My desk and my mind are cleared of the clutter and busyness of life. The most amazing music is engulfing me, stirring my senses, and begging me to share its beauty and my joy with the world.
What am I listening too? It is the new CD by my favorite musical protégé and composer, Pedro González Arbona. Memories is Pedro’s latest foray into the music and film scoring business.
Pedro’s Musical Background
In the three years since Introducing Pedro González Arbona, his debut album, was released, Pedro’s music has grown by leaps and bounds. His first album was a collection of his earliest solo piano compositions performed on a Steinway Concert grand piano in a recording studio in Seattle. It was a gift for his 18th birthday while visiting from Madrid. It was a monumental day for us both.
I’ve written a lot about Pedro’s love for music and how it was nurtured and inspired at an early age by cinema. Now his work has matured and blossomed into full orchestral music that rivals the likes of other famous film composers that he admires, like John Williams (Star Wars), Hans Zimmer (most recently Interstellar), and Alexandre Desplat, winner for Best Original Score for The Grand Budapest Hotel at this year’s Academy Awards.
I don’t say this to boast, although it is hard for me to be impartial. I say this because, at Pedro’s request, I’ve been immersing myself in various film scores over these last few years as well. I hear the similarities and have been captivated by Pedro’s music. Not just listening to it, but also as I witnessed it on the big screen at the VIP screening of his movie Tempting Fate, last July in Houston.
Pedro knows music!
Making Memories, the CD
While I was in Madrid last fall, Pedro and I met over dinner one night to discuss his next CD project. On another night in Madrid, he played one of his newest songs for me, “Opening Titles.” He was fully engaged in the music, as if conducting the orchestra with an invisible baton. This was Pedro’s first orchestrated piece, complete with pages and pages of sheet music. Watching his delight in the final cut of this piece, and immersing myself in the music, was one of my best memories while on this trip to Spain.
A proud moment in Madrid: “Opening Titles” plays through Pedro’s sound system as he reviews the sheet music.
Although we collaborated in the production of the CD, it is truly his project from start to finish. He designed the album cover, titled the album, and naturally, composed the music. I brought his vision to completion by working in America with our music distributor, CD Baby. They make worldwide sales and distribution via iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and other internet music sites easy for any artist.
Pedro’s album cover design (above) conjures up feelings of old time movies, before the age of digital technology, with strips of film negatives pinned to a clothesline. Which scenes will make the final cut of the movie? Which songs will make the final cut of the CD?
Selecting the Songs
It was a difficult process to select the final 14 songs for this CD. The music was mostly composed over the last year during a period of prolific musical and artistic inspiration. I received some of the songs along his composing process. I’ve collected a large archive of his music over the past four years from his various film and internet projects or impromptu personal musical inspirations.
Some of the pieces included on the CD were composed for the Tempting Fate film, but didn’t make it to the final cut of the movie. As I’ve come to learn, it is just part of the film composing process. It gives Pedro the opportunity to showcase them on his CDs or use on other projects. (The soundtrack to Tempting Fate is available on Amazon.)
Pedro also collaborated with orchestrators (credited as ‘featuring’ in the track titles) to provide the professional sound quality and feel to his music. The final 14 songs showcase the variety of Pedro’s music composing ability.
The easiest way for me to describe this album is to say that even though it was not written for a specific movie or movie scenes, it is just like a soundtrack. The songs conjure up a wide breadth of emotions that are commonly experienced in a movie: romance, suspense, action, drama, mystery. You’ll be hooked after the first song! I certainly was.
So in my next post about Memories, I will take you on a behind the scenes musical adventure through his latest album. Until then, you can preview one of my favorite songs “The Great Beauty” on Soundcloud or by selecting the song on the media player in the right sidebar on this page.
For more information about Pedro González Arbona and his music, visit pgarbona.com. Memories is available for your immediate listening pleasure through any of the links below:
- iTunes
- Amazon
- CD Baby
- Or purchase the physical CD through my site
You can show your support for this young artist’s music career by liking his page on Facebook, Pedro González Arbona, composer.
Making Me Bold 