Last week, we received an early Christmas gift from our bossom friends, Al-kaz and Chona Borromeo. In my dropbox were three Christmas songs that they recorded and the best part about it is that we can freely share the songs to everyone. You hear that? EVERYONE!
The songs were Maligayang Pasko, Krismas time na naman and Pasko, pasko, pasko. From what I learned from Al-kaz who arranged, mixed and mastered the songs, Chona wrote all the lyrics, created the melodies, sang the lead vocals and without any reference to the main pitch, recorded all 12 voices that make up the harmony.
All three songs were supposedly part of a Christmas album which will come out in 2014. You read it right, 2014. It takes that long to complete a quality album (even longer for some) especially when you’re swamped with other projects. Aside from live performances, Al-kaz runs their own music production business, Note Line Productions. They have recently released two albums for children – Prophetic lullaby and Ms. Gee & Strutters: Values for Children.
For the meantime, they’re giving away all these three songs for free and you can have them streaming in your own homes (or workplace) , perfect in setting the mood for the holiday season.
Chona is a vocal treat, a seasoned ear-candy
Chona is really such a talented woman, and I’m not just saying that because she’s my friend. This woman has more than 400 original songs in her files and has won “Highly Commended Song Award” for her entry, “Nandito lang ako” in 2004 Himig Handog Song Writing Competition.
Two years later, I came upon a copy of the Ombudsman anti-graft and corruption CD and what do you know, Chona’s song, ‘Simulan natin’ was among those chosen to be included in that album. She was a finalist in that year’s ‘Anti-corruption songwriting competition. I took that CD home with me.
And if you must know, Chona happens to be a Grand Champion in the longest running respected singing competition in the Philippines, Ang Bagong Kampeon. For those who don’t know how that competition went, you need to have won at least 8 out of 10 weeks to get into the finals. And mind you, you really need to have the vocal chops to even get in that show. Regine Velasquez, Kyla, Donna Cruz and Geneva Cruz were just some of the contestants of that show. Anyway, Chona breezed through all 10 and finally bagged the grand prize for that season.
I’ve seen this woman sing live,too. Several years ago, Chona jammed with our band, adding her own twist to Oleta Adams’ ‘Get here’. She’s the type that would bring other vocalists to sit up and pay attention. She had that effect on me.
Here’s a video of Chona singing:
That’s Al-kaz playing acoustic guitar for her. I think this was part of her album, Amara under Synergy Music Corporation
Christmas OPM at its best
My favorite of the three songs they gave me is Krismas time. It just brings out the child in me. My imagination runs with the lyrics. I can picture Filipino families and colleagues getting together, all smiles and gifts in hand, carolers, and food — lots of food! I can’t count anymore how many times I’ve replayed it on my laptop.
Maligayang Pasko, on the other hand, reminds me of Coca Cola ads. It has a yuppie feel to it. And I’m a sucker for smart vocal calisthenics so I fell in love right away to the intricate scaling that Chona did as the song modulated into a different key towards the latter part of the song.
Pasko, pasko, pasko has the same richness in harmony that the other songs have. But this one for me displays a fine balance between simplicity and quality. And Chona’s vocal performance here is flawless. Her vocal quality rises – clear, crisp, beautiful.
What’s great about all three is that Chona and Al-kaz successfully bring into focus Jesus Christ as the central figure of the season while painting an authentic picture of Christmas in Filipino setting and culture.
All three songs may have adapted some current techniques, but they are unmistakably OPM. This holiday season, they definitely take the lead in our playlist.
Here are the songs for you to enjoy. If you want downloadable copies, leave your email ads on the comment thread or ping me and I’ll send them to you for FREE.
Krismas time na naman
Maligayang Pasko
Pasko, pasko, pasko
You can follow the music of Chona Borromeo in Facebook.