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Alan Howarth

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Alan Howarth is an American composer and sound designer who is best known for his work for Hollywood and for his collaboration with John Carpenter. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and played in rock bands that opened for The Who and Cream. He then made his own music with synthesizers in the groups Braino and Pi Corp. From 1976 he did synthesizer work for the fusion band Weather Report, which led him to move to Los Angeles.

Music and breakthrough

His big breakthrough came in 1980, when his music was used for the trailer of a Star Trek film. He then worked on the next five films in the series. With Carpenter he made music for Escape from New York, Halloween II, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Christine, Big Trouble in Little China, Prince of Darkness and They Live. His sound designs can be heard in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Poltergeist, Back to the Future Part II and Total Recall. His team won Oscars for the sound of The Hunt for Red October and Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Influence

Howarth also plays his film music live to clips from the films, in Geneva, Kraków, New York and Paris, among other places. He also worked on multichannel surround sound, the forerunner of later systems such as Dolby Atmos. His work shows how the synthesizer in the 1980s defined the sound of the horror and science fiction film.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to the music of Escape from New York and notice how the synthesizers build a menacing atmosphere with few notes.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Mentioned in other articles

See also

Categories: ArtistsHorror synth (Carpenter school)