H.Scott Salinas & Jackson Greenberg - Cartel Land (2015)

Cartel Land is a 2015 documentary film directed by Matthew Heineman. With unprecedented access, CARTEL LAND is a riveting, on-the-ground look at the journeys of two modern-day vigilante groups and their shared enemy – the murderous Mexican drug cartels. In the Mexican state of Michoacán, Dr. Jose Mireles, a small-town physician known as “El Doctor,” leads the Autodefensas, a citizen uprising against the violent Knights Templar drug cartel that has wreaked havoc on the region for years. Meanwhile, in Arizona’s Altar Valley – a narrow, 52-mile-long desert corridor known as Cocaine Alley – Tim “Nailer” Foley, an American veteran, heads a small paramilitary group called Arizona Border Recon, whose goal is to stop Mexico’s drug wars from seeping across our border. Filmmaker Matthew Heineman embeds himself in the heart of darkness as Nailer, El Doctor, and the cartel each vie to bring their own brand of justice to a society where institutions have failed. CARTEL LAND is a chilling, visceral meditation on the breakdown of order and the blurry line between good and evil. The score is composed by H. Scott Salinas & Jackson Greenberg.

The album runs about 48 minutes and start with ‘The Cook’ and right away I feel like I am in Mexico. The use of guitar was a must, to get that authentic feel. It’s a somber cue, very reflective. There’s a ticking noise in the background like a clock or even a bomb which is interesting. The theme itself isn’t memorable, but it sets the mood perfectly. ‘Border Patrol’ starts differently with a nice ambient synth montage. It expands into more thriller territory with percussion and bass, but it’s the ambient synths that is in control and I like it. ‘Vigilantism 101’ brings back the guitar again, but this time the music is more upbeat then the opening cue. It’s a lovely mood though. It’s an interesting mix of soft ambient cues and a more Mexicana flavoured style so far. ‘What Would You Do?’ is taking the ambient approach but adds a nice electronica beat to it in the second half. This excites me. ‘Birth Of The Autodefensas’ is a powerful action cue ruled by ostinatos and the energy gets to me. This is great. This is turning out to be a pretty great listening experience. ‘Apo Rising’ is starting off like any action cue, but in the second half comes a wave of emotions with soft guitar, ambience and a great theme.

It’s been a great experience listening to this score. There are a lot of ways they could have approached the score, but I feel that the mix is really good. There’s some obvious Mexican inspired cues and then there’s a number of soft ambient cues and even some electronica and some action. I definitely enjoyed this. -Jørn Tillnes