00:00 Nothing special, honestly. I mean, you know, I'm no different from every other songwriter out there.
00:05 I'm just someone who writes as well. That's really just it. I don't know what's the big deal, man.
00:11 Like, okay, these are the songs I've made in all my experiences.
00:16 Alright, it's an album.
00:18 [Music]
00:32 I started out in The Voice Kids. That's where I actually—my whole career started, basically.
00:40 I actually got to sign a contract with ABS and Star Magic and UMG Philippines.
00:46 And after The Voice Kids, I tried out different things. You know, got into acting for TV.
00:54 Teleserye. Started out in, you know, "Malala Mo Kaya," portraying myself with my life story.
01:00 From there, I just found myself being on television up until the point where I was, I guess, 6—15?
01:09 That I started writing songs because Coach Bamboo gave me a Baby Taylor.
01:13 Like, it's a mini acoustic guitar. The Voice Kids, palang.
01:17 So for two years, I didn't touch that thing.
01:21 Inaralo ko yung mga bass chords, and then that's when I started writing songs when I was 15.
01:25 Yeah, so my debut album, they titled it "JK."
01:28 And the second album, they titled it "JKL." So creative.
01:31 Those albums kasi were kind of like a—they're like a traditional album in a way wherein, you know,
01:38 the artist is a vessel for these songs that are created by other people.
01:44 So the artist is the one to perform these songs and then put in an album.
01:47 That's the whole branding and packaging.
01:49 So I did that for one album, but I realized I didn't really like it
01:54 because I didn't really have any direct connection to the song.
02:00 So that's why on my second album, I started putting my own songs.
02:03 I started writing songs, and I put in three songs on the second album.
02:07 And then after that, I just went full-on musician mode.
02:12 I dropped everything.
02:14 I guess these mall shows with so many people,
02:21 I started performing in Sagiho and 19 East and most—
02:26 like, I just wanted to go through what the people that I look up to went through.
02:32 And I guess because as a kid, I wanted to have, like, you know,
02:36 the recognition from my—from other musicians.
02:40 You only really—you don't really grow sitting down on your couch.
02:49 I mean, I guess you do. It depends on what you're doing on the couch.
02:52 I was putting myself in a lot of these uncomfortable situations and scary situations.
02:57 Imagine you're like, um, may mold nakakast sayo,
03:00 and you're trying to break from that mold.
03:02 That's how you can get away from that.
03:05 I guess the whole underground scene, it made me feel more human,
03:10 for lack of a better term.
03:12 It made me feel more connected to everyone around me and everything around me.
03:19 And it made me look at life in a perspective of just, you know, just another normal person.
03:24 You either make stories because of personal experiences or by imagination.
03:30 Or a mix of both.
03:32 So, you know, just like any other songwriter out there, I just had my experiences.
03:38 And I just wrote about it because that's my outlet.
03:40 And that's my way of—the thoughts in my head, you know.
03:44 So, like, you know, I'm nothing special, honestly.
03:48 I mean, you know, I'm no different from every other songwriter out there.
03:51 I'm just someone who writes as well.
03:54 That's really just it.
03:55 I don't know what's the big deal, man.
03:58 [Music]
04:11 Well, I mean, there's really no actual structure into making a song, at least for me.
04:16 But all the songs just come into my head.
04:20 Usually melody first.
04:22 Sometimes lyrics first.
04:23 If I just want to write something down, like a phrase or a thought or a topic.
04:26 And then you start from there.
04:28 That's like a seed that grows eventually, right?
04:31 Most of the time, the song just pops up in my head.
04:34 I'm like, "Okay, that's something."
04:36 And then I grab an instrument and try to translate that in real life into something physical.
04:41 Like, "Okay, I can do this."
04:43 And then start building from there.
04:46 You know those Lego pieces that aren't really built?
04:50 Like, it's just like Lego pieces.
04:52 Like, free for all.
04:52 What do you call those?
04:54 Like, universal Legos.
04:55 Like, it's just a bunch of Legos.
04:57 And then you imagine something and then you use that to create that imagination as close
05:02 as possible to what you imagined.
05:04 It's basically just that.
05:05 So, but yeah, melodies first most of the time.
05:08 That's really the melodies first.
05:10 I don't know.
05:10 My brain loves singing inside.
05:12 [Music]
05:21 Well, honestly, the whole "Sad Songs" album really started out because I went through
05:26 a breakup.
05:26 That's really just the main core of it.
05:29 I mean, shit, you get your heart broken.
05:31 And in my case, I made like 180 songs.
05:34 And then crying every night.
05:36 [Crying]
05:38 Bumalik ka na, tapos the next day, "Takina mo!"
05:40 Diba?
05:41 It's like a rollercoaster of emotions.
05:45 Like, the five stages of grief, right?
05:46 Where you hate this person and then the next day you wish this person would forgive you
05:51 or comes back into your life.
05:53 And then parang the day after, "You know what?
05:55 Fuck everyone.
05:56 I'll move on."
05:56 And then you start crying again the week after.
05:59 It's just really that.
06:00 Capturing the whole album is basically just a photo album full of moments captured or
06:07 throughout that rollercoaster ride of emotions of mine during that moment in time.
06:11 That's literally just it.
06:13 Like, okay, ito yung mga songs na nagawa ako lahat ng pinagdaanan ko na yun.
06:17 All right, it's an album.
06:20 Let's collect all of these things, right?
06:23 And then put it into this one thing, which is an album.
06:28 And hey, that's it.
06:29 And for me kasi, once a song is done, it's really done.
06:33 You know, it's only my baby up until the point it's out.
06:37 And basically, it's not really mine anymore in that sense na parang I let go of the song na.
06:43 And then once it's out, I'm on to the next song, on to the next stories.
06:50 I could literally make a song on a Monday night just because I'm f*cking hungry.
06:53 And I just, you know, use that hunger as either a metaphor or because it's a literal hunger.
06:59 It's really just that.
07:00 It's really about, you know, a lot of people, I guess, tend to get scared with the thought
07:05 of making something because they overthink too much.
07:08 They think that everything is so deep when it's actually not, man.
07:13 It's not deep at all.
07:14 Or maybe I'm just saying that because I'm used to the depth, right?
07:17 For a lot of people, like six feet is not deep because they're used to swimming in six feet.
07:23 So, you know, everyone has a different perspective.
07:28 And that's one of the things I love about music and art in general because there's really
07:32 no rulebook.
07:33 There's no guidebook.
07:33 There's no like, "Hey, that's wrong."
07:36 Or, "Hey, that's right."
07:38 It's just like, "Ah, that's unusual."
07:40 So, I guess that's one of the most beautiful things about it because there's no
07:47 rules, you know?
07:49 How do you make a song?
07:50 Up to you.
07:51 Whatever floats your boat.
07:53 It's closely related to vulnerability and ego and also fear.
08:04 Like, a lot of people are, you know, afraid of being vulnerable.
08:09 And there's nothing wrong with that, you know?
08:11 People are people.
08:12 People are different.
08:13 People are complicated.
08:15 I guess as an artist, you know, how to keep honesty?
08:19 It's really hard to say because, you know, we all think differently.
08:23 It's one of the things that's really hard to separate because music and film are so...
08:35 They're like cousins.
08:37 As much as possible, I really try to separate my music that I make for music from acting.
08:44 And in a way wherein I'm not trying to separate music from my acting work.
08:48 I'm just trying to separate the music I make for music versus music that I make for acting
08:54 or for film.
08:54 Like, in some sort of way, I could be on a movie project and I could write a song specifically
09:02 for that movie project.
09:03 That song that I will make for that movie project, I will never probably sing live as
09:08 a musician.
09:09 I will never...
09:10 I'll just leave it there.
09:11 And then for this movie project, I will not use the songs that I made for an album.
09:14 I try to separate those things because, you know, if you try to do all of these things
09:19 all at once, it tends to get really confusing.
09:22 Persona naman, it's just the mode.
09:24 Like, parang, okay, work mode.
09:26 What are we doing now?
09:27 Music?
09:28 Okay, then I'll wear my musician hat, right?
09:31 Parang...
09:32 And then I'll think like a musician.
09:33 If I'm doing acting, I'll think like an actor.
09:36 But I love both.
09:39 I really love both because they're just really outlets for me.
09:42 It's just really that, you know?
09:44 It's fun to portray a character.
09:46 It's really fun.
09:48 You know, if a character is crazy, then you act crazy.
09:51 You have that license to act crazy and not get judged for it.
09:57 You can even get an award.
09:58 Right?
10:01 So it's a really fun medium to, you know...
10:04 They're all basically playgrounds.
10:07 [Music]
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