There’s something cool about Valentina Ploy’s warmth
As an artist, Valentina Ploy often felt pressure to look “effortlessly cool or strong all the time.” But how was she supposed to do that when she wears her heart on her sleeve? She laughs at everything. Cries a lot, too. “Not exactly cool!” she jokes.
But over the years—through her breezy, uplifting indie-pop sound—the Thai-Italian singer-songwriter has gotten countless messages from fans, likening her music to a hug that makes them feel comforted and understood.
That had her wondering: Perhaps being warm is exactly what she’s meant to be.
Ploy’s new album, fittingly called “Warm,” is her finally coming to terms with who she truly is. “My fans helped me come at peace with me and my music,” she tells Lifestyle Inquirer in a recent interview. “It’s a body of work that talks about me not trying to be anyone else for once in my life.”
As the opening track of the same title puts it, being warm “is like a revolution against the things that don’t make us feel,” “against perfection because that ain’t real,” and “against pressures that stop us healing.” This message is the thread that ties the collection’s first six songs (which are more acoustic and introspective) with the next six—still to be released—that are expected to be summer-y and wrapped in radiant synths.
Rituals, journals, and silly TV shows
The more she reflects on the idea, the clearer it becomes to her that what makes her feel happy, hopeful, and loved are the little things one would consider warm.
Warmth is noticing everyday life’s beautiful but seemingly mundane details, like a sunset or a conversation with a loved one. It’s the way her fingers naturally break into a flurry of snaps when she’s manifesting something, or when she needs a quick boost—like that nerve-wracking moment just before she opened for the rock act, Secondhand Serenade, in Manila last year.
“It’s a delusional ritual, but one that makes me think that everything’s going to be amazing,” says Ploy, the voice behind such streaming hits as “See You in Life” and “Love You Better.”
Warmth, for the singer, is listening to music and crying her eyes out for some relief. It’s the nostalgia of eating her favorite food while rewatching silly TV shows she grew up with in Italy. It’s leafing through her journals and scribbling down whatever thoughts that pop up and feelings that creep in. She’s naturally shy—introverted even. So by putting pen to paper, she’s able to express what she can’t voice aloud.
“Journaling is all my songwriting, really,” she says.
Core memory
Warmth is the love that Filipino fans have for her. One of Ploy’s core memories, she recalls, is holding an intimate acoustic showcase in Manila a few years back, and meeting face to face with some of the people she had been chatting with on Instagram.
“There they were—singing my songs back at me. That’s when I realized my music has reached more people than I had thought,” she says. “This happened for the first time in Manila, so I will always remember that.”
Ploy also collaborated with Filipina singer-actress Alexa Ilacad on a special version of “Love You Better.” But that was in 2020—amid the pandemic—so everything happened virtually. They’ve spoken, but haven’t met in person yet. “But maybe one of these days,” she says. And maybe then, she can meet even more local artists to work with.
“I would love to know more about the music scene in the Philippines,” she adds. “I’m looking forward to collaborations. I can’t wait to make friends with more artists there. So hopefully, I can go back there soon.”
Warmth is celebrating the multicultural background that inevitably informed her music. Born to a Thai mother and an Italian father, the singer is bilingual by upbringing and multilingual by choice. Thai and Italian are her native tongues. She’s fluent in English, and can also hold conversations in Spanish and French.
Her music reflects that. While her songs are written predominantly in English, words or phrases in other languages make a cameo once in a while, as in the fun, upbeat “Bla Bli Blu.” “I think it shapes the way I write melodies, because both countries (Italy and Thailand) share some musical similarities,” she points out.
Home is where the heart is
Curiously, Ploy says, she also “experiences things and expresses emotions differently,” depending on the language. These days, she mostly speaks English. When she’s feeling a little shy, speaking Thai comes most naturally. But when she’s upset, the Italian—fast and fiery—comes flying out of her mouth. Complete with hand gestures, of course.
“Or maybe when I’ve had a glass of something and I’m feeling—wooh!—funny, then I might start speaking Spanish,” she says, laughing.
But most importantly, warmth is finding a sense of home—wherever her heart is. Ploy spent most of her 31 years in Italy before moving to Thailand about five years ago to pursue music professionally. At first, it was tough—like “splitting her heart into two,” she admits. Her family lives far away, but where she is now, she has her music. That can be home, too.
So whether she’s in the charming coastal city of Sorrento or the bustling metropolis that is Bangkok, Ploy is sure to always find something to keep herself warm. “Obviously, I miss my parents, my brothers, and my best friends in Italy. But now, home is [in] Bangkok. I have my own place and I love it very much.
“I guess I have two homes! I’m lucky,” she says.
