Originally a talented professional painter and landscape architect, Michelle Bond’s venture into music continues to grow bolder with the release of her first EP, “Mi Alma Latina”, released this July. Michellar have released 27 singles in under 11 months, the Filipino, San Francisco-based musician is diving headfirst into making and writing music. Unlike her fast-paced nature, however, the EP features such sensual, luring music that feels as such all the time in the world went into making it.
Similar to her artistic creations, the EP is heavily influenced by her Spanish heritage. Traditional Spanish music alongside America’s long history of Latin pop marks the EP. Her dedication to experimentation and discovery, however, is pushing her beyond generic reproduction of the genre. That is mainly the case due to the tracks’ diversity in style, themes, and music, despite the EP consisting of only 5 tracks.
Collaborating with producer Lloyd Miller of Spirit Song Studios for the EP, Michellar‘s lyrical focus alongside Miller’s dedication to producing positive and meaningful music, with Miller coming from a mainly faith-music background, underlines songs like Ave Maria. The song aims to take the traditional hymn beyond Christian exclusivity, imagining prayer without and beyond specific religions, making the song a mix between a prayer and metatext on what prayer can be.
From there, the EP moves to traditional love songs with “Samba with Me” and “If It’s Only for One Night”, the latter a highlight of the EP. With a Spanish version set for release on the 25th this July, the song’s raw simplicity doesn’t hinder the mix of different cultural influences, between country and 70s/80s Spanish Music reminiscent of Julio Iglesias. Both songs share a certain summer-breeze quality that lovingly passes over the listener, bringing with it a sense of nostalgia to a long-gone time, a quality that can also be appreciated in the EP’s cover painting.
Harmoniously, the remaining tracks cover completely different grounds. “The Deep”, featuring Christina Rntd, is an existential interrogation of the self and an affirmation of freedom with a haunting, determined melody. On the other hand, “California Fields” distantly echoes Eagles’ “Hotel California” in both its musical style and its love-hate relationship with the city and the power it holds over all who enter, while adding a layer of ecological awareness that haunts the song, especially in light of the recent wildfires.
Michellar‘s latest singles have prepared her well for her first EP. Diverse musically and thematically, Michelle also brings to it a history of artistic endeavors that leave their mark on the music’s soulfulness. In this manner, Michellar will prove herself to be as good a musician and songwriter as she is a painter. Light and emotionally sincere, the EP is a fitting soundtrack for our summer nights.
