From Orchestral to Electronic: NZSO Musician Unveils Debut Album
A classical violinist by day and an electronic producer by night, Alan Molina is proving there are no limitations when it comes to his musical career. Sunstrike, the debut album from his electronic solo project, Ghost Score, releases today, Friday, 29 May.
Sunstrike draws you forward: it’s beat-driven and densely textured. A product of musical matchmaking, Alan has brought together a lifetime of musical influences; melding his love for beat production, his extensive knowledge about classical music, and a wide-ranging musical curiosity.
“I’ve always been a music lover, from listening to music in the car with my parents as a kid, to stealing cassette tapes and CDs from my sister. This album is inspired by a lifetime of relentless listening.”
Recorded in the evenings after his wife and children had gone to bed, Alan’s production process was spending a couple of hours each night with his computer hooked up to the living-room television.
For months, the Wellington local worked in Ableton, shaping seven full-bodied electronic tracks. He then shared his album with mentor Sam Trevethick (Sambora) of Shapeshifter fame, as part of an APRA mentorship programme last year.
“I’d write little sketches on my Ableton Move. Something simple, like a beat and a bass line, until it was full of projects. From those, I’d pick my favourite two or three to set aside. Then I’d clear the whole thing and start again.”
“After ninety-seven sketches, I chose seven that resonated with me the most and spent the next few months developing them into full tracks. In the final stages, I brought it to Sam, and his insight helped me solidify the final touches.”
“Sam was good at going from section to section and seeing what was working, and what wasn’t. My personality leans into being more on the subtle side, but he really encouraged me to make bigger moves. His wisdom, our Zoom calls, and my time in his studio down in Christchurch, really helped to shape the final elements.”
Trevethick says Alan’s approach to composition left a strong impression throughout the mentorship programme.
“Working with Alan was joyful. His ideas were already incredibly rich and displayed an unmistakable mastery of communication,” Trevethick explains.
“His knack for earworms and invitation to the listener to ride on his journey… These are the qualities that composer and audience alike wish for in musical experience.”
Mixed by Bevan Smith (The Beths), and mastered by Downbeat Mastering in Auckland, Sunstrike is Alan’s second body of work under Ghost Score. His friend, Toby Lloyd, of Tiny Triumph Recordings in Wellington, encouraged him to release his first EP, 00, back in 2024.
“We were sitting in the car and Toby said, you’ll never release anything if you keep waiting for it to be perfect. Just dive in, just release it, just do it.”
Picking up the violin at three and a half years old, the classically trained musician made music his full-time career after studying violin at Indiana University and the San Francisco Conservatory. He was introduced to electronic music production after a close friend bought a synthesiser, a Moog Little Phatty.
“I had no idea what I was doing, but I had to get one of my own, and played around with it for years, not making anything serious.”
Now based in Wellington with his wife and their three children, he moonlights as Ghost Score in between rehearsals at the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Alan says the pipeline from classical music to electronic production is more common than people think.
“Music has always crossed boundaries. The NZSO has played with Alien Weaponry, performed a show with The Muppets, and recorded Mark Mothersbaugh’s Minecraft movie soundtrack. The common thread is that regardless of genre, music is something all people can relate to,” he says.
“We’re all beat-driven musicians. How songs flow into each other is important to me, and that’s a classical music thing as well. There’s plenty of orchestral-style build ups that crossover into my electronic music.”
Inspired by minimalist music by composers such as John Adams and Philip Glass, Alan’s Ghost Score project is a middle ground between the past and the future.
“I love music where the groove is just spot on. Like “Tomorrow Never Knows” by the Beatles, or the LCD Soundsystem catalogue. If you changed the tempo by even one BPM, the entire feeling would shift.”
“With Sunstrike, I want someone to be listening and then suddenly realise they’re tapping their feet and nodding their head. Then I know I’ve made a connection, and that’s what I’m after.”
Sunstrike was made with the support of Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa.
Photo Credit: Nick George
