Though I’m sure there are other artists tapping this musical vein (and don’t make me check!), I like to think that New Jersey composer-instrumentalist Robert Benaquista has invented his own unique genre: ambient horror. In the most reductive terms, his music is similar to what you might play to scare trick-or-treaters, but created with respect and reverence for the traditions that shaped this genre. You can reach back in time to Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” or forward to the organ theme from “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.” You can even imagine yourself as a child holding down all the keys on an electric organ, or pounding the low keys on a grand piano with the pedals all the way down. Benaquista uses these ideas as starting points for his new and compelling electronic compositions. His latest album is titled RITUALS.
I first encountered Cucurbitophobia (which literally means “the fear of pumpkins”) with their Halloween release Autumnal Apparitions. I learned that the classically-trained Benaquista formed Cucurbitophobia in 2018 to create music that drew on his influences from contemporary horror film composers, visionaries of neoclassicism, expressionism, serialism, atonal, electronic, dark ambient, prog and avant-garde music. Among the film composers Benaquista cites as influences are John Carpenter, Igor Stravinsky, Bernard Hermann, Christopher Young, Tangerine Dream, Wendy Carlos, Jean-Michel Jarre and Brian Eno. Thematically, Benaquista calls RITUALS “a collection of music that takes the listener on an adventurous, ambient journey through the depths of the mind and on a path of self-discovery: to contemplate the meaning of the universe, to introspect the trials and tribulations of one's own experiences and to purge all toxic thoughts and deterrents.” “Ritual I: Aurora” begins the album with a complex and darkly beautiful acoustic piano composition, with a steady background wall of synths that evoke those old, wonderful Mellotrons and Chamberlins. Though it would be easy to compare this track to horror movie soundtracks, the melodies are actually too sophisticated, with an equal share of beauty and dissonance. The actual theme isn’t easy to follow but it was thrilling for me when I sensed its reprise at the closing moments. When I first heard “Ritual II: The Offering” I jotted down the phrase “Dreaded Moonlight Sonata” as it does superficially resemble the classic Beethoven composition. This one is all piano, and you can really bask (or wallow) in Benquista’s facility with the keys, along with his circuitous melodies. The second half concentrates more on single, repeating chords and actually flirts with romanticism. “Ritual III: The Purge” ups the musical ante considerably. Though again starting out with a somewhat dissonant piano theme at the center, the roiling background synths soon take on the proportions of a symphony orchestra in Dante’s Inferno. The middle section has a wonderfully minimalist structure, with just two plaintive piano cords ringing against a subsonic bed of synths. The conclusion brings back the orchestral synths for a dark and thrilling finale, like lullabies for Rosemary’s Baby. “Ritual IV: Crepuscule” concludes the Ritual Suite with an organ-like wave of chords that has a churchly resonance, leading into melodies not unlike Tony Banks’ keyboard tracks for “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway.” If a soul can be resurrected, this may be what it sounds like! This may be the track that fans of progressive music find the most accessible. The next section is a two-part dark ambient mood music suite titled “Summoning the Sleep Demon.” Benaquista explains that these tracks “portray a tale of one who incorporates self-induced hypnosis to evoke a sleep demon. Thinking it's all fun and games, the individual isn't aware of what kind of horror awaits when the unfriendly sleep demon unexpectedly arrives.” The 12-minute Part One is called “Crossing the Abyss.” It’s similar to what’s come before, except that Benaquista creates his opening melodies on the higher keys against his low, windy backgrounds, giving the composition the feel of chamber music. Here can be found some of his most beautiful piano motifs (while still rather scary). Part Two is called “The Abysmal Cometh” and most definitely depicts the drawn-out horror of facing a sleep demon and being unable to escape. The track features slowly alternating chords against a pad of otherworldly digital strings and indistinct, distant wailing. The music is relatively static compared to Part One, but there are some interesting, subtle variations around the middle section. “Nebula of Unspeakable Darkness” is described by Benaquista as “an ambient dark synth track that paints a picture of the barren, eerie places of the vast universe; the places where no one has or will ever travel to from now until the end of time.” This composition is immediately more active than the previous suite, with marching, stomping percussion that suggests being pushed along by a crowd of orcs or demons. The melodies are quite dramatic and would fit perfectly on the big screen. “Illusion of a Withered Orchid” concludes this project with what Benaquista calls “a melancholy, pensive piano work with a sullen mood and a mournful quality with an underlying haunting aura.” For this one you can imagine Peanuts’ Schroeder playing for the gang on All Hallow’s Eve, but I don’t mean to diminish Benaquista’s playing technique and compositional skills, which are both extraordinary. The piano is inexorably surrounded by waves of dark, cloudy noise, which is especially effective in headphones. Since I’ve heard Cucurbitophobia before, I wasn’t surprised by the amazing music in this album, but for newcomers who are open to horror-tinged music, there’s a real “treat” waiting for you!
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