00:00 With Orange and Lemons, we just lasted for four years as recording artists in the industry.
00:06 We disbanded in 2007.
00:14 Started in 1999. But prior to that, we were using different names. When we started focusing on
00:27 original music, we started with "Irony," "The Cranes," and then "Mushroom."
00:33 So when a band member left, we would change the band name.
00:40 When the repertoire changed, or we went in a different direction, we would change the band name.
00:46 Until we settled with... We became a four-piece band without a keyboardist. We settled with the name
00:53 "Orange and Lemons." When we were researching for possible names, one of my bandmates
00:59 suggested that. He saw it on a music magazine, an album title of a British band called XTC.
01:07 The title of their album is "Oranges and Lemons."
01:17 Since we are very Brit-pop influenced, we love The Beatles, we love New Wave.
01:25 And we later on found out that "Oranges and Lemons" is also a British nursery rhyme.
01:32 And funny thing is, that British nursery rhyme starts with "Oranges and Lemons,"
01:41 says "The Bells of St. Clement." For me, it's a perfect name for the band and our music.
01:47 I grew up with music in the house. My late father was a rondalia instructor.
01:57 So even at the age of five, six, I was exposed to music.
02:02 My father would take me to rondalia practices, teaching kids. So I was there.
02:09 He was there. Sometimes we would play maracas. So I was exposed to folk music,
02:14 traditional folk music. My father has a phonograph. So he has records.
02:19 They are different. There are old music, records for rondalia, records for big band.
02:26 So, almost everything. And then my brother got into folk music, like country music.
02:35 So I was exposed to that. And when I got to college, it was The Beatles that
02:41 gave this effect on me that I want to be in a band. I want to write songs.
02:47 Like, I could only get .0001% of their success. That was my inspiration to start writing.
02:58 And I discovered I can write songs without any formal education.
03:03 I started writing songs in high school. So even though I finished college,
03:08 I know in my mind that I won't pursue that. Because I have a lot of songs written.
03:15 And after college, I went full-time music. In terms of branding, it's just happenstance.
03:21 We play Britpop-inspired songs. And we love The Beatles. So that's where our laptop came in.
03:32 We have a lot of hair. We don't have any for-profits. I think we were one of the first ones to start.
03:40 And the hairstyle, the clothing, a bit vintage. And later on, I became the stylist of the band.
03:48 I hired a tailor. Our clothes were tailor-made.
03:54 I learned about imaging and how important it was for the band.
03:58 My life is not complete when you're gone.
04:03 Most of my creative process are subconscious efforts.
04:07 Based on the influences I gathered over the years during my childhood.
04:14 Listening to The Beatles, folk music, country music, new wave, British music, standards.
04:24 It's like they're all mixed together. So subconsciously, when I start writing songs,
04:30 it's most often lyrics first. I like to write poetry. I write an idea, or a stanza, or a chorus line.
04:39 That's where I start. Lyrics first. Because it's easier when the lyrics are there,
04:45 it's easier to find a proper mood or melody for it based on what is written.
04:53 If the lyrics are sad or profound, I'll look for a melody to suit it.
05:00 I'm more of a melody maker. That's my creative process as a songwriter.
05:05 When it comes to the band, it's also collaborative. But most of the time,
05:17 I'm the one who injects or guides everything. How I imagine it to be in the final output.
05:29 Because unknowingly, I already have an idea about imaging, having a consistent sound.
05:40 So in my head, I already have a foresight that the sound should be like this,
05:54 the selection of songs should be solid. In fact, when we were starting,
06:00 we had three albums with Orange On Lemons. Would you believe that even before the first album was
06:08 released, some of the songs in the second and third album were already written?
06:14 So I really plan it from the juvenile materials, when you start, you kind of cheesify the lyrics.
06:25 Because I grow as a songwriter along the way. So I just choose it, I just pull it off the shelf.
06:34 "Oh, this fits the second album. Oh, this fits the third album. Oh, this is too deep for the first album."
06:39 So I already have that because it's already been collected. And then when I start working on an
06:48 album, when I still need materials, that's the time that I'll write with the intention of putting it
06:55 in that album. So that's my creative process. And before, I arranged and used Finale.
07:04 I really note everything, drum, bass. So that's how I'm patient. I study Finale music.
07:14 Even though I don't have an education in notes, I studied it for six months so I can hear it
07:20 being performed at the same time.
07:28 That's how my process was. And then my bandmates, when I present to them that the song is almost
07:45 finished, I ask their input on it and we jam. So in the jamming, we'll know
07:52 what the direction of the song will be. So we talk about it. So there are the collaborative parts.
07:58 When "Orange and Lemons" was reformed, we also discussed for a long time what
08:14 theme of the album we're going to do. Because it's not the first, it's a bit of a commercial
08:22 pop. The second, the third is so deep. "Moonlight Gardens" was one of the most
08:32 brooding work that I did. And it won the album of the year, the annual rock awards, even though we're
08:39 disbanded. So the fourth album, the third is like an international one. That was my goal
08:47 that time. That's why we were disbanded. We were never able to promote it. And now we're back.
08:55 We're old. We've been out of the industry for 10 years. What am I going to do now?
09:01 So I decided, why not a full Tagalog album? One word that came to my mind. Why not "Kondiman"
09:11 inspired? So there's rondalia, then kondiman, Tagalog. I think it's a perfect marriage. It's a
09:18 really good concept for me. And then we mix historical materials to make it solid.
09:29 I like planning. So everything that's happening this year, it was planned a year or two years
09:36 ago. We're just looking for perfect timing for everything. Especially now,
09:42 there's a pandemic. So the timeline has been moved. It's pretty hard as an artist to cope up
09:50 with the times. We lost our work, our gigs, our tours. We lost a lot last year.
09:57 And actually, I got stranded in Canada when the pandemic was announced. I was touring solo.
10:05 It was a 10-city tour. Half of it was canceled. And then I was stranded in Vancouver for three
10:13 weeks. My flights were canceled. So it cost me a lot because it's self-produced.
10:20 And then when I got home, everything was canceled as well. So can you imagine that
10:26 I, you know, as working musicians, it's really hard for us. We are just living off on our
10:32 savings until things get better. Tapos gusto pa namin maglabas ng album. So it's coming out from
10:40 our own pockets. So ang nangyayari yun, pa isa-isang kanta, nagirelease kami. And then hangga sa
10:46 mabuo namin yung album, pag may material nagre-record kami, we started recording the album
10:54 first quarter of this year. Namumove lang siya, namumove because of the nag-announce ng quarantine.
11:02 For this album, finally, our drummer, Ace Del Mundo, contributed to two songs. I've been
11:19 egging them to contribute because I don't want to, you know, I want everyone to grow. So Ace was
11:27 able to contribute to two songs. It inspired me to put music into it. So like, even before,
11:35 like kami ni Makoy, most of the songs ako kasi nagsusulat. So I encouraged Makoy from time to
11:41 time to, "Come on, give me some lyrics, you know, I might do something with it." So yung version
11:46 one ng Orange and Lemons, ganyan yung relationship namin. I try to encourage everyone to contribute.
11:53 Medyo wide at large yung ideas namin eh, to the point that we cannot play it live dahil sa dami
12:00 ng instrumentations. And because we have a keyboardist in the band, yung contribution
12:06 niya is very unique and completes us with this project.
12:14 To our fans, one thing that you can expect from Orange and Lemons is we will keep on making music
12:21 regardless of any challenges. We will uphold the quality of our releases. Pinag-aralan namin lahat
12:28 ng mga i-release namin. I hope that you will be there to appreciate it, listen to it, and share
12:35 it. And we hope that it will connect with you as a listener or affect your life as a music fan as
12:43 well. Thank you for being there for us. Hi, this is Clem Castro. Please don't forget to like and
12:49 subscribe this channel. OG.
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