Whilst this is being done Claudio makes a point about the cover of Tenebrae, which shows a woman with a bright red ribbon round her neck. Before I even pressed record, the subject of censorship had been raised even on an album sleeve.

CS: You know that this is a sleeve that was changed as they could not show the blood on the neck? This is a very old record almost 20 years now.

PW: Indeed it was not just the films that were cut but posters, video sleeves and even album artwork. Once the Video Recordings Act was introduced in 1984 many a lurid art campaign was affected.

PW: Firstly I was interested in asking about how you started playing, I believe you were trained studying piano and composition in Rome?

CS: Yes I was actually born in Brazil and I lived there till I was 12 years old and I started to play piano when I was 8. Later I studied in Rome. (At Santa Cecilia Conservatory)

PW: Obviously most people know of you from the soundtracks you composed with Goblin. You worked with Dario Argento from 1975 on such movies as Profondo Rosso (Deep Red) and Suspiria as well as Romero’s Zombi (Dawn Of The Dead). Looking back what are your memories of these times in the 70s’?

CS: Well The 70s’ was the time that progressive rock was successful so I was living in London for 1 year with Goblin before we recorded Profondo Rosso. We did some concerts and we also recorded some demos. That is how we ended up doing the music for Dario Argento’s films after he heard these. We recorded an album from these demos and it was released by Cinevox Records. This was under the name Cherry Five. The album was composed partly in Rome and partly in England.

PW: I would imagine this is very difficult to get hold of now?

CS: No actually this has recently been reprinted and released again!

PW: There was different music on the original version of Romero’s Dawn Of The Dead, how did Goblin become involved here?

CS: Well with Zombi it was released by Romero with a different soundtrack, actually they originally used library recordings. When Dario decided to distribute and release the film in Europe and Italy he said, “No I don’t like this music we can change and use Goblin.” He made a cut of the film and it was very successful in Italy. George Romero liked it so much he decided to change things in his version too, so Dawn Of The Dead was then released with The Goblin music. There are many different versions of the film on DVD and VHS

PW: One thing I also wondered is how did you keep track of everything? For example you record the music for Zombi and then a few years later the same score turns up on Bruno Mattei’s ‘Inferno dei morti viventi’ (Zombie Creeping Flesh) Was everything official when this sort of thing happened, it strikes as a bit of a free for all!

CS: No, no maybe it was not done officially. Maybe the record company gave them the music for use in a different film. Even on Sean Of The Dead you can hear some of our stuff (although this was an obvious homage rather than what I was referring to PW)

PW: I would be very interested to know which of the movie scores you made with Goblin is your personal favourite?

CS: My favourite film with Goblin is Suspiria. It is the film we put more of ourselves into. We did a lot of experimental music, we worked in the studio for 3 months to do something new and it is probably the most famous.

PW: I think Suspiria is in a word groundbreaking and the most chilling score ever created for a horror film, with this and other movies did you actually see the films first?

CS: Yes of course, for every film, I always see it first then I write the music. It is very difficult to do it the other way round. I read the script but I would wait for the film to be finished before writing the music. With Suspiria we actually wrote something before the film but after it was finished we changed all of it because of the different mood of the film. We tried to write the music on the script, it was used on the set to help the actors but nothing remains of that old stuff. Yes it was completely different and is now lost.

PW: It was Keith Emerson who ended up scoring the 2nd of The 3 Mothers movies Inferno and not Goblin.

CS: Yes that is because we split in 1978 and in 79 Dario wanted to do the second one to Suspiria of the 3 Mothers trilogy and he also loved the music of Keith Emerson, maybe he tried to get Emerson Lake And Palmer before for Deep Red. So he had Keith Emerson for many reasons, as Goblin didn’t exist anymore and he loved Emerson who did a beautiful soundtrack.

PW: Of course it wasn’t just horror films you did the music for as I was reminded watching Enzo Castellari classic La Via Della Droga (Heroin Busters) recently. Would you have approached scoring say a crime thriller to a horror film in a different fashion?

CS: Well yes, in my career I did a lot of different types of films, over 50 movies and not all thrillers and horror. I did also comedies, TV fictions and everything but of course it was the horror and thriller films I liked the most as I could put more of my ideas into them. It is very hard to do a comedy film, it is easier to find the right style with horror. I was a thriller/horror fan since I was a kid watching old Hammer films with Christopher Lee and Pete Cushing and I always loved Hitchcock and of course Dario Argento too. I was very young when I saw the first film of Dario’s.

PW: The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, the soundtrack was by Ennio Morricone.

PW: Listening to your music there are a wide range of influences right across the board. Goblin had a real prog flavour, The Simonetti Project illustrates keyboard driven 70s’ disco and of course classic rock arrangements, I take it you are interested in lots of varied styles of music?

CS: Yes I like to change a lot especially in the 70s’ as towards the end rock music was getting less popular and the new era of dance music was coming. There were films like Flashdance and I loved that 80s’ music especially Duran Duran, music was changing completely. When I left Goblin in 78 I started with dance music with orchestra and singers, very different from now.

PW: I was wondering about singers you had used in the past especially on The Simonetti Project album, ‘Mystery Magic And Madness’

CS: Well yes Phenomena was sung by an American Italian singer called Pina Magri, Opera I just don’t remember, I worked with many different singers. I have also worked with a rock singer called Rita Cavelli around this time

PW: What other soundtrack artists appeal to you?

CS: Many, many, many; of course Bernard Herrmann and Jerry Goldsmith and I like John Williams and Morricone did many very good films.

PW: What about some of the other Italians like Fabio Frizzi?

CS: Ah Fabio Frizzi yes a good friend of mine and Pino Donaggio too.

PW: What would you say was the strangest film you have been involved in scoring during your career?

CS: Strange, hmm.

PW: Well maybe the movie that had you thinking, “How the hell am I going to do this one”?

CS: Ah yes well I had some troubles really with a film by Fulci called Conquest. (Fulci’s very odd take on the sword and sorcery genre PW) it was a very, very strange film.

PW: Did you do any other films with Lucio Fulci and what was he like to work with, he is meant to have been quite temperamental?

CS: It was just the one movie with him. What happened was I never met him. When I arrived on this film he had problems after arguing with the producer and he had left the film. The producer called me and I finished the film with the editor. I am a good friend of his daughter Antonella but I never met him. A little later of course he died.

PW: After 22 years Goblin reformed with the excellent score for Argento’s Nonhosonno (Sleepless). What brought about this surprise turn of events?

CS: Well it was very difficult to work with Goblin again after all this time. Every one of us had a different way of seeing the music. It’s like if you divorce with a woman and it is broken but we did a good work but it was a strange mixing of our different styles. When we started with Profondo Rossa and Suspiria we always played together, we loved and played the same music after 22 years it is impossible to have the same choices.

PW: We keep hearing rumours about a proper reformation with some live shows but all I can see is The Back To The Goblin project which has nothing to do with you? What is this all about, it is a bit confusing with others involvement here and yours with Daemonia?

CS: Well they reformed the band with a keyboard player Maurizio Guarini, I know him very well, a good friend of mine. We actually played together when we did the album ‘Roller’ when there were two keyboard players in the band, he is a very good musician. They did this album ‘Back To The Goblin 2005’ they just sold it on the internet.

PW: Do you think you will ever get back with them and play as the original line up?

CS: With me in it, no! Maurizio lives in Toronto we speak and he tells me what is going on with Goblin but they have difficulty working together because of different minds, different characters you know? Yes difference of musical ideas. Also they have careers they all work and are limited to time. I tried many times to get them together and say that we should go and do concerts but I decided to form my own band Daemonia. I play the same sort of music with a different style, more heavy, more rock. That is why I did the album ‘Dario Argento Tribute’ A new arrangement of old stuff including Keith Emerson and John Carpenter.

PW: Daemonia have for want of a better phrase brought many great horror numbers back from the dead. Tell us a bit about the formation of the band and what is it like playing these numbers live again?

CS: I love it, I formed the band and chose every musician. It’s very good because with the young musicians I learn from them and they learn from me. So there is a different style and different ages of music, even though we are playing the same music. Yes it is heavier, they come from heavy metal, Gothic and death metal from the underground of Rome really. Our drummer Titta Tani played with Necrophagia in America with Killjoy.

PW: And you can’t find many a person with more knowledge of horror films than him!

PW: Tonight you are playing with the backdrop of your most recent composition La Terza Madre (The 3rd Mother) a film we have been anticipating for such a long time; we are dying to see the movie, what are your opinions of it and what was it like working with Argento again on this?

CS: For me it was very nice and an honour to close the trilogy with my music. I have been waiting for this film just like all the fans you know. I really like the soundtrack as I used a big orchestra not so much rock and synthesizers but symphonic and a big choir with some keyboards in a very classical style. Except the end titles with Dani Filth and Daemonia

PW: Is the soundtrack out yet?

CS: In England I don’t know but in Italy yes. Yes we have them on sale tonight (consider it bought, review to follow PW) Also we have the DVD live in Los Angeles with the Zombi CD included, Daemonia have completely re-arranged Dawn Of The Dead.

CS: La Terza Madre is out in Italy on Halloween, the DVD is due in February. I am not sure about England. (Looks like Feb in USA cinemas no English date announced yet PW ).

PW: Do you think it will have any problems with censorship?

CS: Yes in Italy they cut some scenes, not for the DVD but the cinema. Not a lot but I do not know what they will do with it in England haha.

PW: Mater Lacrimarum features some vocals from Dani Filth, whose decision was it to get him involved?

CS: Well me, I am a fan of Cradle Of Filth. So when I did the song I did the demo with my voice and when I did I tried to sing with his voice. I thought this would be great with Dani’s voice. So after many mails and phone calls I reached him and I said, “Dani I would like you to sing on the new Dario Argent film” and he said “Yes. of course I’m a big fan of Dario.” He is currently writing a book about horror with another guy (The Gospel Of Filth with Gavin Badderley PW) he interviewed Christopher Lee and asked me to interview Dario too. I sent him the song and he wrote the lyrics and sung. We will play it tonight but just with his voice not live unfortunately he could not get here tonight.

PW: You are stuck on a desert island (don’t worry it is one with no zombies) you can have 5 pieces of music, what do you chose?

CS: Oh my there are so many beautiful pieces. My favourite on horror would be Psycho and John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith as well. The Omen soundtrack! John Carpenter, I like his music.

PW: Are there any other projects you are involved with at the moment?

CS: I have just finished a musical in Italy, of Deep Red / Profondo Rosso. A composition of the film as a musical, it is very good and it will soon be released on a CD. You can find it on the website Profondo Rosso musical. I wrote completely new music as the old one was not enough for a musical of course. There are many songs, singers and dancers, it’s violence on a stage. It’s very strange actually, when they called me to do this I was very surprised but it is a very good script for a theatrical production.

I am also working on a film called ‘Frat House Massacre’ It’s a film of the 70s’ and crazy students directed by Alex Pucci. You will find it on IMDB.
Next I am doing a film here with Doug Bradley called Urban it is an English production.

So there you have it a brief talk spanning over 25 years of music and if you want to discover more there are a wealth of websites to check out here.

www.claudiosimonetti.com
www.daemonia.it
www.myspace.com/daemonia
www.myspace.com/claudiosimonetti
www.medusa.it/laterzamadre
www.profondorossomusical.it

Interviewed by Pete Woods

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