08/26/2020 07:28:12 PM
Nicole Laurel Asensio will drop her new song Silong this Friday, and she had done it the hard way.
The Schitzoprano star admits the hardships on writing her new single which took her years to finish, along with the help of her bandmates and other friends in the music industry.
“Silong is a song I gave up on many times because it wouldn’t lend me an ending, it is also the only original song in my upcoming album that I did not predominantly write the lyrics for, instead I focused on the melody and being involved in instrumentation ideas with my bandmates,” said Asensio.
Despite the struggles upon finishing the song, she chanced on Silong—who had undergone a different creative approach from language (English to Filipino) and title (Once), to even throwing it all away. Prior to this, the song was initially made after jamming with her keyboardist Kim Lopez.
“One early summer afternoon I was cleaning up my old hard drive and found 49 (yes 49, I don’t know why 49 and not 50) unfinished songs and poems all works in progress, half written, half forsaken… this one happened to be on the top of the list,” shared Asesnio. “I decided to give it another shot. But I wouldn’t take the lead on the lyrics for this one, I would be generous control-wise and let someone else take the lead. That person was a friend I’d never worked with before—Itchie Montilla, an ex-member of the Philippine Madrigal Singers. I sent him a melody and he sent back a draft of his lyrics, I edited them a bit and then called my trusted band barkada to come over.”
Silong is written by Nicole Asensio, together with Kim Lopez and Itchie Montilla. The track was recorded at Wild Grass Studios in Quezon City with six people made the song arrangement and the legendary Angee Rozul doing the mixing duties. Joining the award-winning artist for making the song possible are Michael Alba (drums), Karel Honasan (bass), Ira Cruz (guitar), Nikko Rivera on (keys), Michael Guevarra (saxophone), Lester Sorilla and (trumpet), with Isla Antinero (trombone), Ted Amper (cello) and Jobri Cimafranca (violin) plus a strings arrangement by JC Magsalin.
Asensio credited Moy Ortiz for stepping up her game in singing, especially in regards to this song.
“I asked for the help of a seasoned producer and performer Moy Ortiz to help me out with my singing because truthfully I was at a point where I lost all confidence, and he stuck it out with me till the nth take. And finally, I felt like maybe just maybe the song would be finished.
She also sought help from other people in the industry such as the Honasan family, alto Pauline Lauron and Nicole's mom, Iwi Laurel.
Just when she thought finishing the track was her only problem, it wasn't. Silong turned out to be the story of her overcoming a creative slump. Since finishing the song in its entirety, Asensio claimed she began making music again, producing two new singles and three more music videos during the stretch. And even with the world crisis hampering the world today, the singer-songwriter continues to roll with other songs, 20 quarantine music videos, 10 collaborations and 12 fundraiser shows.
As a song, Asensio said Silong is about finding shelter in God's hands at the times of uncertainty.
“I felt some sort of motivation again,” Asensio quipped. “Let’s see how this goes as I dig through my hard drive of 48 more unfinished pieces. 2020 isn’t over yet.”
Asensio is currently working for her new album that is set for release this year under Warner Music Philippines. Meanwhile, Silong will be out this Friday on Spotify.
Author: slickmaster | © 2020 The SlickMaster's Files
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