Jonathan Murdick
About

Music that tells the story.

Music without a narrative is like a 3D-printed cake: visually striking but ultimately unsatisfying.

Jonathan Murdick is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer whose passion for storytelling through music sets him apart in the world of contemporary composition. From the beginning of his musical journey, he has been driven by the desire to craft pieces that not only sound impressive but also convey compelling stories.

Several pivotal moments inspired Jonathan to pursue music, particularly film scoring. His first major inspiration came from Mahler's Second Symphony, a classical piece that moved him so profoundly he decided then and there to one day write his own symphony. The second influence was Lil Yachty's 2023 album Let’s Start Here, an experimental psychedelic rock project that defied genre conventions and encouraged Jonathan to blend classical elements with other genres. Finally, the film scores of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Oppenheimer, released in the summer of 2023, captivated him with their experimental and classical approaches, respectively. Watching these stories be emphasized even more through music convinced Jonathan to make film scoring and composition his primary focus.

Jonathan's debut album, NYC 4023, exemplified his storytelling approach. The record traced the emotional journey of a character who begins with optimism, suffers the crushing loss of his family, and ultimately finds renewed hope and purpose. His 2024 album Generations served as a thematic prequel to NYC 4023, exploring cycles of trauma, memory, and healing through a soundscape that merged orchestral and electronic elements. That same year, Jonathan expanded into film work, scoring the short film Aman, where he brought his emotionally immersive style to the story’s themes of displacement and quiet resilience.

Building on these foundations, Jonathan released Emotional in 2025, a collaborative album with singer-songwriter Ella Cea. Alongside his solo releases, he has built strong creative partnerships, most notably with Ella Cea, and with Brazilian composer and producer Jago Prates on experimental and genre-blending works that stretch the boundaries of ambient and cinematic music.

The path

Timeline

  1. 2023

    NYC 4023

    Debut album — a character’s journey from optimism, through loss, to renewed hope.

  2. 2024

    Generations

    A thematic prequel: cycles of trauma, memory and healing in orchestral and electronic sound.

  3. 2024

    Aman

    First film score — displacement and quiet resilience, led by violin.

  4. 2025

    Emotional

    A collaborative album with Ella Cea, one feeling per track.

  5. 2025

    Pickles

    First film written and directed — a story told without dialogue.

What shaped it

Influences

Mahler’s Second Symphony

The piece that made him decide to one day write his own symphony.

Let’s Start Here — Lil Yachty

A genre-defying 2023 album that encouraged blending classical with everything else.

Spider-Verse & Oppenheimer

The summer-2023 scores — one experimental, one classical — that made film scoring the focus.

Label

2% Records

2% Records is a music label and support platform for the many talented artists who haven’t yet been discovered, offering guidance, professional mixing and mastering, and a platform to showcase their sound.

  • Co-founder & CEO, 2% Records
  • Former Music Director & Social Media Manager, Revive Music