Surge Studio Music

Description

Surge Studio Music by Spider Taylor compiles archival soundtracks from 1980s gay pornographic films, blending synths, drum machines, and reverberant atmospheres. Reissued on LP and CD (with a bonus track), this nostalgic album pays tribute to Taylor's work and the VHS era, while celebrating his life and relationship with Michael Ely.Spider Taylor enters the world of Dark Entries with Surge Studio Music, an album of archival gay pornographic film soundtracks.James Allan Taylor was born into a working-class family in Los Angeles in 1951. Nicknamed "Spider" by his father for his boundless energy, Taylor was a natural guitarist, possessing perfect pitch and an insatiable thirst for music. Throughout the 1970s, he expanded his musical repertoire, playing in bands ranging from country to post-punk, such as his band Red Wedding, while constantly seeking new sounds and styles to explore. During this period, Taylor also partnered with his soulmate and musical collaborator, Michael Ely. They were part of a wave of bold young gay couples living openly in the years following the Stonewall riots.In the early 1980s, while working at Basic Plumbing, a libertine gay club in West Hollywood, Taylor met Al Parker, the legendary pornographic actor and director, who recruited him to compose the soundtrack for a film he was working on. Parker's partnership with Steve Scott, head of Surge Studios, had produced some of the most popular X-rated films of the era. Spider's music perfectly matched the Surge universe, and between 1985 and 1986, he composed the soundtracks for five films produced by this iconic studio. Assisted by sound engineer Steve Conrad and equipped with a drum machine and a few synthesizers, Spider's film compositions range from the stunningly reverberant "Rainforest" to the driving, rhythmic track "Tech," worthy of Miami Vice. While Spider considered this work a mere hobby, on the sidelines of his main art, nostalgics of the VHS era and vintage erotica enthusiasts will be delighted. The album "Surge Studio Music" will be available on vinyl and CD, the latter including a 20-minute version of "Strange Places...Strange Things!" as a bonus.