“Sometimes the most poignant songs are the ones that remind us that our own stories are worth remembering, worth sharing and worth celebrating.”
Emmy Gonzales’ From Musings To Melodies Vol. III is a very personal project built around the very simple premise that the things that happen to us in life are things we should remember and that sometimes the best way to remember them is through music. The twelve tracks are all drawn from the experience of love, of friendship, of the memories we have, of the challenges we’ve faced, of the times we’ve been happy and of the people who have had a real impact on us. It’s not really music as entertainment at all, it’s music as a way of expressing emotion. She’s taken her lifetime of writing poetry (she’s been writing since she was a kid) and turned a lot of that into songs, giving her thoughts and feelings a different form that can be shared with others. That’s the basis of the project really, it’s a collection of songs that are born out of observation, memory, affection and the desire to make someone else feel what you’re feeling. The title of the album is very much about that journey, the process of taking the musings and turning them into melody. The track listing is very much a reflection of that, with tracks such as ‘You’re My World” and “Love Unconditionally” suggesting a very deep level of devotion, and tracks like ‘Two Bittersweet Reunions” and “Missing You’ taking us into more reflective territory. There’s also room for celebration and a bit of fun of course with tracks like ‘Happy Birthday Aynslie” and ‘Damn that was a kiss!’ It’s a very much a case of a personal journal, a diary of life, translated into a musical form. Each track is a different person, a different moment, a different feeling that she feels is worth holding onto.
What’s so compelling about the concept is Gonzales’ focus on the people in the memories. “This Song’s For You My Friends” is all about friendship and thanks, “My Forever In A Song” is about the desire to have a lasting connection, “A Memory Entwined” and “Love And Fairytales” bring in memory, romance and fantasy. “Serendipity” is all about the magic of the unexpected and “It’s In His Eyes” is about the unspoken feelings and messages that can be there between two people. You don’t need a single narrative to have a very broad picture of the experience of life as it is lived through the lens of the individual. You have the people you love, the friends you have, the reuniting that brings back the old emotions, the memories that remain. “A song may start as one person’s memory but it becomes a shared thing when another person hears it and finds their own story in it.” That’s the whole point really. It’s not about her life story per se but about giving the listener the opportunity to see their own life in what she’s saying. It’s a very inviting concept for anyone who has ever found a song that just sort of took them back to a moment they never wanted to lose. The strength of the concept is in its openness. It’s a very personal thing, but that doesn’t stop others from finding their own meaning in it.
From Musings To Melodies, Vol. III is the third album in Gonzales’ journey and is as much a continuation of that process as it is a new step in her development. Her view of songwriting is very much one of poetry at its heart with the melody being another language for the emotions that we can’t always express in the course of a normal conversation. The aim is that the songs will provide some comfort in the difficult times, will bring back some happy memories, will give you the confidence to believe in yourself and will simply remind you that you’re not alone in what you’re going through. That’s the essence of the album really, the sense of it being a genuine and sincere thing. It’s not about telling a story in a particular way and then demanding that everyone else sees it in exactly the same way. One person will be moved by the romance of “You’re My World”, another by the tenderness of “Missing You’ and another will find their own memories in “This Song’s For You, My Friends”. Each of those reactions is part of the life of the album. In the end From Musings To Melodies, Vol. III is a very heartfelt expression of the relationships, the experiences and the emotions that make life worthwhile. It’s an expression of thanks really; thanks to the people who have inspired us, thanks to the moments that have changed us and thanks to the memories that we carry with us. The hope is that somewhere in those 12 songs you’ll find a melody that is a piece of your own story.