MIKE PATTON soundtrack 'A PERFECT PLACE' released 10 years ago!

Mike Patton's third solo release, the soundtrack to short movie A Perfect Place was released on March 11th 2008.
"It's funny," Patton says. "I had friends ask me, 'So how do you become a film composer?' And it's like, 'I'm not a film composer; I just write music!' It just so happens that I can make it work for film. I've never really felt that distinction. Maybe that's also to my detriment. With a lot of my bands, people have told me, 'It sounds like soundtrack music.' It's just kind of a matter of where your head is and how you want to implement it." - Patton 2013

The soundtrack was written, performed and recorded by Patton with Mr. Bungle's Danny Heifetz and William Winant on percussion.

'Even more than Morricone, Patton mentor John Zorn and his own eclectic, semi-experimental soundtracks inform Patton's explorations. Zorn, of course, has released several compilations of Filmworks, collections of music written for films both released and unreleased, obscure and even more obscure. Listening to Patton's bits and pieces, most of which don't hit the three-minute mark, it's easy to imagine him following suit. Surely the guy must have hours of this stuff stowed away. All he needs now, with A Perfect Place as a sort of self-contained calling card, is a few dozen filmmakers giving him a ring to justify unleashing it all.' - Pitchfork



Press Release

A Perfect Place is a short film directed by Derrick Scocchera, scored by Mike Patton. Starring Matt Boone Junior (Batman Begins, Trees Lounge)  and Bill Moseley (The Devil's Rejects), photographed in B&W Panavision by Hiro Narita, ASC (Never Cry Wolf), it ts a neo-noir tragic comedy revolving around a pair of bumbling friends trying to dispose of a corpse.

While some of the music is orchestrative in its nature, in classic Patton style there's an infusion of genres blending pop and ragtime balladry. Shades of Ennio Morricone, John Barry and Fantomas combine with a smoky, suitably cinematic ambience.

Mike Patton is the man of a thousand bands including the late Mr. Bungle and Faith No More, and currently of Peeping Tom, Fantomas, Mondo Cane, Tomahawk, Crudo... the list goes on. Patton penned the score for A Perfect Place which is double in length is the film (he says, "I got excited" when asked why). The score marks a milestone for Patton who has been regaled in music circles for years but now delves into the world of film. Patton also recently provided voices for all the creatures in the Will Smith blockbuster I Am Legend, as well as lending his vocals to a host of video games induding The Darkness, The Portal,  Bionic Commando and Left 4 Dead.

Mike Patton On Structuring The Score :

"I wrote the inital main theme. And then I did a twist version of it. And then I did a big band jazz version of it. I did a couple of rock pieces in there. Shit, I used a Rudy Vallee piece. This soundtrack is all over the map genre wise."