Ramona Córdova

Ramón Vicente Alarcón started playing guitar at the tender age of nine. He cites his earliest musical memory as being his grandmother (Ramona Córdova) singing Spanish lullabies to him while he fell asleep. After playing in several bands, Ramón decided to start a solo project that would consist of music revolving around a central storyline. He decided to pay tribute to his grandmother by naming the project after her, and thus Ramona Córdova was born. According to Alarcón, music has always been in his bones. He always loved to write about his dreams at a young age, no matter what the imaginative landscape or plot was.

His debut album, The Boy Who Floated Freely does not abandon his passion. The album tells a story about a boy named Giver who wakes up on the shore of a mysterious island after regaining consciousness. The album’s songs are in storyline order, with the opening song ‘Introduction’ presenting an overview of the album’s story while also introducing Alarcón’s high-pitched vocals. “I was a just a boy, fell into an ocean,” Alarcón states in the viewpoint of Giver, “washed up on a shore and now I’m here to see what I will see”. Ramón does not limit himself to one viewpoint on the album, such as on ‘Mixing Potion’, which is presented in the view of Marcía, a girl who meets and falls in love with Giver. Besides a few backing sounds of birds and crickets, the acoustic guitar is the primary instrument of choice in most of the songs. The excellent ‘Giver’s Reply’ however is led by a delightful organ and is one of the few tracks with percussion. I also find it to be his catchiest song on the album. Most of the songs find the guitar in a slow arpeggio for the first few verses before several overlapping chords kick into full gear for the chorus, such as the farewell ode of ‘Chesser’. The energetic chorus caught me off guard at first but it proved to be very enjoyable and constructive. Alarcón’s lyrical depth is often impressive with fascinating ideas, while his songwriting abilities are just beginnng to blossom as his musical arrangements get more and more impressive. The Boy Who Floated Freely is full of warmth, fun, and ideas.

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Ramona Córdova – Introduction

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Ramona Córdova – Giver’s Reply

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Ramona Córdova – Mixing Potion

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Ramona Córdova – Chesser

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