One day (it was either a Saturday or a Sunday back in 2020 or 2019, 3:12 p.m.) Tip and Tap and Uncle Fido went to the ZOO. Or to a theatre. Or to the trampoline centre. Versions differ but they were definitely not going to Diagon Alley – that's for sure because they'd remember otherwise.

Anyway, they went by bus (they at least agree on this). The bus driver was listening to the radio and at one moment a long and cool song filled with scary sounds was broadcasted. The puppies listened to it, mesmerized, scared and thrilled to the same extent. They asked their uncle whether he knew who the singer was and whether the story was real or just make-believe.

"Jichael Mackson," was the answer, "and it was make-believe but the real Mackson was perhaps even more scary."

Terrified, the puppies didn't utter a word for the next couple of minutes but then they asked whether other Mackson's songs were also scary.

"Not really. But I have a mixtape back at home with other scary songs and I can play it for you," said Uncle Fido.

The ZOO or theatre or trampoline center didn't leave any strong impression on the two puppies but when the three tired dogs tired as a dog arrived home that evening, Tip and Tap asked about the mixtape.

"Why don't you brush your fangs and let me look for my tape recorder and the cassette," suggested Fido and a couple of minutes later he came back with the promised device and the mixtape that was, indeed, called "Scary Songs".

He explained that the songs came mostly from old horror movies that the two puppies were too young to watch but "Listening to the music won't hurt you, I guess."

That night Tip and Tap listened to the mixtape for the first time of many. And then for a half of the second time, until they fell asleep right before Side A ended once more. Covered by blankets up to their chins, eyes wide open in the dark, absorbed in the music. Zestful. Excited. Pleasantly terrified.

...

Thirty years ago, in 1991, my parents, my brother, our little sister and me went to see the Prague Jubilee Exhibition that takes place every 100 years. I don't remember anything else from the event than two exhibits.

The first one was a computer with a touch screen called Johnson. We kids were allowed to make a drawing on its screen. My parents would save the printed-out pictures. My one was made in one stroke as I didn't want to risk releasing my finger from the screen, afraid of what would happen. What a difference from the generation of my children who were both disappointed when they found out our TV set wasn't reacting to their touch gestures a quarter of a century later...

The second exhibit was the full music video of Michael Jackson's Thriller, playing on loop. I'll never forget how disturbing but strangely appealing the short horror film was. We watched it twice and afterwards, back at home, I would listen to the whole LP (which almost every vinyl aficionado in Czechoslovakia had as it was allowed to be released by Supraphon two years after its worldwide release) deliberately for the first time. It was one of the biggest revelations of my life. I adored the overal sound, so crisp, clean and perfect, the numerous musical ideas it was intefwoven with and the individual supercool songs. It became one of my favs for life.

Even before that time I had read a horror book, popular in Czechia back in the day, called "Silent Horror". And we had a neighbor who looked after us sometimes, when our parents went to a theatre. She was one of the few people we knew who had a video recorder and she enjoyed watching Romero's and Argento's horror movies that were so scary for us that we would postpone going to the bathroom when we were supposed to sleep over at her place. But still, the little Thriller movie was my most unforgettable encounter with the genre of horror and even almost four decades later it still looks and sounds fantastic.

...

Couple of months ago I read, thanks to some cool people on twitter (several fans as well as idols of mine seem to love the genre) an article on the healing power of horror. I've watched several horror movies since then, paying attention to my feelings, and was surprised to find out it's felt beneficial to my troubled mind every single time. My mood sometimes improved almost miraculously.

So this album is a wink to those of my fans who like horrors as well as a hommage to the creators of such, especially the authors, directors and composers who, when they do their job right, make the movies (even) more impressive.

This little album of mine, Tipentap Pleasantly Terrified, was inspired, musically or conceptually, by the works of several musicians – in alphabetical order: Wendy Carlos, John Carpenter, Rachel Elkind, Philip Glass, Goblin, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Fred Myrow, Malcolm Seagrave, Cat Temper and Alpha Chrome Yayo, and recorded, as always, as an escape from some more serious stuff, this time more serious then usual. Its name comes from Fox Puppy's line in the chat accompanying my second live stream. Thank you guys!

I've enjoyed working on this little project tremendously and I can't rule out the possibility I'll return to the theme in the future and make some more pleasingly spooky tracks. Because much as it's unoriginal and kitschy, it's so much fun!

Binaural Space aka Uncle Fido, September 1, 2021, in a hospital in Prague
Happy new school year, kids – stay healthy, that's always the best option!