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While Rona's output for mainstream score collectors may be somewhat limited, his connection to Hans Zimmer dating back to the 1990's is perhaps his best known affiliation in the industry. Like others affiliated with Zimmer and the then legally crumbling (and soon to be renamed) Media Ventures organization, Rona is an artist very familiar with the integration of electronic samples, orchestral elements, and the lending of his own performing talents to the equation. Rona was faced with a difficult task for Traffic: The Miniseries; while the idea of treating the mass of the music with mere atmosphere was the primary concern, Rona also had to bypass the pitfalls of writing worldly music, avoiding droning tendencies and elevating the score's usefulness in this adaptation. To this end, he succeeded in walking that tightrope. His score definitely establishes itself as a piece that is meant to create powerful tension in the gut. In nearly every cue, a very heavy, dreamy bass, usually established with drawn-out keyboarding, rumbles the environment with unease. Slapping, scrappy percussion often accompanies the faster moments, and with deliberate distortion introduced throughout, memories of Martinez's film score are bound to arise. Where Rona departs from that sound, however, is in his ability to maintain the same disruption of calm while also inserting just enough flavor to make the music both varied and interesting. These distinctions bring both the score's best and worst attributes to light, making Rona's work as a whole into a challenging experience of a different sort. But the voice of Mamal Khadem, who Zimmer fans will immediately recognize from The Peacemaker (for which the album was prepared by Rona), makes several vocal performances of elegance in this work, and along with a duduk, saz, and Rona's own woodwind performances, you'll encounter quite a few memorable moments. There isn't noteworthy thematic development in Traffic: The Miniseries, but through these elements of diversity, the score does feature some shining cues, "The Bus Home" and "Through the Pass" most obviously. Conversely, intentionally distorted cues, such as "Foot Chase" and "Cityscape," present awkward keyboarding and sound effects that are difficult to casually appreciate. Overall, the album for this score is lengthy and contains about ten minutes of strong highlights, another twenty of interesting material, and several cues that are closer to Martinez's line of droning underscore. It's intriguing but inconsistent.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Total Time: 70:36