"Sonic Asylum" is the opening track and namesake composition from Arcoiris Sandoval Sonic Asylum Trio: First Voyage, released in 2018. As the title track, it establishes the artistic identity of Sandoval's trio project, which blends jazz improvisation with contemporary harmonic and rhythmic approaches. The composition is set in D-flat minor with a straight-eighth feel at around 148 beats per minute, creating a driving, intense atmosphere that departs from traditional swing-based jazz. Sandoval delivers an extended piano solo that showcases both her technical facility and her compositional thinking as an improviser. The free-form structure, without a conventional repeated form, gives her the freedom to build a narrative arc that unfolds organically rather than cycling through predictable chord changes. Her playing draws on a wide range of influences, incorporating the harmonic sophistication of post-bop jazz with the rhythmic energy of contemporary music. The trio format allows for a high degree of interplay and spontaneity, with the musicians responding to each other in real time. This track sets the tone for an album that positions Sandoval as a distinctive voice in contemporary jazz, unafraid to blend tradition with experimentation and to forge her own compositional and improvisational path.
