Mellow comes of age

An often mistaken presumption is that mellow music or acoustic ballads are as substantial as cotton or soft tissues. But as these 2006 releases from Warner Music Philippines attest, there’s a lot of meat and substance when the right balance and choice of material is put into the mix:

Cafe Bossa by Sitti

In the tradition of such established female artists as Nina, Kitchie Nadal and Barbie Almalbis, Sitti (Katrina Navarro) is Warner’s new contract artist. This young vocalist’s first CD is Cafe Bossa, and it firmly places her in an intelligently arranged, Brazilian-inspired jazz idiom. I would hazard the guess that if Japan can produce mainstream artists working in this idiom, Warner’s thinking is that it’s high time we produce and promote our own.

You have to give credit to executive producer Ricky Ilacad and manager Garrie Trinidad for the choice of material and musical positioning of this 21-year-old warbler who’s a Business Economics graduate from UP. The expected standards such as Girl from Ipanema, One Note Samba, Wave, Bridges, and Mas Que Nada are present and accounted for; but into this mix, some contemporary tunes are given that Brazilian/Filipino treatment. Among others, we find Janis Ian’s At 17, D’Sound’s Tattooed on My Mind, The Lady Wants to Know of Michael Franks, Soft Melody of John Kaizan Neptune and Julia Fordham’s Invisible War. A real gem is the revival of Bong Pinera’s Samba Song. And there’s the ambitious reworking of Close To You and Half A Minute into a medley – yes, it’s Basia channeling the Carpenters through Sitti.

Sitti sings some of the tunes in their original Portuguese, while the Pinera song is in Tagalog. Personally, I’d like to see her stretch a bit more, add texture to her voice, and scat or improve on the rearrangements. But that’s just me, and I can see how it was important to first introduce Sitti within a more accessible setting – as what this CD substantially provides.

It’s comfortable listening and you can’t fault the sound engineering or the tasteful interpretative qualities of her backing band. While this kind of music may never enter our local mainstream, it’s encouraging to see someone take this kind of positioning and imaging. Mishka Adams proved last year that one can survive and be recognized while maintaining a musical identity that’s off the "main road." May Sitti find similar success and recognition for her talent. Sitti was a finalist in the Supahstah contest of MTV last year and can sometimes be seen on The Travel Show on Studio 23. To catch her live gigs, head to Stone House on Wednesdays and Fridays, the Richmonde Hotel on Tuesdays and the Pavilion Hotel (Boulevard lounge) on Thursdays.

Tunog Acoustic 4

This is the fourth in a series that had its infancy during the heyday of the Philippine acoustic music craze. Then, it was Paolo Santos, Nyoy Volante, Nina, Noel Cabangon, Pido and Jimmy Bondoc coming out of our ears. 2006 is a different world, and acoustic music no longer holds sway as the trend. But fortunately for us, that doesn’t mean that the genre or the music can’t produce magic. And this, Warner Music fully recognizes. Compilations work when the selections really mean something and the sequencing of the songs make sense. On these counts, Tunog Acoustic 4 delivers in spades.

The basic formula for these Tunog Acoustic series is to get cuts from several artists, and to make sure the tunes have an acoustic flavor. Some obviously stretch the definition, but with so much good music emanating from the CD, who are we to complain? A stripped down version of Rainbow by South Border, the old classic Muli by Ramon Jacinto (which sounds as fresh as it did decades ago), a version of Himig Natin by Paolo Santos with composer Wally Gonzales sitting in, a cut from Red Clay which is the informal group setting of Pido and Paolo Santos, selections from Kitchie Nadal, Mishka Adams, Nina and Christian Bautista – they all make for strong listening pleasure.

Even the rock bands get into the act with Spongecola, Rivermaya, Stonefree and Sugarfree represented. The Speaks is on board with a special version of its hit single, that has Barbie A. (formerly of Barbie’s Cradle) guesting on vocals. The one discovery I logged with this CD is the excellent Goodbye of Juana.

Bottom line, now that the predilection to gush over anything acoustic has lost favor, it’s good to have these compilations as a reminder to what first drew us to embrace the Unplugged MTV sessions, and the local acoustic craze. Not every song should be stripped down to acoustic guitar and kahon, but when it works, it soars – and the vast majority of these cuts have wings on them. A great effort by Warner Philippines.