Ron Pastore brings listeners on a grand adventure on his new album titled The Nautilus. The Nautilus is an instrumental concept album of a nautilus, a pelagic marine mollusc animal, that is finally freed from captivity, and is now courageously journeying through the ocean for the first time. The album’s song titles provide a storyline for this incredible journey: “Direction” “Run” “The Nautilus” “Gulf Stream Dream” “Alley Catfish” “Home Free” and “Love.”
“Direction” kicks off the LP. The LP starts off strong with the epic sounds of electric guitars and piano keys. The listener will hear many layers of musical sounds, from heavy lows to high-pitched piano hits and guitar riffs. The dramatic soundscape of the music represents the chaos at the beginning of the journey, while simultaneously representing to excitement of striving for freedom.
Next up, we are introduced to buzzing synths that mimic 80s video game soundtrack sounds. “Run” combines deep toned synths that sounds much like horns, with heavy rock drums, and swirling lead synths. This song creates the sensation of running for the listener, suggesting that the nautilus is not having an easy journey but is very committed to freedom.
The title track of the record is piano-driven and also features an array of ranges. The buzzing synths fill the spaces in the gorgeous piano line to represent both light and dark. The contrast of the two sounds is another reminder to the journey. This is probably the most anthemic song on the record and also my personal favorite.
“Gulf Stream Dream” is a more laid-back track. It is synth driven but it’s impossible to ignore the great sound of the raw snare drum. This is another great versatile track with breathtaking pianos.
“A good friend of mine recommended doing a concept album, and this would be my 4th instrumental album. At first I wasn’t crazy about it until I started listening to all my rough material. It felt like an underwater adventure. I read the book 20000 Leagues Under the Sea for more inspiration and the ship was called, The Nautilus, then the idea of a sea creature experiencing the ocean for the first time emerged.” – Ron Pastore
Continuing on the journey, we venture to “Alley Catfish.” This song features a rolling snare drum and slower paced synth lines. The theme for this song feels royal. There may be a sense of pride that the nautilus is feeling by feeling close to freedom. As “Alley Catfish” wraps the listener is closer to the finale. We have now arrived at “Home Free.” The song brings a sense of resolve with it’s synth lines but the heavy drums remind the listener of the intense journey that the nautilus has been on for quite some time. The piano performance part of this track is another highlight of this musical masterpiece.
The journey of the nautilus comes to a close on the closing track “Love.” Perhaps the journey has really now just started with a new sense of freedom and peace. The nautilus is free now to be in the wondrous ocean outside of captivaty. The adventure goes on. Enjoy this incredible record on Spotify now:
Written by Ryan Cassata