Nashville-based singer-songwriter Stewart Eastham is about to release his latest horror film score, ‘Curious Crimes’, along with a full-length album, ‘Human No More (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)’ on June 25th on all digital platforms. He originally composed the album as a soundtrack for the 2020 horror movie by the same name. The haunting melody of the track reveals his composing skills and his ability to bring out the true spirit of the film through music. The album features 12 brilliant soundtracks, crafted with thorough care and dedication.
Stewart Eastham has recently sat with us to do an interview. He answered all our queries and revealed many unknown facts about his music and himself.
Q: Congratulations on your full-length album! The soundtrack is already well-known due to the movie. How do you feel?
Thank you! I feel great. I’m very happy with how the album turned out and am very excited to get it out there in the world! This is my first soundtrack album and first all-instrumental album. It’s quite different from my previous work in the Americana genre, but hopefully, folks dig it.
Q: What is so special about the single, ‘Curious Crimes’? How does it represent the entire album?
The album is really meant to be listened to all in one sitting. We really put it together to be an immersive listening “sonic experience” that works on its own, even apart from the film. That being said, in some ways, “Curious Crimes” is like a microcosm of the overall album. It’s a long nine-minute piece with three distinct movements exploring the spectrum of sounds found throughout the album. The first section is almost an “overview” of the themes and motifs of the album. The second section has a somewhat rock feel with electric guitar, organ, and percussion. Then the final movement is more of a traditional film score orchestral piece. And the track has both melodic and ambient passages…as does the entire album.
Q: What kind of instruments did you use to compose the film score?
The core of the album was created using synthesizers. I used analog synths as well as a digital FM synthesizer. The warmth of the analog synths was balanced with eerie, metallic sounds created on the FM synth. I spent a lot of time upfront developing a “sound palette” for the score even before I started writing any music. I also used some traditional rock instruments like an electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and drums that I recorded live here in my home studio.
Q: Who mixed and mastered this record? How long have you been working with him?
The album was mixed and mastered by Rich Mouser. Rich is very well known in the prog-rock world. Personally, I think he’s a genius. He really brought these tracks to life creating enveloping three-dimensional soundscapes with his mixes. I’ve been working with him now for over 10 years! He’s mixed all my solo albums. The first album we worked on together was the original Day Of The Outlaw album, Black Mountain Majesty, released back in 2009.
Q: What does the track represent? What kind of emotions have you tried to generate?
Since it’s a long track, I’m trying to convey a series of emotions. If I had to simplify it, I’d say the first section is meant to invoke a sense of wonder and mystery. Then the second section gets a little more grimy, but also groovy…like we are empathizing with the “bad guy”. The final orchestral section is very menacing. The trumpet part almost represents some sort of demonic force.
Q: What is the inspiration behind such a surreal musical collection?
A lot of the inspiration came from the film itself. Those who have seen it know it’s a pretty trippy film with some very surreal sequences. And, while I got a little weird on my previous album (The Great Silence released in 2020), breaking out of the pop song format really allowed me to get weird with the song arrangements. Writing film score music there’s more of a direct path from brain to music because you are not bound by any structural rules.
Q: Tell us about your journey from being a Nashville singer-songwriter to a horror film soundtrack composer? Was the transit difficult?
Initially, I had planned to keep those two sides of my writing separate from each other. But, when I was working on The Great Silence I decided I’d try to meld the two. While most of those songs were initially written as Americana/country songs, we made a conscious effort to create more “cinematic” arrangements than you would typically see in that genre. In addition to the standard rock-band setup, I used synths to compose counter melodies and create ambient sounds. Once the album began to take shape with that vibe, I decided to add a couple of instrumental tracks. The final track (titled “The Final Bardo”) is a 9+ minute electronic instrumental. I poured my horror film (and hip-hop) influences into that track to create something that would work as a film score piece. So with The Great Silence, I dipped my feet in the water, and with Human No More I dove in the pool!
Q: When and how did you first get involved with music? How long have you been doing this?
I dabbled with guitar and drums in high school, but it wasn’t until college at UC Davis that I started playing in rock bands as a drummer. I continued playing drums after moving to Los Angeles to go to film school, but at some point started writing my own songs. I quickly realized it’s very difficult to be a singing drummer, so I switched to rhythm guitar. Once I became a frontman, music really became my number one creative passion. I put out two albums fronting the rock band Day Of The Outlaw.
In 2010 I moved to Nashville to pursue music more seriously and put out three albums under my own name in the Americana genre. I scored some small film/video projects over the years, but Human No More is my time scoring a feature film. I absolutely loved the process and it perfectly aligns with my love for both music and film.
Q: Who are your biggest inspirations behind such a diverse musical career?
My musical inspirations are all over the map and vary from day today. Lately, I’ve been doing a deep dive into the works of Frank Zappa. I love that his catalog is so diverse. The way he melds rock music with “composed” music is something I’m very intrigued and inspired by. As far as more modern composers, Adrian Younge has been very inspirational to me…both through his musical output and through his outreach to up-and-coming composers. I really enjoy the film score work of Cliff Martinez and Reznor/Ross. Last year I was blown away by the new Run The Jewels record. El-P (who has also branched out into film scoring) has taken their production to a whole new level.
Q: When do you plan to release the album and the single? Do you have any further plans regarding the album?
The full album drops on all digital outlets Friday, June 25th! Next up is the vinyl release. Vinyl production is running behind due to the pandemic, so the vinyl pressing is taking longer than expected. Hopefully, it will be ready and available in late July or early August!
Q: Do you work independently or with a production house?
I work independently here in Nashville under my own record label, Long Bar Music. I have a small studio in my house I use for small recordings. And, of course, being in Nashville, there are a ton of great bigger studios for when I do full-band recordings.
Q: What do you plan to release next? Are you working on any new project?
I’m currently looking for a new feature film project to score. In the meanwhile, I have a couple of other projects in the very beginning stages. One is sort of a “progressive pop” type of thing…taking some of my influences like the Beach Boys and the Bee Gees and mixing that with more a modern pop style production. And then, on the opposite side of the spectrum, I just started writing for a more straight-forward 90s country style album I’m going to work on with a local producer.
