Joseph LoDuca’s Score For PAY THE GHOST Digital Release On September 18th

By Michelle McCue | August 24, 2015

Lakeshore Records will release the PAY THE GHOST – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally on September 18th. The album features the film’s original score by Joseph LoDuca (SPARTACUS, ASH VS. THE EVIL DEAD).

“There are three aspects to my music for PAY THE GHOST that made the experience memorable,” said LoDuca. “I am pleased with the result of my close collaboration with Uli Edel (director) on a horror/thriller score that relied primarily on electronic sound. Over several sessions together, creating dark atmospheres with a gnawing sense of tension was our primary objective.”

A supernatural thriller based on a short story by Tim Lebbon. PAY THE GHOST kicks off on Halloween night, when a couple’s young son is mysteriously abducted. A year later, they begin to sense his presence in frightening ways. A string of terrifying clues draws them to search for the boy throughout New York, where they uncover ancient secrets and discover a vicious, vengeful spirit.

“The first piece I wrote was ‘The Portal Song’, which is sung in Gaelic by a children’s chorus,” described LoDuca. “Their chant sets the third act in motion. The film needed a song that felt pagan, yet plausible for the setting of a neighborhood park in New York City on Halloween. We also recorded wild screams from the children, which Uli brilliantly juxtaposed to score the rescue of Nicholas Cage’s character, Michael Cole, from the Crone.”

Joseph LoDuca’s life-long love affair with music began with deep rock and jazz roots coming up through the rich music scene in the Motor City; to university studies of composition and guitar in New York; expanding further to absorb the musical languages of the Middle East, India, and Asia, finding fresh contexts for ancient sounds. “I understand the language of music and how to apply it to storytelling. What excites me is being able to inject who I am and what I discover every time I work closely with a filmmaker.”

>He began his film career scoring director Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead Trilogy, and has continued that relationship through the top-rated television series Spartacus, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and Emmy winners The Legend of the Seeker and Xena: Warrior Princess.

A Two-time EMMY Award winner and eleven-time nominee, composer Joseph LoDuca is no stranger to large orchestra action/adventure, fantasy, and thriller music. His latest projects are the Horror/Comedy BURYING THE EX and the highly anticipated television series Ash vs Evil Dead.

“The third element was the street band source music for the Halloween fair that occurs at two points in the film,” said LoDuca. “Craig Flores, our producer, came up with the idea of an additional ‘creepy fun house’ piece. That immediately triggered in me images of Federico Fellini and Nino Rota, and added a surreal edge to those scenes. A word of caution: Don’t expect to be soothed here. But if you were thrilled and terrified by the emotional ride of PAY THE GHOST, you’ll relive it now in sound.”

Voltage Pictures and RLJ Entertainment present PAY THE GHOST in theaters and VOD on September 23, 2015. Lakeshore Records will release the PAY THE GHOST – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally on September 18^th, and on CD later this year.