Italian-Venezuelan composer and producer Sarah R Jay, currently based in the UAE, creates intoxicating audio tapestries that completely envelop listeners – the sort of intricately designed, colourful yet melodic fusion of genres that’s imaginative and euphoric to escape into.
As a fine introduction to the skill and emotional conviction of Sarah R Jay, FLYING ACROSS ALL TIMES sets the bar high. Built around a simple four-chord pattern and paired kick drum and click, lightness ensues but with a clear sense of rising anticipation – something that soon pours through by way of an intense and energising array of synths and additional melodic and rhythmic fragments.
The title more than meets the needs of the music, and vice versa, presenting a fast-paced journey that naturally prompts the mind to wander and the body to feel awakened and inspired.
Elsewhere within the Sarah R Jay repertoire, HOUDINI’S FINAL ESCAPE showcases the more storytelling side of the producer’s approach, depicting a House-driven intensity alongside a longer-form melodic venture that feels decidedly more dark and haunting. The rave potential for this one, with its consistently evolving energy and euphoric pace, is unquestionable. A classic yet contemporary meeting between familiarity and artistic identity – something that rings loud throughout Sarah R Jay’s collection.
Cinematic storytelling continues for DARING MISSION, the detail and precision of the opening mix proving quick to impress. Sarah’s ability and immersion in the process is defiant, and this track showcases the true breadth of it thanks to its fullness and striking combination of ambient waves and the quicker-noted fragments scattered throughout.
For SEA OF SORROW, we’re in a drama-led arena of distant sound and euphoria – a fine fusion of storytelling and the soothing embrace of relentless dance. The music moves into a more neo-classical style during its latter half, a seamless transition that eventually presents us with a kind of nineties-esque summer EDM world of pure escapism.
Versatility is essential in an industry such as this, and despite the passion and prestige with which Sarah R Jay produces and composes, there’s still a distinct level of variety between tracks. A fine example is the sudden warmth and optimism of RISE OF LOVE. Here we’re presented again with familiarity and freshness intertwined – a faultless House arrangement with an impressive twist of character in the synth bends, the long-form melody, and the details woven into this rising and falling wave of sound. Simple yet striking, and easily recognisable.
The piano-work that underpins many of these compositions is often subtle, but for DESERT DAWN, that quality takes the lead, and as the energy grows, the piano maintains its presence as a guiding light. The track becomes a dreamy and invigorating listen, loaded with melodies, an uplifting tempo, and another sense of story in the changing stages and the cleverly incorporated neo-string section.
The Sarah R Jay catalogue of original music is second to none in terms of the instrumental, Cinematic House and Melodic Techno realms. The music is consistently rewarding its audience with a sublime balancing of intricacy and evocative intensity – skill meeting with awareness and emotion that naturally connects. The tracks are all uniquely beautiful, thoughtful and engaging, and make for strong contenders for use within upcoming TV shows and movies.
