About Kitchie
Reading Love Lette
By Ian Magallona
1/20/10
What does one make out of an album with a title like “Love Letter?”
Kitchie Nadal’s second album (third if you include the five-song CD Drama Queen TV) is a far cry from her self-titled first album. Gone are the hard-hitting rock guitars, and with it the “in-your-face” lyrics. Love Letter is, arguably, more mature because of its introspective feel and its piercing metaphors. In some instances, like in “Takipsilim,” one has to dig deeper because it feels like it is telling something more than telling the story of a few kids playing hide-and-seek. And don’t get me started on the song “Love Letter.” I have yet to figure out what it’s about. There was a time when I think I’m getting what the lyrics are talking about, then suddenly it shows an aspect that just doesn’t fit with what I had in mind. But as my friend Mari Arquiza once pointed out, sometimes it’s not about the meaning of the lyrics, but about the effect of the song. Thus, whenever I would listen to the song “Love Letter,” I just let it take me to its surreal environs where “With all the alibis and dandelioned skies, I danced across the floor with no corner to hide.”
But not all songs in Love Letter are metaphorical puzzles or surreal paintings in song. Some are pretty straightforward, and heavily emotional in their simplicity. One such example is “Tadhana” which could probably be every brokenhearted person’s theme song. The song “In a Big Way” Kitchie’s collaboration with the Dutch band Insight, is another such straightforward song.
One distinctive quality of Love Letter is that it is thematically spiritual. Not just in a feel-good, all-praise kind of spiritual. As she did in her album Kitchie Nadal, Kitchie again shows the different aspects of spirituality, some of which some Christians would rather not talk about: walking by faith in the dark, God as shepherd, grace amidst failure and sin, deception by false teachers, support of fellow believers, among others.
It was about four years after Kitchie’s debut album that she came out with Love Letter. Personally, it was worth the wait, though it also means waiting yet again before Kitchie comes out with her next collection of songs that are manifestations of her divinely inspired genius.
Photo by Ernie Pena
Hailed for her beautifully haunting vocals and songwriting strength, Kitchie Nadal continues to expand her fan base with new songs from her recently released album entitled LOVE LETTER.
Kitchie’s massive popularity in the pop rock niche grew after releasing the hit single, “Huwag na Huwag Mong Sasabihin,” from her first album KITCHIE NADAL. The album has since achieved double platinum status (over 80,000 copies sold) and hailed as one of the most successful albums released by a Filipino female artist. Kitchie’s exceptional songwriting skills was duly recognized by local Philippine networks, who tapped her to create the TV themes of several popular soaps like I Luv New York, Rounin and Majika. She has also appeared in several tribute albums for legendary musicians in the Philippine scene.
In 2005-2007, Kitchie began touring outside the country, spreading her music to places as far as Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, India, Sydney, Qatar, Canada, Taiwan and the United States. It was a two-way process, and Kitchie accounts her current sound to the vast cultural influences encountered in her travels. Kitchie has began releasing song samples to international listeners, and receiving outstanding feedback and reviews. Her songwriting has been described as “agonizingly beautiful” and her songs “completely flawless.” The young musician continues to do live gigs in the Philippines, while also collaborating with both local and foreign artists.
At present, Kitchie on an international Love Letter tour since June 2009. She has travelled from Jordan, Sweden, Norway, France, Denmark, Dubai, New York and Toronto. She continues to amaze the audience with her voice and songwriting.
check out kitchie’s old website
http://www.kitchienadal.com/bio.htm
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Singer-songwriter KITCHIE NADAL splashed into the Philippine music scene in 2004, and she hasn’t stopped making waves since then. The moment her first single “Huwag Na Huwag Mong Sasabihin” from her self-titled debut album was released, listeners were hooked. It wasn’t long before the song was ruling the airwaves. The album has since achieved double-platinum status. Four years later, Nadal’s popularity continues to grow as she makes a comeback with her highly-anticipated sophomore album Love Letter. Currently, she is relentlessly being tapped to compose theme songs for various TV shows, commercial endorsements (Bayo, McDonald’s, Caltex), and most recently, the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Recognized by a number of prestigious award-giving bodies (MTV [Asia, Philippines, Ayos!], PARI Awit Awards, Aliw Awards), Nadal’s versatility and ability as a singer-songwriter are indisputable. Speaking to us in musical poetry, she shines with a beauty so painfully bright that it’s blinding.
As you take in Nadal’s music as she bares her profound soul, it becomes impossible not to lose oneself and be enchanted. It feels powerful being alive again. It becomes clear that Nadal makes no apologies about the sound she has dared to make and words she has chosen to put together- whether she speaks of love, life, or all that is in between. Here you’ll find themes that may be too close for comfort, but the same honesty has also never felt so comfortable.
Most captivating of all is Nadal’s boldness to first sing for and to the Greatest Musician of all, whose glory never ends. It’s a testimony made that echoes into all eternity. Few times in life do we come across an artist whose heart seems to mirror that of our own while simultaneously remaining an elusive mystery. It is this haunting quality about Nadal that keeps us coming back for more. Her music is so compelling that it’s not possible to listen to such alluring substance and come out the same person. Time has left you alone and before you know it, the rarity of the uplifting sound and refreshing words such as Nadal’s have changed you and have become your anthem. The words of this life start to rhyme and heaven begins to make sense.
Far be it from one to say that they took it in without warning or that they were ready for a sound such as this. Love Letter boasts of an incredible range of material, showcasing Nadal’s growth and maturity as an artist. “I want to share the grace I have received. I want my new album to be life-changing,” Nadal says. The album features collaborations with producer Jack Rufo, co-writer of the song “Tadhana; Cynthia Alexander, producer of the song “Iniibig Kita”; Luc Middledorp of Europe-based band “Insight” wrote and produced the song “In a Big Way”; and Akshai Sarin,co-writer and producer of the song “Walk on Water”. Love Letter kicks off with “Wide Awake”, introducing us to a new digital domain embracing programming and loops, a sound distinctively and refreshingly different from Nadal’s debut record. The album boasts of several more tracks with a similar sound (“Lala Land”, “Love Letter”), yet it impressively remains all too human with Nadal’s vocals on center stage. “You are the highest Way, the Truth, and the Life… there is no other road for me now,” Nadal sings on “Highway”, the song that brought her to South Africa as an endorser for multinational gas company Caltex. She goes on to tell us of the direction she’s chosen to take in her second single “Grace”, singing “Grace, grace, grace… I surrender to your embrace.” Apparently, Nadal has found grace in choosing to surrender and the peace in her soul clearly manifests itself in tracks like “Armour Bearer”, and “Beautiful Jesus”. Of course, guitar-driven, soul-deep melodies such as “Tadhana” and “Unconditional Love” are not absent on this record, highly reminiscent of the songster we all fell in love with four years back.
Nadal is the type of musician who can fascinate you with her arresting renditions of popular cover songs one minute, and leave you floored with her original compositions the next. You cannot put limits or confines to an artist such as Kitchie — whether she’s headlining a concert or doing a gig at a local bar, this pop-alternative crooner never fails to deliver. The best part is, Nadal’s intention for her music was never to please the world, but she managed to do so anyhow. Her latest single talks of “Grace”– and truly, there could not be a word more apt to describe her sound and soul which she has so selflessly shared with us… it’s unmerited favor. In this journey called life, there’s one thing we can be certain of. Wherever Kitchie Nadal chooses to take us, the destination will be beautiful.
-Pauline Yao, 2008
Awards
- PARI 18th Awit Awards (2005)[6]
- Best Performance by a Female Recording Artist (Huwag Na Huwag Mong Sasabihin)
- Best Ballad (Huwag Na Huwag Mong Sasabihin)
- 2005 Aliw Awards[7][8][9]
- Most Promising Entertainer of the Year (Female)
- Best Performance in a Concert (Female)
- MTV Pilipinas Video Music Awards 2005
MTV Ayos! Award for Chart Attack Song of the Year(Huwag Na Huwag Mong Sasabihin)[10] - 18th Nickelodeon Channel Kid’s Choice Award for Pinoy Wannabe (2005)[11]
- MTV Asia Awards 2006 – nominated Favourite Artist, Philippines
- The MTV Pilipinas Video Music Awards 2006
Favorite Female Artist in a Video for “Fire”[12] - PARI 20th Awit Awards (2007)[13]
- Best Song Written for Movie/TV/Stage Play (“Majika”)
