DARK HEARTS BIO
Colson (Kyle Schmid) is a downtown artist who is trying to make a living from his paintings. His brother Sam (Lucas Till) arrives in town to spend time with him and get away from the trouble back home.
The brothers’ first night is spent at an underground nightclub where they meet sexy and alluring singer Fran (Sonja Kinski). A fierce romance erupts between Colson and Fran but despite their passion, nothing can prepare them for the betrayal, obsession and destruction that this union will unleash.
Featuring music by Shirley Manson (GARBAGE) & Gabrial McNair (NO DOUBT), Fairuza Balk & David J (BAUHAUS, LOVE & ROCKETS), EINSTUERZENDE NEUBAUTEN, THE PARLOTONES, ESCAPEPOD, Paul Oakenfold, Richard Strange (DOCTORS OF MADNESS), Carina Round (PUSCIFER)
WHAT DID I DO WITH DARK HEARTS?
Richard Strange asked if I could add some ‘raucous drums’ for a track he was writing for the end credits of a film.
We met at his house in Cricklewood to listen to the track and see if I had any suggestions or if there was anything I could add.
He had already made a basic drum track with some midi drums on Logic, but he wanted something more ‘chaotic and thunderous’. After playing around with some ideas for an hour or so I decided I could do a better job by actually playing some drums on the record.
The only issue was, that I didn’t own any drum microphones at that time. I did, however, have a sample pack of meticulously recorded drum samples from ToonTracks called Superior Drummer 2.0.
Superior Drummer allowed me to connect my Roland TD-12 electronic drum kit to my computer via a midi/USB cable and trigger acoustic drum samples in Logic X.
I recorded the parts for Richard in my basement studio and sent him the individual stems of my parts. Another of Richard’s long-time friends and music legend, Steve ‘Boltz’ Bolton (The Who, Paul Young, David Bowie, Scott Walker, John Otway, Atomic Rooster), also added some crazy noises and a guitar solo.
The track was then sent to LA to be mixed in Hans Zimmer’s studio.
Richard invited me to attend the premiere of the film at the Raindance film festival held in Picadilly Circus, London. After the premiere, Richard was asked to perform the track at the after-party in a small art gallery somewhere in the depths of Holborn, Central London.
Years later the three of us re-recorded the track for his 2019 Doctors of Madness album Dark Times. I didn’t play the drums on the album but I did record percussion and backing vocals.
More work I’ve done with Richard: