All of the Horror Movie Samples on DJ P’s “Hell on Wheels” Mixtape Came From His VCR
With Halloween just around the corner, the month October is the perfect time to inundate ourselves with spooky books, TV, movies, and music. While many TV stations play an endless array of classic fright flicks this time of year, finding music to set the tone for October can be a challenging task. If you like getting into the Halloween spirit, enjoy listening music with an ominous touch, and are looking for the ultimate Halloween soundtrack, look no further than DJ P’s masterful, multi-genre Hell on Wheels mixtape.
There may be no other DJ more qualified to make a Halloween themed mixtape. Just take a look at P’s massive collection of horror movies, memorabilia, and soundtracks. When I interviewed P a number of years ago about his record collection he said, “I have The Shining, Phantasam, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Friday The 13th, Halloween 1–5, Nightmare on Elm Street 1–4, Omen 1 and 2, and Exorcist 1 and 2. And I got a sealed copy of Re-Animator online the other day. I love that kind of stuff. I love to sample it.” Keep in mind P was collecting these records well before the new wave of horror soundtrack reissuing made it easy to find your favorite horror score on vinyl. The Phantasm soundtrack, for example, sells for upwards of $100 on eBay.
“I had to time the samples by pausing the movie at a certain place and hitting play at the right time to make it fall in place. It was crazy.”
P’s understanding of the horror genre is evident throughout Hell on Wheels, as he seamlessly blends Halloween-appropriate songs by Dana Dane, The Geto Boys, Mobb Deep, and many others. While there are a couple sections of scratched dialogue that sound a bit dated, the entire project holds up very well and remains a testament to the hard work P was willing to put into making the mix.
The amount of horror movie dialogue P was able to incorporate without letting the music suffer is impressive. In an interview I did with P for The Smoking Section in 2008, he explained where the countless horror movie samples on his mixtape came from. “Every sample you hear from a movie on Hell on Wheels 1 was from a VCR,” he said. “I had to time the samples by pausing the movie at a certain place and hitting play at the right time to make it fall in place. It was crazy.”
“I love that kind of stuff. I love to sample it.”
Another important component of the tape is the amount of scratching that P incorporates. For P, who is more known for his unique blending and mixing, the amount of scratching on the tape forced him to move out of his comfort zone a bit. “That tape has a lot of scratching too,” he said. “I’ve never cared for my scratching too much, but it came out decent. It was more technical than the second Hell on Wheels. It took me a while but I finally finished it.”
P’s mix demonstrates the level of care DJ’s used to put into their tapes. Using an 8-track mixer, records, a VCR, and countless hours of tinkering, he created an innovative Halloween-themed mix that stands the test of time. Both mixtape connoisseurs familiar with P’s work and novices who have never heard his name before should use this Halloween as an opportunity to revisit his work.
You connect with DJ P on Facebook, MixCloud, Vimeo, YouTube, and his website.
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