CD Review: Speaking to the soul
April 22, 2009By: Jennifer O. Cuaycong | Business World
21 July 2006
“Driftwood Traveling“
Girl Valencia
My son’s nanny found me, on a heap of pillows, sobbing quietly. She tapped me lightly on one arm, whispered in my ear, and asked me gently if I were all right. “Oh, yes,” I said softly. “I was just listening to Girl Valencia.”
So amazingly evocative are the songs in Driftwood Traveling that on another occasion, I was seized with the urge to send a mushy SMS to my youngest sister. My sister called me at once, surprised at receiving a rather sentimental message in the middle of a working day. “Oh, nothing, really,” I replied, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. “I was just listening to a song and it reminded me so much of us. Have you heard of Girl Valencia?” And as it turns out, in one of those weird but happy coincidences, she had. Ma. Theresa Valencia, better known as Girl, was a college batchmate (Ateneo de Manila University, Class of 1993).
The week I devoted solely to Driftwood Traveling, I was feeling a little under the weather and was not, in any shape or form, fit to trawl the record bars or my favorite musical resources to do additional research. I simply made do with my senses, relying completely on gut feel and raw reactions. I wrote in long hand as I listened, though, I have to admit, there were times when I had to pause and stifle the emotions choking at my throat. It was quite an exhilarating experience.
Thus, I listened to Driftwood Traveling without any preconceived notions, biases, or prejudices. Not being a regular patron of the lounge circuits, I simply didn’t have a clue that Ms. Valencia had been singing professionally for the last 10 years in popular hotel lounges in the metropolis. Neither did I have an inkling that, during the same span, she had made a name for herself as a songwriter, having won, among others, the UNESCO Peace Prize of Excellence in 1995 with her song “Breaking Barriers.” Moreover, I never connected Ms. Valencia to The Christmas Fireflies, a National Book Award honoree in the Children’s Book Category for 2004. Apparently (and unhappily), I am one of the last in the planet to know of her.
Ironically, for one who has lived and breathed in literature and music for so long, she has never had an album of her own. It simply wasn’t time, it seemed. And so, Driftwood Traveling was an idea — nay, a dream — incubated over the last 10 years, and hatched only when the time was right. That time is now.
Still, despite my ignorance, it isn’t hard at all to get into the groove of Girl Valencia. For one, she seems to have the uncanny ability to read my mind at every track and turn of her debut album. Original, musical, and lyrical, Driftwood Traveling brims with an abundance of emotions written in allegories of travel. At every corner of the country she has traveled to, Ms. Valencia draws out rich remembrances of the country she loves and transforms it into thoughtful, touching ballads. While listening to all eight vocal tracks (and four instrumentals), I kept muttering under my breath, “Hey, this one’s speaking to me,” until the next song comes along and I hear myself repeating the same line. Then, too, it’s difficult not to like anyone who can write thought-provoking songs and interpret these with remarkable vocal clarity and beautifully unforced tones.
That she can meld poetry and music speaks so much of genuine talent, a scarce commodity in these days of re-hauling and recycling decades-old songs. The nuances in her songs are meticulously elegant, the melodies even more so. The instrumentals that form the back-bone of the songs are simple yet striking, arranged with utmost delicacy and sophistication; taken together, both lyrical content and melody form a strongly knit, cohesive theme. With the piano and violin as major accompaniments, Ms. Valencia’s performances display a lovely succession of melodic ebbs and flows that induce a mood of tranquil introspection.
Girl Valencia possesses a smoky voice that can alternately be husky and warm or light and buoyant. From low, whispering tones filled with lushness and richness, her vocals ascend to grab at higher notes without strain. Years of performing have apparently smoothened whatever imaginary flaws there were in this vocal gem; her voice never wavers off course, never falters off-key, and remains as whole and as surefooted as it started on the first few bars of melody.
In “Underground River” (referring to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River in Palawan), Ms. Valencia unravels to “her naked skin” with no prevarication or evasion. In a metaphorical suggestion of beginning relationships, her velvety voice blossoms from a shy, tentative invitation to the welcoming openness of lovers. And while the element of intimacy remains subtly muted, it nevertheless conjures the avid fervor of romantic love.
In a similar vein, “Whenever,” inspired by the clear blue skies of Cebu, evinces a vivid description of love in full bloom, as does “Sunrise,” an ode to the beauty of Taal at the break of day. Using lyrics that are neither trite nor banal, Ms. Valencia reaches the soulful underpinnings of love and calls to some deeper passion hidden beneath her gentle, calming voice.
“For Better Or Worse,” “My Open Sea And Sky,” and “Wherever I Am” shift to a fragile remembrance of longing. Ms. Valencia’s voice thickens distinctively, as the edges of heart-break seep into the songs. Poignant and melancholic, these songs evoke a sense of anguish over promises not kept and an intense yearning for a bittersweet past.
While Ms. Valencia’s many journeys are reflected in mirrors of romantic love and passion, she documents yet another journey of life in the song “Sisters.” Dedicated to her sisters, she sings of “embraces without goodbyes,” and of an extraordinary kinship found in their love. Beyond familial relations, however, it also speaks of a binding relationship among all women and all daughters of Mother Earth. This song never fails to strike an emotional chord, as a lump forms in my throat every time I hear it.
Ending on an optimistic note, “Driftwood,” the last vocal track of the album, resonates with hope and expectations. At last, the traveler finds a home in the heart of someone she loves (”driftwood I was, no longer to be driftwood”) and, saved from aimless wandering, she finds peace and contentment. Ms. Valencia’s expressive vocals lend the song with graceful refinement, and the listener leaves away with a feeling of serenity.
They call the Philippines a musical country, with its million-and-one singing voices and the beautiful topography that inspires many an artist, Girl Valencia included, to make it his or her muse. However, music and poetry, twin sisters of expressive art, draw much more from memory, from kinship, and from personal histories than from iconic representations of our country’s natural beauty. And while music is in our blood, not all of us can lay claim to the littlest sliver of musical birthright — destined solely for those who possess not merely charisma and talent, but the ancient soul of storytelling as well. This is what Driftwood Traveling eloquently explores, as emotions weave with the memories and stories of many travels. At long last, Girl Valencia has found her voice, and it is beautiful to hear.
Taken from Yehey Website at this link.
