Venue: Montserrat Abelló Library

Address: Comtes de Bell-lloc, 192-200

Taking part: Jordi Sánchez Navarro and Xavi Sánchez Pons, programmers of the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia; and Pacus González Centeno, author of Tres piezas para el asesino. Jazz, rock y electrónica en el cine de terror y criminal.

A talk on the history of innovative fantasy film soundtracks in the latter half of the 20th century. A journey with six stops – one per decade – ranging from the destabilisation of North America from Romantic orchestration to Gothic horror with a predominance of metal in the 1940s; the emergence of rock guitars, theremins and other electronic devices in 1950s Atomic-age sci-fi; the use of jazz in the most psychological fantasy and youth pop horror films, as well as the short-lived psychedelic trend with its iconic satanic style, in the 1960s; the short dynamics of horror based on glam, folk and progressive rock and the advent of synthesizers for consumers, as well as the brave use of these resources in Italian giallo films, in the 1970s; heavy metal becoming evil in slasher films with artificial orchestration achieved by electronic music in the 1980s; to, finally, the end of the millennium and its variety of styles enriching films with neo-Gothic vampires, metal, hip hop, grunge and breakbeat, as well as more narrative and musical rhythms.

Organised by: Montserrat Abelló Library