By Keith Walsh
In the brand-new soundtrack to the documentary film Blood Of The Ancient Vine (2024), directed by Edwin and Julie Brochin, composer Roberto Montoya and his colleagues explore the folk and classical musical styles of Portugal and Spain, while bringing in elements of the experimental rock tradition he’s most accustomed to working within. Under the brand Icons Of Industry, Montoya is joined by João Ferreira Martins on hurdy gurdy and other stringed instruments, José Pedro Lima on Spanish guitar, and Nuno Silva on the kanun, tar, oud and adufe, all Arabic instruments. The album is a fully collaborative effort between the four musical artists, and Lima and Martins are Montoya’s co-composers on several of the traditionally-styled tunes. (My interview with Montoya is here).

Amazing Grapes, How Sweet The Sound
The tunes on The Blood Of The Ancient Vine Original Motion Picture Soundtrack are alternately celebratory, reflective, traditional and experimental, characterizing all the depth of wine’s bittersweet nature, and the complexities of the winemaking trade’s history in the Iberian Peninsula, particularly Portugal. The film itself has lots of dialogue in the second half when historian Carlos Evaristo gets deep into details including fascinating arcane stuff about the Knights Templar, the medieval use of wine as a religious sacrament and medicine, and as a substance forbidden because it weakened soldiers, rendering them unable to defend their Iberian homeland.

Mixed in with the historical tales, there’s plenty of humor, as Evaristo plies Edwin, who gets progressively inebriated on esoteric vintages, including a 1445 recipe from the Castle Of Ourem (the former Royal House Of Portugal) and a cup from another actual bottle (not only a recipe) from the era of the Napoleonic invasions of Portugal in 1807.

Montoya’s soundtrack features pristine production of new compositions in authentic styles, which in addition to the flamenco Spanish guitar tunes (‘Guitarra con Palmas’, ‘Bulerías Ligeras’), fados, bulerías and rumbas, but with occasional experimental flourishes in production techniques and choice of instrumentation (‘Pensativo,’ ‘Rumba De Cáliz,’ ‘Bulerías Pesadas’) reflecting Montoya’s rock and roll background. Lovely fado forms portray the jovial nature of nights spent with wine, and a nod to Amália Rodriguez (Retrato De Amália), the famed Portuguese singer who popularized Portuguese songs on the Broadway stages of the U.S. in the 1950s, captures the mix of melancholy, nostalgia, and joy characteristic of the fado style.

Iberian Blood
In our brand-new interview, Montoya tells me how the process of creating the soundtrack brought him closer to his roots: “It’s interesting because I have both Spanish and Portuguese ancestry so I have Iberian roots but never tapped into that music until I started working on this film. I plan to continue developing that aspect of my playing and perhaps include it in some other projects.”

Recordings for The Blood Of The Ancient Vine Original Motion Picture Soundtrack began in Montoya’s Texas-based studio, with the other three collaborating remotely from Silva’s studio in Portugal. Montoya “The composing was a joint effort between me and the other musicians,” Montoya adds. “I wrote a few of the pieces from start to finish but the more traditional ones like the fados and flamenco were written by João and José Pedro. I provided guidance for mood and tempo but for the score to have real authenticity, each of us had to bring our specialties and strengths to the music. My intention was to honor the authenticity of Iberian music but use experimental elements to make it original and contemporary.”

Featuring much more of the music than the film, the soundtrack captures and magnifies the beauty and mysteries of the Iberian Peninsula from the 14th century to the present day, through a celebration of winemaking. It is a brilliant accomplishment, one we give our highest recommendation.

The electronic elements on Blood Of The Ancient Vine Original Soundtrack are subdued, though Roberto Montoya works in gospel, rock and electronic genres from his home in Texas. Filmmaker Brochin is a winemaker, as well as a multi-award winning television and film producer based in Florida. He and Montoya have been friends since middle school, and previously collaborated on one of Brochin’s television productions. Brochin’s most recent films are Spirit Of The Bull and Falconer 2.

Official Trailer For ‘Blood Of The Ancient Vine’
‘Blood Of The Sacred Vine’ IMDb
Edwin Brochin On IMDb
Roberto Montoya On IMDb 
Official Dot Com
IndieFEST 2024
Icons Of Industry On Facebook

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