Hello all! Been absent from the blog for much longer than intended, I'm sorry to say. But I hate to miss another Halloween, especially since my blog is named for a Halloween urban legend. So I've managed to squeak in a mix just in time!

'A Curse On You' is in a similar vein to my last couple of mixes: more of a haunting atmosphere than strictly horror-themed selections, though there are a few of those as well. I like to make my mixes a bit of an emotional journey through different moods and sonic textures, especially when fairly long like this one, which comes in at two hours and eight minutes.

This mix is packed with vintage European soundtracks, moody experimental pop, electronic forays, an abundance of 60s psych rock, and more. There's some of the sensual, affecting vibe of my previous mixes, but with more of a gritty, dirty punch - at least that was the aim!

Please enjoy this trippy spookfest! Here are the artists and songs featured in this mix (click 'Hide details' to see a simplified tracklist):

Beware of my Halloween mix this year: it will magically seduce you, take you to heights of beauty and pleasure... before you soon find unsettling and downright terrifying things start to happen. Erotica and horror combine in this blend of vintage soundtracks, dark folk-pop and other sensual, yet deadly, delights.

Please note that this sorcery gets very saucy indeed so you probably won't want to play this at work or around children – unless you're prepared to answer a lot of questions.

Tracklist

1. Jirí Bažant & Jirí Malásek - Erotica 2 (1975. From the Barry 7's Connectors compilation, 2002)
2. Anna Biller - Fairy Lady Harp Music (The Love Witch soundtrack, 2016)
3. Paul Giovanni and Magnet - Willow's Song (The Wicker Man soundtrack, 1973)
4. Manfred Hübler & Siegfried Schwab - Peoples Playground (Version B) (Vampyros Lesbos soundtrack, 1971)
5. Cocteau Twins - Beatrix (Treasure,1984)
6. Goblin - Witch (Suspiria soundtrack, 1977)
7. Midnight Movies - Oh Twilight (Midnight Movies, 2004)
8. Piero Umiliani - Fotomodelle (Svezia, inferno e paradiso soundtrack, 1968)
9. François de Roubaix - Les Dunes d'Ostende (Les Lèvres Rouges soundtrack, 1971)
10. Neal Gardner - The Case of the Bloody Iris (Giallo, 2013)
11. Adrian Younge Presents Venice Dawn - Midnight Blue (Something About April, 2011)
12. Ennio Morricone - Sottintesi (Il gatto a nove code soundtrack, 1971)
13. Bat for Lashes - The Wizard (Fur and Gold, 2007)
14. The Sirens - Femmes (1976. From the Mondo Erotico compilation, 2002)
15. Delired Cameleon Family - Weird Ceremony (Visa de censure n° X soundtrack, 1976)
16. Piero Umiliani - Streghe e convegno (Riunione, sarabanda, purificazione) (Angeli bianchi... angeli neri soundtrack, 1969)
17. Pierre Raph - Crotch Batterie (Requiem pour un vampire soundtrack, 1971)
18. Zdenek Liška - Witches Firewall (Malá morská víla soundtrack, 1976)
19. Isobel Campbell - Lady Of Snakes (O Love Is Teasin' EP, 2006)
20. Cat's Eyes - Door No. 2 (The Duke of Burgundy soundtrack, 2014)
21. White Noise - My Game of Loving (An Electric Storm, 1969)
22. Norbert Glanzberg - The Blonde Witch (The Blonde Witch soundtrack, 1956)
23. Prudence Rees-Lee - After the Moon (After the Moon single, 2017)
24. Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions - Into the Trees (Until The Hunter, 2016)
25. Richard Hayman and The Manhattan Pops Orchestra- Love, Your Magic Spell Is Everywhere (Tender Moments, 1961)

Credits: Mix illustratiion from the cover of the 1967 gothic romance novel, Strangers In The Night, via My Love-Haunted Heart.

A mix for Halloween featuring music from 70s European horror soundtracks, eerie vintage folk-pop, contemporary pop noir and more. Last year, I made a devil-themed mix drawing from a similar range of artists, but where that one was skin-crawlingly creepy, this is more softly unnerving, with undercurrents of romance and sensuality. It makes me vaguely picture an imaginary classic horror film where a beautiful heroine is lured into a haunted forest by an irresistible but diabolical lover. Amid the prettily haunting sounds, there are still some genuinely terrifying moments – Goblin's bloodcurdling 'Sighs', from Suspiria, for example – should this ominous realm start to feel too cosy. 

The mix image is Elsa Martinelli in Roger Vadim's 1960 vampire flick, Et mourir de plaisir (aka Blood and Roses).

Tracklist (Hide details)

1. François De Roubaix - Les Lèvres Rouges (1971)
   From the Les Lèvres Rouges (Daughters of Darkness) soundtrack.
2. Beautify Junkyards - Longo Amanhã (2015)
   From The Beast Shouted Love.
3. Ennio Morricone - Astratto IV (1971)
   From the Veruschka - poesia di una donna soundtrack.
4. Marianne Faithfull - Oh Look Around You (1965)
   From her self-titled debut album.
5. Daniela Casa - Ignoto (1975)
   From Società Malata, reissued on Penny Records in 2013, and again on Dagored this year.
6. Death and Vanilla - Shadow and Shape (2015)
   From To Where The Wild Things Are.
7. Comus - Bitten (1971)
   From First Utterance.
8. The Paradise Motel - Bad Light (1996)
   From Still Life.
9. Broadcast - The Sacred Marriage (2013)
   From the soundtrack to Peter Strickland's Berberian Sound Studio.
10. Jenny Hval - In the Red (2016)
    From Blood Bitch.
11. Cat's Eyes - Pavane (2015)
    From the soundtrack to another Strickland film, The Duke of Burgundy.
12. Françoise Hardy - The Rose (1966)
    From Hardy's first English language album, In English.
13. Piero Umiliani - Nocturne (1973)
    From To-Day's Sound, reissued on Easy Tempo in 1997.
14. Ennio Morricone - Metamorfosi (1971)
    From the La classe operaia va in paradiso.
15. Laurence Vanay - Soleil Rouge (1974)
    From Galaxies, reissued on Lion Productions in 2013, and as a double LP this year.
16. Espers - Flowery Noontide (2005)
    From Espers.
17. Cat's Eyes - Black Madonna (2015)
    From The Duke of Burgundy.
18. Les Maledictus Sound - Heathcliff Y Cry Your Name (1968)
    From Attention (or arguably Les Maledictus Sound - I'm uncertain of the correct title), the only release by this band helmed by Jean-Pierre Massiera.
19. Keith Seatman - A Slight of Hand (2013)
    From Boxes Windows & Secret Hidey-Holes.
20. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - The False Husband (2006)
    From Ballad Of The Broken Seas.
21. Jane Weaver - Parade of Blood Red Sorrows (2013)
    From the 2015 compilation The Amber Light. Originally released on the Initiaani Kesä soundtrack. 
22. Belbury Poly - Pan's Garden (2006)
    From The Owl's Map.
23. Spirogyra - Old Boot Wine (1973)
    From the 2004 compilation Gather In The Mushrooms – The British Acid Folk Underground 1968-1974. Originally from the album Bells, Boots and Shambles.
24. Phillip Lambro / Orriel Smith - Hannah Emerges In the Night (1973)
    Originally from the Crypt of the Living Dead soundtrack, this was included as a bonus track on the 2011 digital issue of Smith's 1968 single, 'Tiffany Glass' (which was also written by Lambro).
25. Still Corners - Demons (2011)
    From Creatures of an Hour.
26. Acanthus - Sleeping Beauty (Samba Des Vampires) (1971)
    From the soundtrack to Jean Rollin's Le Frisson des vampires, released by Finders Keepers Records in 2010.
27. Emil Richards - Opal (October) (1966)
    From New Sound Element "Stones", reissued by The Omni Recording Corporation in 2012.
28. Lake Ruth - One Night As I Lay On My Bed (2016)
    From Actual Entity.
29. Colleen - Le Labyrinthe (2007)
    From Les Ondes Silencieuses.
30. Angelo Badalamenti - Laura's Dark Boogie (1990)
    From Twin Peaks: Season Two Music and More (2007).
31. Maxine Sullivan - Dark Eyes (1938)
    From the 1997 compilation The Chronological Classics: Maxine Sullivan 1937-1938.
32. Jean Prodromidès - Carmilla et Léopoldo (1960)
    From the Et mourir de plaisir (Blood and Roses) soundtrack.
33. Harmonic 33 - Long Shadow (2005)
    From Music For Film, Television & Radio, Volume 1.
34. Goblin - Sighs (1977)
    From the soundtrack to Dario Argento's Suspiria, reissued on Bella Casa's The Awakening box set in 2012.
35. Harper / Russe / St. George  - Nightwalker (1972)
    From Electrosonic, a library music record Don Harper, Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson (the latter two under pseudonyms) made for KPM, reissued by Glo-Spot in 2006.
36. Clara Rockmore - Rachmaninoff: Vocalise (1977)
    From The Art of the Theremin.
37. Ela Orleans - Nocturne (2012)
    From Tumult In Clouds.
38. Elysian Fields - Black Acres (2000) – Free download available from Epitonic.
    From Queen Of The Meadow.
39. Luboš Fišer - Blood Red Rose (1972)
    From the Morgiana soundtrack, released by Finders Keepers Records in 2013.
40. Mono In VCF - We Could've Owned The World (2008)
    From Mono In VCF.

Before I bring you Part Deux of Swinging Mademoiselle, I'm going to briefly interrupt with my Halloween special, to ensure these tasty, eerie delights reach your goodie bags in time. We certainly can't miss Halloween! After all, Spiked Candy owes its name to those scary tales of unsuspecting trick-or-treaters receiving a dose of deadly poison in their sweet treats. Apparently these are nothing more than tales: "The number of kids confirmed to have been critically injured by spiked Halloween candy is ... zero" (The Halloween Scare). So while thankfully the grisly act of spiking candy is only a myth, fear not: Spiked Candy, the blog, is very real. Don't believe me? Blast these spook-themed tunes until your ears tingle, just to be sure. Ladies first:

Once again a huge thank you to Carl for sending this one my way! 'Mon joli vampire' is the B-side to 'Herald Tribune', posted here. This seems to be it for all the Jany L. songs ever released, so now you have the complete ultra-rare set! It's in a similar vein to her other tracks, with her rather sensuous voice offset by sweet, tinkly instrumentation. Listen to that catchy toy piano riff that owes more than a little to the Velvet Underground's 'Sunday Morning'.

Also in the waaay-too-cute-to-be-at-all-scary category:

Screaming Lord Sutch and The Savages - She's Fallen In Love With The Monsterman (1963)

Links: Lord Sutch wiki, The Savages

Also check out the Halloween-themed posts at
WFMU's Beware Of The Blog and There's A Fly In My Soup.

Oh well. Better late than never.

Check out the excellent Dr. Moshe's Medicinal Music for some superb rare 60s garage and psych tracks. The Halloween tracks are especially amazing, in particular the very cool 'Dracula Ye-Ye':
 

Also, if you haven't already done so, proceed here* immediately to listen to Jarvis Cocker hosting 6Music's Rocket Science last Saturday. Three hours of Jarvis in top form, playing a quality selection of Halloween-themed songs. Heaven. By the way, if you stop the stream, you can resume where you left off - in case you don't want to listen to it all in one chunk.

I'm sure you'll want to track some of these songs down after listening to this broadcast, so let me start you off:

R. Dean Taylor - There's A Ghost In My House (1967)

Edit: Let's all pretend we didn't see that gaff. I don't know what it is, but every time I've typed that today I've written the wrong name. I don't even like R Kelly. Very strange.

Links: R. Dean Taylor bio

*Update: The show is long gone, but it turns out I saved it at the time (link):