The Warm and Cinematic Compositions of Guitarist Martin Packwood
- BuzzSlayers
- 15 hours ago
- 3 min read
A new release from Martin Packwood delivers a wonderfully flowing soundscape that builds a bright and warm-toned atmosphere that feels completely inviting and features this almost jazz-like undertone but cinematic backbone.
The filmic aspect of it comes from the layers of synth pads that are used in the song's background, letting it have an almost elegant feel, but it also adds layers of texture to the song that otherwise wouldn't be there.
This brings a certain kind of depth and helps the mood of the track really thrive.
"Living In My Dreams" is a very positive song in terms of its mood. It feels spirited but also calming at the same time. It brings with it a sense of peace, in a way.
The progression of this track is wonderfully woven, and the arrangement was definitely well thought out, allowing the song to breathe and feel alive.
This is an instrumental piece of work, and Martin is a composer who brings elements of that cinematic sense along with great guitar work, as he is quite the guitarist.
So, he combines the composition aspect with the guitars, and this brings a great, refreshing approach.
The guitars really bring the main hooks and melodies, starting with a clean tone, along with the keys and synths building that flourishing sound.
As the song unfolds, the electric guitar comes in, but it's not over the top. The distortion is light and crisp, still bringing that tonal warmth, matching the vibe of the rest of the song.
To me, I can hear a bit of an almost samba influence showing face along with the jazz approaches.
Either way, this is all about melody. He's not just jamming over the keys and percussion; he's creating those melodic licks that come back, letting it sort of embed into your brain.
It definitely works because after the song is over, you can still hear them bouncing around in there for hours after it has ended.
When the track gets towards its last segment, Martin goes off a little bit into more of a lead approach. But again, it's tasteful. It still holds tight to the melodic aspect of things instead of just shredding along.
As I mentioned earlier, Martin is a composer at heart. He wants that balance to naturally be there, and he's able to really put it together so the entire thing is incredibly balanced dynamically.
Some of the keys he uses have a voice/choir sound to them, and I think this adds a little something extra to the song in terms of its aesthetic.
The percussion throughout the track is pretty light but has elements of building along with the intensity of the song in different segments.
For example, towards the end of the song where Martin is playing more lead-solo-style guitars, the percussion is built up, and you hear more going on.
Of course, this is because Martin is someone who knows how to build a song to a more climactic point.
This was all beautifully written and the song does have this sort of graceful style to it come again bringing the elements of orchestrated instrumentation both natural and digital, along with some of the jazzy guitar work, and it's a brilliant combination because it all has the same vibe.
It's a wonderfully robust atmosphere and it's easy to get engulfed but it feels good.
Upon listening to this track, I took a little bit of a deep dive into Martin's catalog on Spotify, and have come across some amazing works.
One of which is really new and it's called "Beach Street Boogie".
This is a more invasive Jam that is based around Rock more than anything else.
It still has a brightness, but the energy levels are completely different. There is a vivaciousness to this one that I really enjoyed as well.
You can clearly tell that Martin has a blast recording his stuff. It feels like he's in his own world, laying down tracks and is sort of free from the world.
Others like 'March of Seti" bring out more of the cinematic feel and have a bit of a darker overtone in terms of their melody and riffs, but this is because Martin is obviously influenced by film.
I would not only suggest checking out "Living In My Dreams" as a sort of introduction to his work. But if you dig that song, you're going to love a lot of his stuff.
Guitar players will obviously be into it, but people who also love the cinematic, soundtrack, and score-style stuff will dig this as well.
Absolutely don't miss this.
Take a deep dive into this one and remember where you heard it first.
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