Moonlight Jones newest Latin-inspired banger

The first thing that comes to mind is the Latin alt-rock anthem "Smooth" from 1999 by Santana and Rob Thomas. That song would go on to become Iconic in its own right, but I can't say that I've heard anything quite like it in a very long time - Enter Moonlight Jones and his newest single “Whatcha Doin To Me”.

Of course, he sounds like Miami, and yeah, it's familiar, but it's also far from a carbon copy with no identity of its own, on the contrary, Jones describes his sound as "Cosmic Soul" and it's a tapestry of influences where he weaves slightly psychedelic Latin Rock elements with Soul, modern R&B, Blues and even Flamenco. The fascinating brew of Jones' creative impulse is catchy, groovy and it stands in very stark contrast to a lot of modern sounds that tend to be on the minimalistic and cold end of the spectrum compared to his busier and more exciting proposal.

Sometime in 2021, Moonlight Jones Partnered with International recording artist and producer Nino Valentino and it wouldn't be too long until the two of them came up with this new fusion genre of that they dubbed "Cosmic Soul", a term that is not so much about the musical stylings and more about the philosophy behind its creation and intent, with Jones saying "Through our music we want to connect with our fans on a universal level, that's what Cosmic Soul is all about. Connecting with each other using our music as the vehicle". Jones and Valentino released their first single earlier in 2022 to great acclaim, The song was called “Hot Night” and it features vocals by Karina Iglesias, a Miami native and finalist on “The Voice”. The track was then mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Sean Moffitt and mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Joe LaPorta.

Proving that lightning does indeed strike twice, Moonlight Jones wrote “Whatcha Doin To Me” with Valentino in the role of producer once again in a continued effort to carve out more and more space for the nascent "Cosmic Soul" sound. The song hits hard on every front, particularly on its impressive electric guitar work that derives so much inspiration from Spanish Flamenco. The song feels almost like a thematic sequel to the previous single and the two blend very well back to back, teasing us for what a whole EP or even album might accomplish. The music video for the release was directed by the iconic David Rousseau of Doozy Films, who seems right at home with Moonlight Jones' vibe after having directed stuff for the likes of Pitbull, Jay Sean, and Afrojack.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Samuel Aponte is Venezuelan-born raised and based. 

I joined Rival Magazine after a few years of doing PR work for independent musicians of all stripes; understanding their struggles to be heard in a sea of constant  ADHD noise and paywalled access to platforms, I now bring a willingness to always appreciate and encourage the effort and creativity that artists put into their work . Can also find some of my writings on LADYGUNN and We Found New Music.