Who or what brings out the best in you?
For the members of OPM band Orange and Lemons Clem Castro, Ace Del Mundo, JM Del Mundo, and Jared Nerona, it is music, family, and band mates. These kept them going despite the difficult times especially during this pandemic, such that they were able to record a new single “You Bring Out My Best” to be released on September 11.
“Una syempre ang pamilya at mga kabanda ko andyan pa rin. Kasi yan na yung buhay namin, music eh. Kaya ginagawa namin talaga yung bagay na gustong-gusto namin kahit na anong mangyari,” JM said.
Clem states that the transition from being a guitar based band to the addition of a keyboardist in Jared opened the doors for more experimentation in their music. He believes that this single is the best collaborative work that Orange and Lemons has ever put out.
“Normally, and diskarte namin when we arrange or work on a song is I present the band with an acoustic demo, the song is already complete, it’s already a song. We will just arrange it. But for this song, we did it together. Batuhan ng ideas…what’s the bridge part, what’s the direction, what will be the sound. The result is one of our best collaborative works,” Clem said.
“With the age and the direction, parang gusto namin chill lang talaga for now. Although it’s easy naman to create other genre bending sound but this is the one that we chose for the meantime,” added Clem, regarding the overall vibe of the song and the evolution of their sound.
They originally planned to release an album, but it was shelved due to the pandemic, so they settled with the single. They would have preferred to have a music video alongside the song, but they were limited by travel restrictions and health protocols.
Orange and Lemons admitted that they are struggling with the concept of online concerts because they still want to make a living out of their music as Orange and Lemons. Surely, nothing beats live concerts with the crowd’s sing-a-long but they had to make do with what they can. They had to find an online platform for their premiere performance, which most resembles the concert experience without leaving their homes.
Clem believes that this single would help bring happiness to anyone who listens to it, even just for a short time.
“Even a few minutes of their time na ma-distract from their woes, that’s something,” he said.
The single “You Bring Out My Best” will be available on all streaming platforms on Sept 11.