Taking influence from artists such as Goblin, Claudio Simonetti and Fabio Frizzi, as well as the soundtracks of video games the likes of Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Castlevania, Ian Mullinger‘s dark synth project Electric Dragon is a real treat for fans of Italian horror in particular. With latest album The Night School, he channels the spirit of Argento and Fulci. 

Mullinger, the former rhythm guitarist with death/doom band Vallenfyre, tells us that the progressive synth-rock/soundtrack album is, in fact, “a love letter to all those wonderful Italian horror movies.”

He continues, “The Night School is probably quite a leap away from my usual style, but it’s something I always wanted to make. I’m a massive fan of giallo cinema, the cinematography, the set-pieces, and especially the soundtracks. Of course, the LP does have a concept – but as always it’s pretty loose, cos I always prefer people to drift off doing their own thing listening to my stuff. I’m not one of those synth artists with the whole ‘here’s the story’ blurb, I find it kinda hard to buy into. But there’s a malevolent fungus, an undying, rotting headmaster, ghosts, catacombs, corridors, just mood stuff.

“Special mention to the voices on the LP. Jessica Pymm (soprano) handled all the operatic parts beautifully, Kriistal Ann (from Greek gothic/electronica act Paradox Obscur) who sang the final “end titles” track ‘Nightmare’, Becca Starr, who featured on the Dark Water LP, and last but not least actor friend Brendan McCoy (you can hear Brendan as Wolfenstein II’s Nazis!).

“The pixel artwork was done by Jim Gennisson, a video game level designer from France, he’s worked on Rayman Legends and a whole load of other games. We talked about the concept maybe three years ago now, when I’d written only the first couple of tracks. We visited some spooky hangouts in Paris – the catacombs, per Lachaise cemetery. Because we’re spooky people.”

Listen to The Night School on Spotify or wherever you get your music.

A new Electric Dragon LP titled Cataclysm is out September 4 via Bandcamp and streaming services. Mullinger tells us that it’ll be a true “horror synth” album.