Under the name
Umberto, Los Angeles-based electronic musician
Matt Hill composes music that pays homage to the soundtracks of '70s and '80s horror films, as well as other musical genres from the era such as Italo-disco and ambient. After a three-year absence, Umberto signed to
Thrill Jockey in 2019 and released
Helpless Spectator, which featured cellist/bowed banjo player Aaron Martin and pedal steel guitarist "Idaho Joe" Winslow. While the album was a bit of a departure for Hill, he returned to horror-disco with the Outskirts of Reno EP, issued by
Giallo Disco.
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Umberto is an artist whose work is distinctly cinematic. Composer Matt Hill’s performances and delicate compositions taken together have the cumulative ability to surprise. Hill, whose Umberto moniker is an homage to director Umberto Lenzi, is an experienced and active film composer, most recently scoring the film All That We Destroy. In addition to film and commercial work, Umberto has released a number of lauded solo recordings. Hill’s compositions stand apart as beautiful as they are impenetrable, with pulsing synths that hint at 80s slasher films while pensive string passages evoke emotions without being sentimental. On Umberto’s Thrill Jockey debut
Helpless Spectator, his haunting music is otherworldly and affecting alike, leaving the listener with an unsettling and profound air of mystery.
Press
His latest work is less overtly scary, though still subtly disturbing, his ambient soundscapes playing off the warm, rounded, calming sounds of synthesized keyboards, pedal steel, cello, guitar and piano against eerie washes of electronic sound.
- Dusted Magazine
More Press
His music is anything but: a flamboyant, bloodthirsty pastiche and often bold extrapolation of vintage horror soundtrack music.
- FACT
Matt Hill has bounced everywhere from chromatic horror scores to Miami Vice-style soundtracks, merging his synth expertise with a particular flair for the theatrical.
- The Fader
Horror and dark electronics fanatics alike will put this one on repeat for days, but its very powerful specificity will likely cut out a swath of listeners not interested in either ravenously dedicated sub-genre.
- Consequence of Sound