head movie rescore - details and interview
strictly kev (dj food), has been working on a new film score for the monkees classic headfuck movie 'head'. the finished article has been shown at various arty places around the country, but what about the rest of us who have to stay in and do the ironing. well we now have a chance to catch up with the mans revisit.
so whats the deal behind all this, well ireallylovemusic decided to find out.
is this new DJ Food music to resurface anywhere else, or, is it exclusive to this film ?
ahah, not so fast buster! It's more a mix of beats, moods and spoken word, the sort of thing I love but don't get to play out too much. Much of it resides in the 'weird and wonderful' category in the collection and, along with a few choice Ninja goodies, is chosen to fit the mood of each scene.
what style of music is it - typical DJ Food stuff - or more orchestral based?
Lots of soundtrack, electronic, psychedelic and spoken word stuff mainly with the odd jazz gem thrown in for good measure
is this effectively a solo musical venture - or have you dragged in a few friends along the way ?
Solo DJ mix performance, I do the whole thing live on 3 decks with effects but this is a studio recreation with parts of the film dialogue mixed in too
why did you set about this project - as we all know you are rather busy with many other projects !
It's been ongoing for 4 years now (you must have missed to performance at the Cube in Bristol a couple of years ago) I started it in 2001 and have been chipping away looking for the perfect track selection until now. It was time to put it to bed and i'm doing the last live performance of Head at the Edinburgh festival on Friday.
what were the aims for the score ?
To entertain, amuse, amaze and generally add to the mystification of the film
is it a fave film of yours ?
It's been a source of general interest since my teens, i was never a Monkees fan particularly but this is one of those films that got made purely because of the time (Late 60's) and is fascinating for just that. A huge manufactured boy band actually got a green light to make a trip film with the guy who would go on to make Easy Rider - if only the Spice Girls film could have been like this
and if so, why ?
It's by turns brilliant and boring depending on your mood and drug intake, i've seen it so many times now and I see different things every time, there's a lot more to it than meets the eye and now I have a special affection for it
have you any idea if the band are aware of this project ?
I hope not! It's not exactly for Monkees fans, I expect they'd view it as sacrilege. If they saw it and thought it was cool then i'm happy about that but it was really just a perfect vehicle for musical experimentation
do you have any other films in your eyesight for such sonic adventures ?
There are a couple of things in the pipeline but they're staying there until 'the album' is done
are you hoping that this will lead to 'proper' filmscore (or even games a la amon tobin) work from hollywood
I'm not too interested in that at the moment to be honest, too much compromise and hard work from what i've heard