LA Music Review | Art, stories and advice
Raw, honest and totally captivating!
Hi Mary, welcome back to LA Music Review! Tell us a little bit about you and your music?
Mary began sharing her music during the lockdowns, eventually releasing 14 songs since January of 2021.
Her playfulness and musical influences are seen in how she experiments with song styles. Her background as a drummer is evident in her rhythmic guitar playing, in her songwriting and in her singing style.
She writes and sings, mostly in English, with the hope to share God’s message of love, redemption and hope and to wake up the saints in us.
Congrats on the release! What was your inspiration when you were writing this project?
Arizona Skies is a laid back acoustic folky pop song that sings about reminiscing and longing at the same time.
Released October 31, 2023. It sings about love separated by ocean wide distance and the dream of being united again. It is playful serenade to 2 very young boys, my nephews, who took a big piece of my heart and flew it with them from island of Cebu to desert of Arizona.
What lessons would you like to impart with your audience?
This song was written for an audience of 2 little boys. I hope this encourages them as they navigate their little hearts in a foreign country of a different culture that when they don’t know how to be and what to do – to look to Jesus.
More than it being a very personal song, I think it can speak for those who are away from the ones they love and the longing to be close and be together.
Start streaming “Arizona Skies” here:
What is your favorite part of this body of work?
Arizona Skies is about the things they love and the games we used to play. The simple lyrics and simple guitars are accompanied with percussions simulating the heartbeat, set to the backdrop of the rattling Arizona desert and a hint of Cebu island vibe.
Singing with me in this track is my sister, Jenny Ozaraga. We’re sending it out to our 3rd sister and her boys who are now in Arizona.
This is probably the most honest song I’ve written and released, and it is closest to how I would sound, raw and real.
I took on courage to produce this myself, but of course with the guidance of my producer, Alain Lee Godornes of Shelter Studios, who did the mixing and mastering for this song.
Future releases? Upcoming events?
I’ve released different songs of different styles the past 2 months. This 1st of December, I will be releasing a Christmas song. It was co-written with Carli Lessing, a songwriter friend in South Africa. Excited about this one too.
On the 4th of December, I will be joining Miss Diane De Mesa and other artists in Diane De Mesa Live in Manila concert happening in SM North Edsa Skydome. This is the first for me on so many levels as I’m not much of a performer. Scary, but I hope it will be the first of many opportunities to come. Though I won’t be sharing my songs in the concert, I hope to be able to join some of my own in some gigs with friends while I’m there.
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