Draft:Jonathan Alexander Hurtado

Born in 2001, Jonathan Alexander Hurtado was raised on an orchard in California's Central Valley. He began his musical journey as a classical pianist studying in his hometown of Fresno, California at the age of 7. Participating in piano competitions, events, and evaluations in musical theory over the next ten years, Jonathan was constantly surrounded by the works of great classical composers such as Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, and J.S. Bach. In his childhood, he took a great interest in punk rock including artists like Green Day, All American Rejects, and Third Eye Blind while listening to orchestral works and movie scores. Split between worlds of music, Jonathan found great interest in composition and production and began writing classical pieces for the solo piano. In the 8th grade, Jonathan entered his middle school jazz band and began a new journey of understanding the piano less technically. Attending a school where different musical ensembles were available, Jonathan studied instruments in marching band, drum line, and theater. During this time, he was exposed to many more electronic and alternative artists which widened his musical taste including artists such as AWOLNATION, Imagine Dragons, and Woodkid. Jonathan attended concerts within the alternative and 90's rock scenes which continued to develop his love for production and composition.

In high school, he embraced the role of a DJ and dove into pop and hip-hop while implementing metal and alternative rock into sets he would perform at events. This exposure catalyzed his journey in production audio and his interest in developing himself as an artist. Jonathan was still refining himself as a classical pianist and his musical understanding was becoming well-rooted in many genres. He joined percussion ensembles and concert bands at his school where he learned technique in bass guitar, synthesizers, marching snare, and mallet percussion all while taking up instruction in acoustic guitar and the drum set. Jonathan continued to create many pieces of work in his solo artistry diving into folk, classical, lo-fi, hip-hop, and electronic genres due to his wide musical range. He began to release such work under the alias "The Shadow Party" in the Spring of 2017 and officially released his first of many demo albums "Printemps" during this time. By the time Jonathan completed high school, he was a well-refined musician of many instruments and obtained a thorough knowledge of music theory and technique. At this point, Jonathan had released many demos of his work which bridged the gaps over all of the genres he had studied and has been exposed to. Acquiring hardware from Roland's Synth and Aria Technology such as the System-8, Tr-8, and JDXI, he could apply all of his compositional knowledge and training to his music through the lens of the electronic synthesis in which Roland exists. Jonathan continued to refine himself as a well-trained musician and in his identity as an artist.

In 2019 Jonathan enrolled in California Baptist University's School of Music in the Music Studio Production and Commercial Performance Majors and thoroughly studied the art of piano in 50s, 60s, and 70s R&B and Soul music and surrounded himself with work by Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Otis Redding. Jonathan trained in Organ performance and learned the nuance and feeling that exceeded that of classical piano. He was able to accomplish more music by implementing these genres into his catalog and taking up musical experimentation with his growing production studio and equipment. Jonathan has since relocated to Riverside, California, departed from the School of Music, and has established his own recording and sound design studio "Amants Sans Peur Sight & Sound" where the future of The Shadow Party is defined. Jonathan creates the world of The Shadow Party through experimental sound design and acoustic recording through a digital lens, creating a sound capturing moments existing in many genres, and without genre.