Tom Guycot Raises the Stakes of Terror With “Deranged Fan”

The telephone rings at midnight. The sound echoes through the halls of your home in the Hollywood hills. Nervously you pick up the heavy receiver only to hear the desperate breathing of a lunatic… The same lunatic that has been calling for months.

The fictitious storyline of Tom Guycot (the alias of American producer Ryan M. Todd) is one with twists and turns. Rife with a looming sense of dread, the track “Deranged Fan”—on the LP with the same name—raises the stakes of terror for the imagined soundtrack to a long-lost 1980s slasher film. With its running bassline, the track builds a tension as glittering synths tiptoe through the dark and builds to an apex. While “Deranged Fan” is an invocation of horror soundtrack masters Claudio Simonetti and John Carpenter, it maintains an element of lightheartedness with a splash of flashy Italo-disco dance. And its music video is as you’d expect: seemingly cut and pieced together gritty VHS clips that only heighten the level of foreboding of the track.

Deranged Fan, released digitally last year on Giallo Disco Records, is a perfect addition to the label’s roster. Known for their catalogue of horror disco soundtracks, Tom Guycot adds an additional mix of 1980s sleaze alongside a finesse that’s found with his use of thick Moog basses and classic 808 and Linn Drum machines. Just like a slasher movie, Deranged Fan is dark but fun—it’s not too serious… but it’s not afraid to make your blood run cold.

The LP will be available on vinyl July 23rd (see below for links).

Pick up Deranged Fan on digital and vinyl:

Bordello a Parigi
Clone
Juno
Decks
HHV
Redeye
Clear Spot

Keep up to date with Giallo Disco Records via their Bandcamp.