Duration: 58:51

235 views

4

This is my original soundtrack score for the comedy horror podcast audio drama Fetid Souls.
You can listen to the entire Fetid Souls Project here on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/L0R1jtwYfn0

https://www.amazon.com/Fetid-Souls-Original-Soundtrack-Monroe/dp/B099YV29SQ/

The process of writing the score took about six months. Being an audio drama and not a traditional film score, this project was a bit challenging at times, as elements that would usually be represented in a film visually needed to be represented in the score through audio. I chose to write a score that is almost completely orchestral, but there are some electronic elements present. The score was largely influenced by two composers: Danny Elfman and Bernard Herrmann. The project attempts to bridge the genres of horror and comedy, and for this type of score Danny Elfman is a good composer to emulate, as his scores for Edward Scissorhands and Beetlejuice include elements of horror, comedy, and drama. The Main Title is actually a bit of an homage to Elfman's Tales From the Crypt theme. Bernard Herrmann was another big influence, and for inspiration here I looked to his classic film scores - Vertigo, Psycho, and Twisted Nerve. I chose to make the score orchestral rather than focus on ambience or sound design. An ambient score is fine when you have a film or movie where the visuals are dominating or compensating for a lot of the experience, but with an audio drama, I felt that it was necessary to create soundscapes within the score using the expanded harmonic language and tones that only orchestration can provide. This kind of traditional, Old-Hollywood film scoring might sound a bit dated to modern ears, but I believe it worked well in this project and, brought a lot of the scenes and characters to life.

For this project, not only did I have to create an original orchestral score, but we also recorded many tracks of existing music. Most of these aren't included on the original soundtrack, but I have included the 4 traditional gospel hymns used in the production. We recorded traditional versions of these that included the cast singing, but in official soundtrack I have instead included the "weird" electronic versions that I made to fill-out certain parts of the score: In the Garden, Standing on the Promises, When the Roll is Called up Yonder, and In the Sweet By and By.

There are also many, many cues that didn't make it onto the final soundtrack. I'm not sure exactly how much music was written for the score, but it might be upwards of 2 or 3 hours (the entire podcasts clocks in at around 4 hours). Most of the music written for the production did make it into the final product and can be heard there.

Of course there are many small influences and references in the score besides Elfman and Herrmann. I borrowed a few ideas from Jerry Goldsmith's Alien soundtrack, specifically how he experiments with the use of delay in that score. The harmonic language of Koichi Sugiyama is an ever-present influence on the music that I write. Every composer is influenced by what has come before, but for this score, I truly hope that I have been able to make something original that serves the overall production.

If you'd like to hire me, collaborate, or just have a general inquiry, you can email me here:
adammonroe@adammonroemusic.com
or visit my website here:
https://adammmonroemusic.com

Thanks for listening!

Fetid Souls
A Comedy Horror Mini Series © 2021 Lone Hoot Media

Original Soundtrack © 2021 Adam Monroe

Written by Shara Sykes (Minky Madison) and D.J.H.
Directed, Edited, and Produced by Shara Sykes
Music Written & Performed by Adam Monroe

0:00 Main Theme
1:21 Around the Neighborhood
2:05 Pearl Revealed
2:29 Pearl's House
3:33 What About Pearl?/Siren's New Coat
4:45 I See You!
6:02 In the Garden
7:09 Siren's Fever Dream
8:53 The Animal Shelter
9:26 Tripod, the Lovable Mutt
10:28 Siren's Recurring Sickness
12:04 Basement Steps/Gilbert's Dungeon
13:39 Nightmare Suite
15:17 Siren Wakes Up/Siren's New Dress
16:23 The Mischievous Pearl
17:21 Coffee and Arabic Numerals
19:40 Tripod Explores
20:46 Melvin Revealed
22:28 Tripod Attacks
23:29 Standing on the Promises
24:41 Pearl's Business
25:11 Sixteen Going On Fifty
25:46 Matrimony
28:29 Virgil Robinson Elementary
29:08 Mr Frog's Weird Adventure Ride
31:01 In the Sweet By and By
31:56 Tripod Transfigured
32:43 Warm Waters Run Deep/Cuckoo Clock
33:31 Rent-A-Cop Theme
34:01 Pearl Goes for a Drive/Pearl Goes for a Stroll
35:12 In the Trailer
36:33 Homer and Eva
37:24 The Barn
38:55 Pearl Chases Siren
41:02 Battle of Pasco
41:47 Pearl's Musings
42:39 Chuck and Rebecky
44:07 When the Roll is Called Up Yonder
45:15 The Church Of Pasco
46:06 Pearl's Big Idea
46:49 The Wrath of Pearl
48:35 Sniffing Glue
49:32 Evening Stroll in the Arboretum
49:55 Tripod Baked
52:30 Pearl's Rampage
54:45 Tripod to the Rescue!
55:07 Siren's Ascension
56:01 Reunited
57:05 Epilogue
58:24 End of the Road