Shuffled! Karla Margallo
Shuffled! is a new feature on BPRLive, in which we ask some of our favorite people on the scene to set their mp3 player of choice to random, and tell us about the first few songs that they hear.
Today’s Shuffler: Karla Margallo
Along with her shy eyes and sweet smiles, it’s easy to be fooled by Karla Margallo’s 5-foot frame. But she knocks that picture out with a powerful punch of self-produced songs that raise the bar in pop music delivered by her distinct voice, rich in soulful, mellow tones. Although her songs range from R&B to rock styles for the sake of prosody, they are consistent in sincere poetry, captivating melodies and shades of the blues.
Born in the Philippines, raised in New Jersey, Anna Karla Margallo earned her degree at Berklee College of Music dual majoring in Music Business/Management and Songwriting. Although she’s been singing since she was a baby, performing since she was three, and writing songs since she was 13, Karla thought she was destined to pursue a career in medicine. Fortunately, she had enough passion and drive to realize her responsibility of sharing her gift of music.
Karla’s eclectic art reflects her musical journey. Carrying her little boom box around the house, she grew up listening to Top 40 on the New York City radio stations and looked up to divas like Madonna, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Eventually her musical horizons broadened as she discovered R&B, alternative rock, hip-hop, folk, old-time classics, and jazz and studied classical piano and voice and also contemporary music theory. Today, Karla draws songwriting influences from the mastery of classic tunes and finds inspiration for innovation in current radio hits by top producers.
But Karla’s main muse is simply life:
“Music should move the mind, heart, or feet. And in order to make that honest music, whether you are the performer, the writer or the musician, you must allow yourself to take your knowledge, influences, experiences, and beliefs and naturally express all of those important elements with your performance, compositions or instrument. You can always challenge yourself and try new things. Step out of your comfort zone, but never deny your true self. You don’t have to try too hard to be unique. We naturally are.”
Karla Margallo is not your typical singer-songwriter. For more information on Karla, check out her website: karlamargallo.com.
On to the shuffle…
Can You Believe
Robin Thicke
Ok, I’m a little embarrassed that this song made the list. I was hating when Robin Thicke was all over the airwaves with his hit “Lost Without You.” But I was automatically intrigued when I first heard this song. Who knows what it initially drew me in? It’s like falling in love with someone. You can’t really put your finger on it…why you fall in love with that person. I fall in love with songs the same way. Lyrics usually don’t stick to me at the first listen, even as a songwriter. The only words I could make out were in the chorus, the title, “can you believe?” And it was a great question to reflect on, even coming from a song from a Top 40 artist…music that I try not to listen to anymore because it’s usually full of junk now.
With fear and doubt being my worst enemies in life, especially now, slowing me down to almost the point of paralyzation… the song couldn’t have had better timing.
Not to mention after the chorus got my attention, the first line of the second verse was like a paper cut: “See, the person I love the most is so far away tonight.” And I was then convinced that this song was the story of my life. Weird coincidence. But hey, Mr. Thicke did a good job if I can be personally touched by his song. Ok, I should give him more credit. He’s a pretty successful songwriter. And now it’s his time to shine. I’ll stop hating!
Sakayan
Pinikpikan
This entire album was one of the first cool music experiences I had when I went to Berklee College of Music. My friend had a mini listening party in her apartment to choose a song from her collection of CDs because we were invited to perform at a cultural show at Boston University for the very first time. I fell in love with the album so much I bought one for myself. Although we debuted with another great song from the album, the Filipino Club at Berklee ended up performing “Sakayan” a year later.
The band Pinikpikan mixes Eastern and Western musical elements into this fascinating fusion. Why don’t other artists from the Philippines take pride in their indigenous music and do the same? This album, and especially this song, inspired me to write a song that fused pop music and the beat from my favorite Muslim dance. I hope to learn more about the music from my motherland and help spread the Philippines’ colorful sound.
Forget Regret
The RH Factor
This totally started out as a make-out song (I hope my parents don’t read this)! I seriously wanted to stop what I was doing when I first heard this song. It instantly captivated me. Every time it plays I get this breathless feeling. Every time. No joke. I think I had this song on repeat during a four-hour bus ride. Maybe it’s partly because I attached pretty strong emotions to this song. But for the most part, it’s truly an audible painting of a confession and profession of love. And daym, doesn’t that groove just make you wanna nod your head in agreement?
Rock Me
Liz Phair
I’m not a Liz Phair fan, but this song is so awesome. I heard this song when I worked retail at Express. It was on the in-store CD. It’s so catchy! I couldn’t resist! After having some downtime to really listen to the song, I remember going up to one of my coworkers, totally amused by this song, and saying “Did you know that this song is about having an affair with a much younger guy?” Of course she didn’t care for it like I did. I can’t say I relate to it. But I do suddenly have the urge to rock out whenever I hear it…so I guess it moves me in a way. Haha! It’s a clever song, and the production is genius.
Bibo No Aozora
Ryuichi Sakamoto
This composition that seems so simple was the score behind the final scene of the movie Babel, one of my favorite movies. If that movie or this song doesn’t move you, then you’re not human. I saw the movie twice and cried my eyes out both times once the song started playing. The message I got from the movie and the song were so strong the first time, I needed a couple minutes to calm down after the credits rolled.
This is how I interpret the song: The piano is a world (not necessarily the planet, but life, the atmosphere, a community, a business, a relationship, a system, etc.) and the strings represent communication, in harmony and then in dissonance. And their dissonance, or miscommunication, eventually has a negative affect on a world. Even if they try to return to harmony the damage is already done. It can be a conversation between two countries, two strangers, or a husband and a wife. It’s a universal theme.
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