WOULD YOU LIKE AN OFFICIAL CD RELEASE OF THE SCORE FOR
LEVIATHAN: THE STORY OF HELLRAISER AND HELLRAISER II?
What's My Pleasure?
My name is Lito Velasco:
I'm an artist living in L.A. I've contributed to, acted in, and helped create/produce many horror-related projects, including:
-
Friday the 13th Parts IV-VI Special-Edition DVD releases
-
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (documentary feature)
-
Scream: The Inside Story (documentary feature)
-
More Brains! A Return to the Loving Dead (documentary feature)
-
Found (feature film)
-
Scary Larry (feature film)
-
All Through the House (feature film)
-
Demon Garden (short film)
-
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy- The Making of Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (hardcover book)
-
The Confession of Fred Krueger (short film)
-
You're SO Cool, Brewster: The Story of Fright Night (documentary feature)
Since I was a boy, I've known- with great certainty -the things in life that I love and
am passionate about. Three of those things have always been movies, horror, and music.
As a child, going to the movies was like entering my own personal shrine. Some of the films that most enthralled me were ones
that chilled me to my bone and spun horrific tales of villains such as Jaws and Michael Myers.
And as a young
musician, I was enraptured by the music that accompanied some of my most-loved
films and the amazing achievements of the legends of film scoring: John
Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, and so many others.
In 1987 I discovered a
film that would combine music, film, and horror in a way I'd never before experienced.That film was Clive Barker's Hellraiser. The villains were the Cenobites. The music was composed by Christopher Young. And that score introduced me to the idea that horror could be beautiful: that from those depths, something absolutely gorgeous could emerge.
While attending The Interlochen Arts Academy, The Juilliard School, and The Indiana University School of Music, in times of emotional need, I turned to Young's
score: it helped me endure.
And although my
artistic focus changed, my initial childhood loves
remained. As did my love of Christopher Young's work on Hellraiser.
I
Opened the Box...They Came
Several decades later, while helping create the award-winning documentary, Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street
Legacy, I was fortunate to meet and work with Mr. Young: we interviewed him about his work on A Nightmare on Elm Street, Part 2.
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A few years later,
I received an inquiry from Gary Smart (whom I had worked with on More
Brains!): would I be interested in scoring a film he was producing? The documentary was titled Leviathan: the subject matter was Hellraiser.
I
responded without hesitation: yes. This was destiny. It was too perfect: here was my chance to pay homage to a score and film
that changed my life. A chance to
give something back to a composer whose works I adored, who had given me so much.
That night, I sat at my piano. The
inspiration was overwhelming. Notes poured out of me. After a few hours, I
had composed a sketch for the Main Theme: Hellrisen.
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No
Waste of Good Suffering
Last Spring, one of my family members died tragically. He was one of my best friends and far too young to pass when he did. I was devastated. I struggled to pick
up the pieces of my reality let alone work. How could I possibly score a film?!
That Fall, in a magnificent Los Angeles
studio, with the crew of Leviathan, I sat directly across
from the man I was to spend the next few hours personally interviewing. A man I
am now lucky enough to call a friend: Christopher Young.
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We talked about his magnificent work for the first two Hellraiser films. And after, I told him I was
scoring the documentary. Graciously, Christopher insisted I make the score my own and not feel obligated
to be "shackled" to his works.
I
informed him that his score helped me through some of the most painful and
difficult times of my life while inspiring my own music and that it was my
absolute honor and pleasure to pay tribute to him and his work.
Once I began scoring, I delved into the concepts
behind Christopher's score and the film it accompanied: the twisted seductiveness of the Cenobites, the beauty in forbidden temptation, the overwhelming agony that comes from unfulfilled longing.
As I thought of my recent familial loss and grief, the notes flowed. I turned my pain into something else. From that suffering emerged something I didn't think was possible
just a few months ago. A week later it was complete: a beautiful darkness.
I delivered my score to the producers and waited for their response. I was quite pleased with what
I'd created, but would they be? Panic and fear crept in slowly as time passed. Finally, the crew responded: they were overjoyed.
The tears flowed again: my first film score was complete. The producers were happy. Another dream come true.
It's
Yours: It Always Was
Now that the documentary has been released, fans are loving the film...and my score.
In fact, one die-hard fan, Rob Ridenour of "The Clive Barker Podcast" has said "...my favorite part of the production [Leviathan] was the highly inspired score by Lito Velasco. His music sets the tone perfectly and captures the essence of Christopher Young’s score for the first two films. I’m sure Mr. Young would be proud. And let’s hope for a official release down the line."
Dustin McNeill, author of the fantastic book, Phantasm Exhumed has called my score "...terrific! Very haunting, very moody" and gone on to say, "These tracks make me feel like there's a Cenobite right around the corner waiting for me... Feels powerful and otherworldly! Excellent stuff..."
Bear in mind, I didn't want to just copy what Christopher Young did. I wanted to write something that was steeped in his sound, orchestrations, and was an obvious homage to the stunning music he wrote for the classic 1987 film...but I wanted to craft new melodies and even new harmonies that were, essentially, mine."
The result is a score that will hopefully remind lovers of both the Barker masterpiece and its music why they fell in love with those things to begin with.
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The funds raised through this campaign will go toward:
- having
the score professionally mastered by top-level sound designers who have
mixed and mastered CD's for some of the best musicians in Los Angeles
- hiring a professional graphic artist to help us design the CD art
- creating professional CD's complete with liner notes, and
printed discs
- shipping
the CD's to those who contribute at that Perk level
In return for helping fund this release,
contributors will get their choice of Perks:
- Our eternal gratitude and Social Media "shout outs"
- Digital
Download of the complete score: A Beautiful Darkness
-
Deluxe, Numbered, Limited "Premier" Edition CD* copy of the score, A Beautiful Darkness- with the option of having it signed and personalized by the composer, Lito Velasco.
*The Premier Edition CD will be Limited to 100 copies: a "Basic" release may follow but is not guaranteed!
If we don't reach our intended goal, the funds
will go to making sure everyone who contributes gets at least a
Digital Download of the score.
Again, we CANNOT stress enough the fact that this initial run of CD's are a numbered, Limited-Edition run of ONLY 100 units!
We Have Such Sights to Show
You
Obviously, I don't want to spend time
overstating why this project is "valuable". Nor do I want to overplay the importance of my music. You're welcome to listen to samples from the score via the video above.
I haven't created something
that's on the level of what Christopher did. But it's my hope that perhaps someone will find something within my music that will affect them positively. Maybe my art will help them in times of need.
At the very least, I want to share my music because of how it was created and what it means me. Pain can be a source of strength. From our sorrow can come something creative, lasting, and maybe even beautiful.
As for assurances, the people who've worked with me can vouch for my determination to make my dreams a reality,
to follow through, and to see things out to the
end. Also here are links to other fundraisers I either created or assisted in:
http://www.YouCaring.com/BeMyPuddinFundraiser
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/redroverbooks/never-sleep-again-the-making-of-a-nightmare-on-elm?ref=nav_search
Pain and Pleasure: Indivisible
As far as the risks: there really aren't that
many. The score is complete and merely awaiting CD mastering and production. The only risk would
be that maybe I don't finish what I started by mastering, printing,
and shipping the CD's.
But as an aspiring artist who wishes to make
a lasting impression on this world through the art I
create...why would I go to all of the trouble to create this page and
then not follow through?
Once the music is delivered to the engineers,
it's really up to them to do their job and deliver me a finished product. Then
I print and deliver. It's that simple.
This
Isn't for Your Eyes
If you cannot afford to
contribute, that doesn't mean you can't still help.
- Get
involved by sharing the link via social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc)
- Tell
those people you know who love film music and/or horror films all about
this campaign! Share the news in person or on Internet forums!
I thank each and every one of you for not
only considering helping but for even visiting this page to begin with.
Let's make this happen.
Visit me on Social Media at:
**Hellraiser, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Pinhead, Cenobites, and the Lament Configuration are Copyright their respective owners. I do not claim to have any rights to these materials.
"...I've the future of horror music, composed the next generation's Christopher Young: and his name is Lito Velasco." - Sam Wilkinson, HORROR TUNES
"...my favorite part of the production [Leviathan] was the highly inspired score by Lito Velasco. His music sets the tone perfectly and captures the essence of Christopher Young’s score for the first two films. I’m sure Mr. Young would be proud. And let’s hope for a official release down the line." - Rob Ridenour of THE CLIVE BARKER PODCAST
"...terrific! Very haunting, very moody. These tracks make me feel like there's a Cenobite right around the corner waiting for me... Feels powerful and otherworldly! Excellent stuff..." - Dustin McNeill, author, PHANTASM EXHUMED
These are some of the things being said about Lito Velasco's haunting, brooding, yet beautiful score, A BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS.
Written for the feature-length "Hellraiser" documentary, "Leviathan- The Story of Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II", this score is an artistic endeavor that was a perfect fit for Lito. A composer, actor, writer, producer living in Los Angeles, Lito's spent most of his career involved in genre projects and is a lifelong devotee of Christopher Young's gorgeous original score to that seminal Clive Barker film.
Velasco himself professes readily to this lifelong love affair: "In 1987, I discovered a film that combined my three passions- music, film, and horror -in a way I'd never experienced: the film was Clive Barker's 'Hellraiser' . The music was composed by Christopher Young. And within Barker's canvas of horror and bleak despair, I found elegance. The film and its music captivated me and I was stunned to discover that horror could somehow be beautiful: that from those depths, something gorgeous could rise.
I purchased the score and listened to it obsessively: it was heartbreakingly exquisite and terrifying. The soundtrack became one of my 'go-to' scores and over the years, in times of emotional crisis during a tumultuous childhood of artistic study at intense schools such as The Interlochen Arts Academy and The Juilliard School, I turned to Young's score: and every time I did, it helped me endure. Although my artistic focus changed over the years, my initial childhood loves all remained, as did my love of Christopher Young's work on 'Hellraiser'."
When approached by creative colleague, producer Gary Smart, to score the documentary, Lito sought out to compose music that was at once familiar while also being original.
"I didn't want to just copy what Christopher Young did. Christopher himself encouraged me to 'make the score my own'. But I explained to him that I didn't want to do that, necessarily. I wanted to write something that was steeped in his sound, orchestrations, and was an obvious homage to the stunning music he wrote for the classic 1987 film...but I wanted to craft new melodies and even new harmonies that were, essentially, mine."
The result is a score that will remind lovers of both the Barker masterpiece and its music why they fell in love with those things to begin with.
"I lost someone very dear to me in 2014. My cousin Nathan, who was like my brother, died at the young age of 32. So I was experiencing a lot of grief when I sought to compose this score. I didn't think I had it in me at the time, initially. But instead of just collapsing and not carrying on, I turned that sorrow and heartache into music. And the result, I'm not afraid to admit, is something I never thought I could create. Something that is at once full of misery while also being...well...beautiful. Thus the title: a beautiful darkness."
Velasco goes on to make one final observation of his work.
"I’m not foolish enough to think I’ve created something on par with Christopher’s music. In my mind, that’s impossible. But it's my hope that perhaps someone will find something within my music that will affect them positively much in the way his score affected my life. Maybe my art will help someone in times of need.
At the very least, I long to share this music with others because of how it was created and what it means me. Pain can be a source of strength. From our sorrow can come something creative, lasting, and maybe even beautiful.
All my thanks. Enjoy the music. It's yours.
It always was."
