While the first surface appears, the bass is struck and the mood changes from dangerous to eerie to upbeat, one still ponders over the name of this compilation. Ghost without H? Because there is no H in Greek? »GOST« as in »Greek Original Soundtrack?« No idea. Soon it doesn’t matter at all, because the opener »Parados« by Thesia sets out to penetrate the realms of the unconscious and lucid reveries. It shall not remain the last time on this gatefold double LP compilation that you find yourself in an ambient fog field. Sometimes creepy, eerie or sad: Common to the 17 compositions is a painterly gesture. This may be due to their function, because Yannis Veslemes has put together a fascinating show of soundtracks for Into The Light that is without equal. While the New German Cinema was doing its thing in Germany, Greece was not entirely idle : an era that produced both giallo-esque genre à la Suspiria as well as structural arthouse. Fittingly, of course, a sound universe that Veslemes – himself a musician and filmmaker – captures here. Anyone who has wondered, for instance, who the predecessors of a Yorgos Lanthimos are and what they might have sounded like is damn well right here. In elaborate liner notes, the context of each soundtrack is explained. It doesn’t get any better than this. Then it is no longer so important what the four letters »GOST« really stand for.
Tim Hecker
Shards
Kranky