Music like people, come in many shapes, forms, sounds, and colors. When it pertains to soulful accents of R & B that lunges to the deepest parts of its devout listeners, the color line seems to thread very thin these days. It is almost if the genre revamped itself into a “come one, come all-free for all.” With heartless dissonance and jolting hope, come she did. Born in Quezon City on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, Tracy Cruz is a vocalist that is known to have a range that stretches from unbelievable lows to remarkable soprano highs. Her music comprises of a noble blend of polarities where one never gets just one side of her. Tracy developed musical mannerisms that were influenced by Filipino songwriting and to honor her indigenous roots, Filipino ballads was something Tracy commenced to revitalize in her lyrics. She had definitely come a long way since the days she spent with Ledisi as her vocal coach. Along with the lyrical content of her songs, Tracy’s music evolved with the highs and lows of her life. Each album, each song, offers a glimpse into the different chapters in her life. In 2005, her EP entitled, Illuminate Love, featured Kanetic Source, former emcee of Ozomatli, and accumulated national recognition. Tracy’s debut album, Feel’osophy (2008), was awarded three Muse’s Muse Awards for “Best R&B CD Project of 2008,” “Best Lyrics Female,” and “Best R&B Single Female.” Her album Feel’osophy is what boosted her into the playground of global acclaim.
This time around, Tracy and producer Allen Ross decided to re-conceptualize their sound while remaining loyal to her core artistry. In her contemporary album, Universoul Symphony, she unveils the struggles of being an independent artist, the joys of being loved, the hardships of today’s economy and surviving in a world coupled with injustice. However, she refashions these realities (grim or glare) with such an enlightening grain of mirth. There is a positive vibration radiating from each track where Universoul Symphony would definitely make top choice selection to any “rut sunken sap” in search of the perfect “woe assassinating weapon.” Upon listening to Love Galaxy, the immediate response is a guaranteed mental excursion to a utopian world inside the most beautiful living heart. It’s the same feeling invoked when first hearing Smoky Robinson’s Cruisin. Let’s Go Back tells a tale with sultry and symphonic impetus. Play this song in a local café and proceed to watch patrons react involuntarily and become sprite with an unyielding urge to zero in on the lyrics while bopping a head or two. Either or, this whole creation of an album is a tear-jerking, fist pumping, two-stepping collage; a record you can play in the bedroom or at a summertime backyard boogie.
