Original Godzilla Roar Made on a Double Bass

I’m a big fan of Godzilla movies, especially the Japanese-made ones from Toho studios. Anyway, this month’s Life magazine is all about Godzilla and is highly recommended. It made sense to share here an interesting bit of info about the original Godzilla’s roar from “Gojira”, the first of the films and a true classic:

“Ifukube (the composer of the amazing soundtrack score) was also responsible for Godzilla’s distinctive roar. After rejecting a series of recorded animal sounds, the composer decided to use a double bass, a string instrument, to create the effect. He used a leather glove coated in pine tar resin to create friction. The result? The sound of monstrous mass destruction.”​

 

Wow! 18 coloured vinyl disks, all 180 g of beauty for each! They do say in the FAQs that they do international shipping via DHL.

Apparently they couldn't afford a big orchestra and that's why Ifukube had to write such a minimalist score for Gojira—but it's brilliant.