Kim Newman on Johnny Alucard

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Dracula by Andy Warhol

audioAuthor and film critic Kim Newman talks to Virginie S&#233lavy about Johnny Alucard, the latest and fourth instalment in his Anno Dracula series, which charts an alternative history of Dracula from 1888 to 1991, weaving in historical and fictional characters from Queen Victoria to Francis Ford Coppola.

Anno Dracula was set in a Victorian England ruled by vampires after Dracula successfully invaded Britain and married Queen Victoria. Its sequel, The Bloody Red Baron, took place during World War I. In the third volume, Dracula Cha Cha Cha, Dracula got married in 1950s Rome while the latest episode, Johnny Alucard, sees the story move from Transylvania to America between 1976 and 1991.

In the podcast, Kim Newman discusses the rules behind the Anno Dracula series, the vampire as dominant cultural icon, Dracula and Heart of Darkness, vampirism and celebrity, Andy Warhol and Orson Welles.

Fabio Frizzi Live in London

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Fabio Frizzi Live in London

Fabio Frizzi Live in London

Date: Thursday 31 October 2013

Venue: Union Chapel, London

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For Halloween, soundtrack label Death Waltz Recording Company and Paint It Black are presenting a very special event: legendary Italian composer Fabio Frizzi will perform a selection from his scores, including Seven Notes In Black, Zombi 2/Zombie Flesh Eaters, City of the Living Dead, The Beyond, Manhattan Baby, live at the magical, atmospheric Union Chapel. In his first ever UK show Frizzi will be presenting his works in newly commissioned suites, accompanied by his seven-piece band and with an additional string section, the F2F Orchestra.

Together with Ennio Morricone, Bruno Nicolai and Riz Ortolani to name but a few, Frizzi was one of the maestros who developed the art of soundtrack in Italy in the 1960s-80s, mixing rock, jazz, classical music, lounge, funk, psychedelia and electronica. He is best known for his work on some of godfather of gore Lucio Fulci’s most memorable films such as Seven Notes In Black, The Beyond, Zombi 2/Zombie Flesh Eaters, City of the Living Dead and Manhattan Baby. Frizzi’s ominous, dark synth scores add a whole new dimension to Fulci’s disturbing visuals and their seminal import has been re-apparaised in recent years, as musicians such as Umberto and Boards of Canada have acknowledged his influence – not to mention that the ubiquitous Quentin Tarantino used the theme music from Seven Notes in Black in Kill Bill Vol 1.