Having been given my first computer aged 6 (a TRS-80!) and having used Commodore 64’s through the 80s, Halt and Catch Fire and its soundtrack, is right in my wheelhouse.
Halt and Catch Fire centers on the lives of some key players in an early 80s computer company at the dawn of the PC age. It’s a brilliant show, and manages to capture the mood and tone of the era exceptionally well.
This effort is supported by its soundtrack, provided by Paul Haslinger, once of Tangerine Dream, which is probably an inspired choice due to his experience of composing for TV/Film during the period in question.
From the first cue, it is clear that they have chosen wisely, with many of the sounds evoking Tangerine Dream’s work in the early 80s such as the Thief movie soundtrack, as well as the later 80s albums; curiously Haslinger wasn’t in the band at the time of the Thief soundtrack, but his experience playing some of that material live in the latter half of the decade probably helped.
Like Super 8 before it and Stranger Things after it, there is much affection for the time period and this soundtrack revels in the synth laden sound of Haslinger and Tangerine Dream from that era, matching the tone of the visuals perfectly.
There is much in Halt and Catch Fire that is dark and brooding, or chaotic and unsettling, as well as mysterious and tense, and Haslinger has been able to create the appropriate soundscape, while not only revisiting the style of his 80s work, but also adding modern elements to it.
Unlike his album work, this material is required by the medium of TV to be quite short, which in some cases is perfect, but in others you wish that the music cue were allowed to breathe and develop into a full piece.
While some of the ideas don’t flesh out as much as I would like, I think Haslinger has achieved what he set out to do, which is to use the good elements of the past and discard a lot of the bad the 80s had to offer. In this regard, the Halt and Catch Fire soundtrack is much more in keeping with Miracle Mile, or portions of Three O’Clock High, but with the horrible slap bass synth sounds removed; there are none of the elements in this soundtrack that I dislike in the old material.
With a new season of Halt and Catch Fire due to start on August 23rd, now is the perfect time to catch up on the past two seasons and hear this great work in context.
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Lakeshore Records will release the HALT AND CATCH FIRE – Original Television Soundtrack digitally on August 19th and on CD shortly thereafter.
