Nymphya – Dream Dance (CD Album – Woohooya Records)
Genre/Influences: Ethereal, soundtrack, experimental-pop.
Background/Info: Nymphya is an American female project driven by Valentina O. I found out that she was previously a professional opera singer, and also an actor, performer and soundtracks for commercials, television ao. This work was originally released in 2017 (!).
Content: I didn’t know what to expect, but the front cover and pictures featured in the booklet have something dreamy-like while the appearance of Valentina O. has something baroque-like. It’s not really a coincidence she calls her work ‘baroque-pop’. I especially noticed her trained singing skills and some soundtrack-like passages. But there also is something pop-like running through a few cuts.
+ + + : When I listened to the album I didn’t know any background about this artist, but I immediately noticed her impressive vocal skills. Her timbre of voice is warm and inviting the listener to dream away, but it also sounds powerful and even a bit ‘soul’-like on other tracks. Sound-wise Valentina O. also reveals great composition skills. She plays guitar, keyboards and percussion while she got some help from a few guest musicians on a few tracks.
– – – : Valentina O. is good looking woman, a talented singer and a multi-instrumentalist. Does she have a defect? Not really, but her album is maybe missing a hit while she also mixes a lot of influences… maybe too much influences instead of focalizing on one specific style.
Conclusion: I always have liked artists dealing with something atypical; that’s precisely what Nymphya is all about while it also remains a truly sonic trip.
Best songs: “Beautiful Wound”, “Wasteland”, “We Carry On”.
Rate: (7).
Artist: www.nymphya.com / www.facebook.com/nymphya
About Nymphya
Nymphya is the American project of Valentina O., a former opera singer, actor and composer for television and commercials. “Dream Dance” was originally released in 2017; Nymphya followed it with the album “Naked Kate” on WooHooYa Records in 2020.
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I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
