John Cody Carpenter (born May 7, 1984) is an American musician and composer. He is the son of film director John Carpenter and actress Adrienne Barbeau. Carpenter is mostly known for his work with his godfather and musician Daniel Davies, as well as his various solo projects.
Early life
editCarpenter was born on May 7, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, U.S.. He began taking piano lessons at a young age, and was always surrounded by instruments at both his mother's and father's house, who had separated shortly after his birth.[1][2]
Carpenter started writing music at age 13, but admits he "didn't write anything of quality until I was into my mid-20s".[3] He has been referred to by his middle name 'Cody' since birth to avoid confusion with his father.
Career
editWith John Carpenter
editCarpenter's first major musical contributions were to Vampires (1998) and Ghosts of Mars (2001), where he is credited as playing keyboards.[4]
In 2005 and 2006, Carpenter composed and performed the soundtrack to both "Cigarette Burns" and "Pro-Life", John Carpenter's two episodes in Showtime's Masters of Horror anthology television series.
2015 saw the release of Lost Themes, the first musical collaboration of Carpenter, his father, and Daniel Davies.[5] The trio continued to work together with 2016's Lost Themes II, after which they embarked on a European and North American tour, performing popular themes from John Carpenter's films and material from both Lost Themes albums.[3] In 2017, the trio re-recorded a number of John Carpenter's best-known movie themes in for Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998.
In 2018, both Carpenters and Davies composed the score for Halloween (2018), and Lost Themes III in 2021.[6] In 2022, they also composed the score for the remake Firestarter.[7] Lost Themes IV was released in May of 2024.
Solo work
editDiffering from his composing work and his collaborations with his father, Carpenter's solo work falls more in the genres of progressive rock and jazz fusion, with Carpenter listing such artists as Genesis, ELP, Vince DiCola, and T-Square as major influences.[8] Cody released a number of solo albums exclusively on Bandcamp from 2014 to 2018.[9]
In 2018, Carpenter released his first non-Bandcamp exclusive progressive rock album on Blue Canoe Records titled Cody Carpenter's Interdependence.[10] This was his first album in a series of Blue Canoe Records releases featuring recurring guest musicians such as Jimmy Haslip, Virgil Donati, Scott Seiver, and Jimmy Branly.[10]
He would follow up with 2019's Force of Nature and 2020's Control, both featuring many of the same guest musicians as well as PJ D'Atri, John Konesky, and Junior Braguinha.[8]
As Ludrium and other contributions
editCarpenter also has composed music under the moniker Ludrium.[3] His work as Ludrium leans more toward the broader genres of synthwave and synth-pop, although still retaining some of the progressive stylings of his solo works.
In 2018, Carpenter released his first album as Ludrium titled Reflections on Lakeshore Records. He followed up this album with 2019's Stargazer, released independently.[11]
That same year, Carpenter worked with English composer Mark Day on Shadow Spirits Vol 1. 影なる霊魂, a chiptune soundtrack album of a video game that does not exist.[12]
Carpenter performed backup keyboards for composer Vince DiCola in multiple live music performances in 2019 and 2018, playing music from DiCola's movie and video game soundtracks.[13] Carpenter listed DiCola as one of his primary musical influences.[14]
Discography
editCody Carpenter solo albums
edit- Cody Carpenter's Interdependence (2018)
- Force of Nature (2019)
- Control (2020)
- Memories and Dreams (2021)
- Balance of Extremes (2022)
Piano solo albums
edit- Piano Improvisations: The Major Arcana (2020)
Compilation albums
editElectronic - compilation albums
edit- Neon Sludge 2014-2018 (2018.09.25) [15]
Prog rock / fusion - compilation albums
edit- Mind Over Matter 2014-2018 Vol. 1 (2018.11.14)
- Mind Over Matter 2014-2018 Vol. 2 (2018.11.21) [16]
As Ludrium - synthwave / synth-pop albums
edit- Reflections (2018) – (As 'Ludrium')
- Stargazer (2019) – (As 'Ludrium')
- Alternate Universe Reimagined (2021 remastered from 2017)[17][18]
Soundtrack albums
edit- The Legend of Ludrium (2020)[19]
Collaboration albums
edit- Shadow Spirits Vol 1. 影なる霊魂 (2018) – (With Mark Day)
- The Last Flight SHMUP Tribute Song (2019) – (With Brandon Klopp)
TV, film, and video games
edit- Vampires (1998) – (As contributor/musician)
- Ghosts of Mars (2001) – (As contributor/musician)
- Cigarette Burns (2005)
- Pro-Life (2006)
- Condemned (2016) – (As contributor/musician)
- Tap Track Heroes (2016)
- Halloween (2018)
- Astro Aqua Kitty (2021) – (As contributor/musician)
- Halloween Kills (2021)
- Firestarter (2022)[7]
- Halloween Ends (2022)
- Death of a Unicorn (TBA)[20]
Other artist collaborations
edit- Simulakrum Lab
- Confrontational
- Ultraboss
- PJ D'Atri
- Dance With The Dead
- Beckett
- Powernerd
- Scythe Saga
- Oceanside85
- Penix
- Diamond Field
- Keith Horn
References
edit- ^ "Interview: Electronic Musician Cody Carpenter". ComingSoon.net. September 27, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ Dietrich, Deena 'DeenasDays' (February 20, 2018). "There are Worst Things I Could Do by Adrienne Barbeau". DEENA'S DAYS. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ a b c "A New Kind of 'Carpenteresque'". Vehlinggo.com. January 20, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ "Cody Carpenter at All About Jazz". Allaboutjazz.com. May 7, 1984. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ "Lost Themes". The Official John Carpenter. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ Shaffer, Claire (October 27, 2020). "John Carpenter Announces 'Lost Themes III: Alive After Death' Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ a b "John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter & Daniel Davies Scoring Keith Thomas' Firestarter". Filmmusicreporter.com. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ a b "CODY CARPENTER - INTERVIEW". Bluecanoerecords.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ "Cody Carpenter". Ludrium.bandcamp.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ a b "Cody Carpenter is in 'Control'". Limelightmagazine.com. September 27, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ "Stargazer (as Ludrium) - a Studio release by CODY CARPENTER (LUDRIUM) artist / band". Proggnosis.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ "Review: Cody Carpenter and Mark Day – Shadow Spirits Vol. 1". Echoesanddust.com. June 2, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ "San Diego Comic-Con 2019 – Concert 'Vince DiCola & Friends'". SoundTrackFest.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ "Cody Carpenter Interview". Scoredtodeath.com. March 1, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ "Neon Sludge 2014-2018, by Cody Carpenter". Ludrium.bandcamp.com.
- ^ "Mind over Matter 2014-2018 Vol. 1, by Cody Carpenter". Ludrium.bandcamp.com.
- ^ "Alternate Universe Reimagined, by Ludrium". Ludrium.bandcamp.com.
- ^ "Cody Carpenter Discography". Ludrium.com.
- ^ "The Legend of Ludrium, by Cody Carpenter". Ludrium.bandcamp.com.
- ^ "John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter & Daniel Davies Scoring Alex Scharfman's 'Death of a Unicorn'". Filmmusicreporter.com. November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
External links
edit- Official website
- Cody Carpenter at IMDb
- Cody Carpenter on Discogs