The 1978 film The Shout is finally getting a release for its soundtrack. The Shout, adapted from a short story by Robert Graves and directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, is highly regarded amongst British horror and electronic music fans due to its bold, arthouse approach to psychological drama, propelled by experimental studio techniques and visceral sound design. The film’s score and audio effects were almost entirely created by the songwriter and record producer Rupert Hine (Rush, Stevie Nicks). Rupert recorded reels of ideas and experiments for the film between 1977 and 1978 using an EMS VCS3, Yamaha CS80, Eventide Harmoniser, and Roland Space Echo. He also created the terrifying shout emitted by Alan Bates’ character, Crossley, as well as other Foley effects, such as the musique concrète for John Hurt’s home studio scenes.
Suzy Mangion, audio theorist and electro-acoustic artist said this of the project: “The Shout is one of the great films about sound; utilising new Dolby technology to build wide and complex frequencies, rendering a detailed audio world punctuated with outbursts of complex noise… Rupert Hine’s inventive score combines experimental electroacoustic music with synths and organs… his use of synthesisers evokes an eeriness also found in Brian Eno’s 1970s scores for Derek Jarman and Peter Greenaway.”
While the film’s soundtrack also included involvement of Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford from the rock band Genesis, their contribution being two short, repeated themes, co-produced with Rupert. It hasn’t been possible to include those tracks due to some challenging rights negotiations but all of Rupert’s electronic effects, musical cues, demos, loops, drones, and outtakes are included.
Listen closely and you’ll hear Rupert’s sounds scattered throughout the film, discreetly mixed by award-winning sound editor Alan Bell (The Man Who Fell to Earth) and Tony Jackson who use them to establish the film’s creeping dread. At other times Rupert’s effects are used to startling effect, violently jolting viewers as the occult drama unfolds. Rupert was an early adopter of new technology and amongst the sonic experimentation there are some gorgeous synthesised pieces using the Yamaha CS80, four years before Vangelis used the same instrument to create his legendary Blade Runner score.
Rupert sadly passed away before the tape transfers were completed, but it’s clear from the wealth of material we uncovered how immersed he was during the soundtrack’s production. It’s a testament to his creativity that, with a fairly simple studio set up, Rupert was able to conjure such an inspired selection of themes and effects.
The Shout soundtrack is available on 12″ vinyl LP, CD and download from December 5th. Buried Treasure Records can be found here
