In psychology, there’s a recurring idea that “the psyche is image.” Every thought that drifts through our mind is painted, sculpted, also composed. Each mental scene carries the transcendental, divine hue of poetry. It’s fascinating, then, that “Floating gold”—an ambient, nearly 70-minute odyssey of psychedelic textures—finds its inspiration in an unexpected place: the waiting line for Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It’s a reminder that no matter what we’re doing, even standing in line, our minds weave everything into poetry.

In the album’s press release, Vince Cuneo—the composer and guitarist behind Portraits of Pirates—reflects, “My favorite part about music is that it reflects the life of an artist at that specific moment.” This statement takes on greater resonance when we consider how this album was conceived: in those moments of immobility and expectancy, waiting for a theme park ride in this case. 

While cinema might interpret such a scene with impatience or the oppressive sense of time slipping away, Portraits of Pirates reframes it as a space of introspection and discovery. Cuneo’s music suggests that anyone might find their own sense of enlightenment, even amid Disneyland’s orchestrated chaos. Listening, I can’t help but imagine that one might become a Buddha in Disneyland, the Nirvana unshaken even by the adrenaline of a nearby rollercoaster.

The attraction that sparked this vision is fitting: Pirates of the Caribbean. A lifelong enthusiast of all things piratical, This fascination birthed the Portraits of Pirates project, with Floating Gold as its debut release. And it is, indeed, an album that captures the sea’s essence. 

The sound drifts slowly on a grand scale, like gazing at the immovable blue horizon, while on the micro-level, it teems with activity—waves of sound clashing in an organic, fluid harmony. 

This is particularly compelling given the album's subject matter: rather than drawing from the sea shanties or eight shaped rhythms one might expect of pirate-themed music, Floating Gold offers us something elemental and timeless. We hear not only the sea but its treasures: gleaming metals, elusive discoveries, all shimmering just at the water's surface. This way, as listeners, we’re invited to take on the role of the pirate ourselves, steering toward whatever mental shores we choose. Listening becomes an act of navigation; our attention, the helm. In this sense, the album embodies the essence of psychedelia itself (from the Greek “psyche” meaning “soul” and “delos” meaning “manifestation”). With every track, Cuneo captures and reveals the soul of a pirate—not through bombast but through the subtlety and splendor of sound.

Author: Martín Cacho

Martín is a video game composer, producer and writer from Sonora, México.