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By Gary C. Devilles, Correspondent
Like the troubadours of yore and the romantic
poets today, renowned pop-jazz artist Julia Fordham reminds us once
again of our myths and ideals about love, warning us of what love
may cost, and promising us of the grandeur love brings. This season
of romance, Ayala Malls brings Fordham to the Philippines in a rare
concert series.
Fordham has recently completed her tenth
album, China Blue, which marks a high point in her 20-year career.
“I started at 16,” she says, “joining bands and playing music
and dropping out early from school to concentrate on being a
musician.” Her first album, Happy Ever After, was an instant hit.
Listeners all over the world immediately liked her songs since these
captured the essence of the eighties—the enigmatic and flimsy
relationships as expressed in the song Invisible War and the
innocent musing or the reflective stance of people back then in
Where Does The Time Go.
In China Blue, we encounter Fordham
seeking once more an inner dialogue with herself only this time more
cognizant of a world that has changed dramatically. She says this
album speaks of a sense of personal completion and one of the songs
included, titled For You Only For You, strangely articulates this
experience of moving on and taking hold of one’s emotions. As the
song goes, one may cry like a river over and over again for
heartaches. But one should remember that a sea of love runs deep in
veins. The singer intimates that the capacity to love almost always
outweighs the pain of broken relationships and unfulfilled desires.
She echoes what philosopher Roland Barthes said about lovers and
beloved—that the beloved may be privileged to be desired and
adored but ultimately it is the lover who becomes more in touch with
his humanity.
When Fordham was asked about what she
could tell Britney Spears if she will be able to talk to her, she
says she only has sympathy for her. “I would want Britney to run
away from the maddening crowd and the media that constantly make a
circus out of her life. Actually I don’t like to read gossip
magazines especially if the stories in them are painful.” Fordham
understands what it meant to be under the brutal surveillance of a
watchful eye being a public figure herself.
She reminds us not to be overwhelmed by
the world we live in and that despite the “bad hair days” or
what her sister would call as “cake days”, one should be
reminded of the palpable fragility of our existence that is better
spent with someone who really matters as expressed in the songs,
Holiday and I Want To Stay Home With You. Fordham confesses that she
loves the simple things such as afternoon tea with friends and
family at home. “I have this wonderful set of tea cups,” she
volunteers, “and my house is this cozy space with wooden floors
and ceiling, located near a hill I always love to trek.”
The Manila Times asked Julia her reason for
releasing China Blue via NovaTunes, an independent Internet company.
“The world is constantly changing,” Julia opines, “and one
cannot just fight back or ignore such force. We all know that a lot
of recording companies are closing and this is creating a tremendous
pressure over artists to be more creative in terms of marketing.”
The songs in her album can be bought by downloading them.
Regarding the viability of this marketing
strategy, she says that the problem of piracy is one that cannot be
easily solved by simply promoting the original. In the age of
mechanical albeit digital reproduction, the challenge for the artist
is still to be able to sell as this is a source of livelihood
without totally controlling the very instrument of production. After
all, the success of an artist can also be gauged from the
“replicating potential” and “reinterpretation” of his or her
work.
Fordham lauds local singer Nina for doing a very
good job in her rendition of her Love Moves in Mysterious Ways. This
for her is also a measure of an artist’s popularity. Ultimately
for Fordham, such marketing strategy of releasing work through the
Internet is also a philosophical and political conviction on her
part as an artist that strives to be independent with only her
audience in mind. She feels her commitment to music and the people
who love her should not in anyway be hindered by the business aspect
of the music industry.
There are ten songs in this album that tell us
who to love, what to do if betrayed, and how to cope if we fall out
of love. Indeed, we are constantly in love— searching, longing,
losing, and pained by love as the song The World Keeps Spinning
tells us. The hypnotic and seductive poetry of Julia Fordham in this
collection also discloses that despite the overwhelming feeling of
being in love, the world continues to spin beyond the reach of time,
with no finality, but with a future that we can only call an
assurance. One poet says that the heart is a landmine, and in the
Glorietta Mall as Julia Fordham croons everyone with China Blue,
bidding us like lost lovers and absent friends, with a breeze that
sends a sad tune as the song goes, our hearts explode from within.
Catch Julia Fordham live at Ayala Center
Cebu on February 13, 6:30 p.m. and Greenbelt 3 Park on February 15,
8 p.m. For inquiries please call the concierge at Ayala Center Cebu
(032) 231-5342 local 324, and Greenbelt, 757-4853.
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