Tricia Garcia's Kulay Album Launch

Tricia Garcia

During these times when I think that the Philippine music scene has become too homogenized with numerous acts sounding the same thanks to autotune, I very much welcome to the scene, Tricia Garcia, a refreshing, easy listening jazz artist who recently released her debut album called Kulay which translates to color. And true to her album’s name, Tricia’s presence and music provide a much needed splash of other color to the local recording industry.

The album under MCA Music features nine songs (two covers and seven originals) in two versions meaning that there are eighteen tracks in total. The nine songs are first presented in its Vibrant version which features a full band accompaniment while acoustic versions of the songs follow suit in the Pastel section of the album. The carrier single of the album is a cover of Tabing Ilog which was originally done by the band Barbie’s Cradle.

While the album featured two versions of the songs, a third version (which I’d like to call Radiant) was heard during her recent album launch held at Gweilos in Makati. Tricia, accompanied by a three piece band, treated the audience with a more upbeat and electrifying versions of the songs from her album. An example is the song Tubig which had a touch of reggae during the live performance compared to the more relaxed album versions. I think that this is reason enough to check out her live performances as well.

I’m usually averse to cover versions yet I do understand the strategy behind them. I’m more pleased that originals in Filipino (which is a rarity) dominate the tracks in Kulay and I do hope that the listeners would respond positively to them like I did. Tricia Garcia is indeed a promising young artist whose debut album Kulay offers a unique musical palette. This album is a welcome addition in further diversifying the music industry making it more vibrant and exciting.

Catch more of Tricia when she opens for The Wild Swans on October 1, 2011 at One Esplanade and for Lenka on October 9, 2011 at the World Trade Center. Tabing Ilog is also available as a ringback tone by texting ILOG to 2728 for Smart subscribers, KK196 for Globe subscribers and 5492283 for Sun subscribers.

Kulay

Tracks:

Vibrant

1. Tabing Ilog

2. Ako’y sa Yo. At Ika’y Akin Lamang

3. Tubig

4. Sa Iyo Lang

5. Tara

6. Dito Lang Ako

7. Walang Salita

8. Sana Naman

9. Mamahalin Kita

Pastel (Acoustic Versions)

10. Tabing Ilog

11. Ako’y sa Yo. At Ika’y Akin Lamang

12. Tubig

13. Sa Iyo Lang

14. Tara

15. Dito Lang Ako

16. Walang Salita

17. Sana Naman

18. Mamahalin Kita