listen to modern music; I only own two modern recordings: Morte Macabre and Anima Morte. Been getting right into some prog and psychedelic stuff lately, things like The Human Beast, Neu!, Pulsar , and Zomby Woof.

How many albums does Giallos Flame currently have available?
There’s the first release on Baphomet , but I really don’t like that. The first main release was on 7-inch vinyl—”Crime in the City”—then “The Violent Professionals” 7-inch and (entire) album released on my Analog Screams label.

That’s followed by the Live From Dunwich EP, then the latest one is House by the Edge of the Dark. Soon I will be putting up a compilation of a lot of older, unreleased material.

Additional resources:

Film Forno.com‘s Italian Horror archive

Allen White, “The Smell of Fear: New Wave Horror” from Greencine.com

David White, “A History of Italian Horror, Part One” from Horror-Wood.com

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