Exclusive Premiere: 2015 Halloween Mix, ASTR

ABOVE: ASTR. PHOTO COURTESY OF JASON ROWE

This week we’re exchanging a singular track premiere for a curated list of 24. For the past two years, New York-based duo ASTR has created an annual Halloween mix, and this year, featuring everything from Kanye West’s “Monster” to Claudio Simonetti’s “Phenomena,” it’s hosted exclusively on Interview.

“There’s a lot of Halloween music that’s campy and we all know classic songs like ‘The Monster Mash’  and ‘The Werewolf Watusi,’ but that’s really not what you want to hear,” one half of ASTR Adam Pallin says. “A good Halloween mix should be like living out your own personal slasher film in real life.”

Rather than including the tired and obvious, Pallin and Zoe Silverman splice together songs taken from film soundtracks (including Phenomena, Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, and Carrie) and present contemporary spins on classics, like Vincent Price’s “Thriller” rap. The mix might not be composed of ASTR originals, but as a whole it aptly reflects the pair’s sensibilities—plenty of energy and smooth production.

Aside from creating a themed mix on a recent afternoon, ASTR also just collaborated with Mick Jenkins, is about to embark on a tour with Ryn Weaver and HolyChild, and on November 2, will release a much-anticipated sophomore EP, Homecoming.

FOR MORE ON PALLIN AND SILVERMAN, VISIT ASTR’S WEBSITE.