Film music composer-turned-experimental musician Johnny X. Martinez performs musical alchemy with a new record that is raw, deeply relatable, and highly transformative.
Burbank, California Aug 5, 2021 (Issuewire.com) – For most of us, the past year and a half have been unlike any other. For contemporary musician Johnny X. Martinez, it has been a crucible of artistic expansion, fueled in equal parts by creativity and upheaval. The result? An out-of-this-world genre-defying EP, entitled Transfiguration, whose first track Sweet-Confusing, Loving-You, will be available as a single on all major music streaming platforms on August 6.
The EP combines different elements from Pop, R&B, Film Music, and Alternative Rock, blending them with the energy of EDM, creating a new genre that Martinez has coined, “Cinema-PopRock.” The single was recorded with a full band, merging the sounds of a symphony orchestra, a Bulgarian choir, and a collection of modular synthesizers to create an ambient and fantastic atmosphere laced with etheric energy, lead by a solid operatic singing style with pop tones.
The record was a labor of love for Martinez—or rather, a labor of lost love. The angst of the pandemic, loss of a relationship, and death in the family provided the impetus for Martinez to embark on a new creative project as a way to escape the turmoil of a world gone mad. After several dark months spent in physical and spiritual isolation, he pulled out his Yamaha electric grand, blew the dust off the keys, and got busy creating.
He was determined to rediscover his truth, and his music became the brilliant palette through which he could express that. Having already enjoyed a flourishing career working “behind the scenes” as a film scorer, Martinez felt drawn to a more prominent role in the spotlight and has lent his own voice to his musical compositions for the first time.
“The pressure of societal expectation makes real honesty difficult. The wool that it pulls over your eyes to appear truthful makes the lie that much more superficial. But for a while, I bought every bit of it. I internalized the idea that I had to be “this or that” type of artist and certain art forms were forbidden. I grew up believing art was obtainable. Yet, I never felt anointed to be truly free. It really felt like I wasn’t allowed to express all of me or even use my voice because it was unconventional. But that was the lie.”
The groundwork for what would become the groundbreaking eclectic sound of the record was laid-in, Montgomery County, Maryland, during his childhood and youth. Summers spent in his second home, Santo Domingo, of the Dominican Republic bestowed colorful notes of his culture and music that would become integral to his identity.
At a young age, Martinez took an interest in classical music. Mozart was his favorite lullaby, Tchaikovsky drove him to the Violin, and Beethoven urged him to learn piano by ear. Through his interest in computer science and gaming, he discovered an admiration and fascination with game scoring. While at Berklee College of Music, he studied composition for films, games, and television, setting him on the path to who and what he is today: a multi-talented composer and experimental performer.
“I got tired of waiting for permission to be true to myself and my artistry. Love is a powerful energy that drives us to do anything for anybody, but where does that leave me? Writing this EP was a hard look in the mirror. I found myself again through the voice I was once reluctant to use. I was slowly remembering all the forgotten pieces of me that were screaming out to be loved—by me.”
A current resident of Los Angeles, Johnny X. Martinez has worked extensively in the entertainment industry. Recent projects include creating musical scores for Snow Falls, a horror film directed by Disney alumnus Colton Tran, The Valley, the Amazon Prime Sitcom, directed by Brian Kruse, and Motivations TV Show, an inspirational talk show created by Janet Miranda, Chase Pallante, and Jai Sugrim.
The single “Sweet-Confusing, Loving-You,” is available, August 6 on all major music streaming platforms, including Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, and Apple Music.
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Tags : Genre-Defying , Johnny X. Martinez , Pandemic , Sweet-Confusing , Loving-You , Cinema-PopRock , Music , Emerging Artist , EP , Debut