Short Reviews [Jonatan Pina Duluc - 2021 - "Soundtrack Vol. I. Secuencia"]

I have been fortunate enough to have come across composer and multi-instrumentalist Jonatan previously, have always enjoyed his work, and here he is back with his latest solo album. Hailing from the Dominican Republic, he has won the country`s most important composition competition the Premio Nacional de Musica on six occasions in three different categories: Symphonic/Choral, Chamber music and Latin Dance music, which shows just a few of his diverse tastes which also include Jazz, Rock, Latin Troubadour, Dominican folklore, and everything eclectic. This album is a collection of suites and pieces written for film or inspired by film as storytelling with a style which goes from quiet soundtrack avant-garde pieces to epic “Afro-Dominican Jazzodelic Progressive movements” (his words). He has also started making short films available on YouTube showing what inspired him to make this music. Fusion is the starting point, but that is combined with styles straight out of the more obscure Zappa, which in turn is mixed with a very Latin feel. What makes this such a different album is the way that the music blends and changes, always making perfect sense, yet each passage rarely has anything common with the one preceding or following. This is music which should be incredibly challenging, yet the more it is played the more logical it seems and therefore easy to listen to. He brings in classical violin when the type is right, offset with some warm cello, yet the chords and brass around it are full of beautiful discord. This is music where the listener gets far from it if they can actually take the time to sit and pay attention, as opposed to being played in the background where there will be too many breaks in the heard melodies for it to make sense. This feels like a carefully orchestrated ensemble piece where everyone is playing to a carefully notated score as opposed to going off and doing their own thing, with a feel of it being almost as much modern classical as it does fusion. Beautiful yet strange, dark yet light, this feels like we are taking a walk in unknown territories, and while we believe we will get out the other side we may never be the same again. Worthy of investigation for those who enjoy their instrumental music to be that little bit different to the norm.