Music
R.I.P. “Dexter” and Frequent Horror Movie Composer Daniel Licht
We’re sad to report today, via Variety, that Daniel Licht, composer for “Dexter” and a handful of franchise horror movies, has died of cancer. He was just 60 years old.
Daniel Licht was perhaps best known for scoring all eight seasons of “Dexter,” using unconventional aides such as knives, surgical tools and bones to make the show’s sounds resonate with viewers. Licht noted a few years back that his goal with the music was “to illustrate the depth of each killing Dexter commits, whilst having a cognitive response from the audience.”
“Dan was an incredibly talented musician and composer, but most of all, he was a dear friend. His passing leaves all of us a bit quieter, a bit sadder, and without the gift of his music and his love,” said “Dexter” executive producer Clyde Phillips.
In addition to “Dexter,” Licht also composed the scores for a handful of horror movies. On his resume you’ll find Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice, Amityville: It’s About Time, Ticks, Children of the Corn 3: Urban Harvest, Hellraiser: Bloodline, Thinner and Bad Moon. He was also the composer for 2011 video game Silent Hill: Downpour.
We offer our deepest condolences to Daniel Licht’s family, friends and colleagues.
It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.
Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.
Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.
“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.
“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”
You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…
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