Whenever he appears on-screen or live, people would know a name: Ken. He is mostly recognized as Ken, a member of the leading P-Pop group in the country SB19.
However, this time, he should also be recognized by another name, a name that he himself is establishing in the music industry. This time, his name is Felip.
“Siguro sa pagiging solo artist [may] advantage po is… nagagawa ko ‘yung gusto kong gawin, kung ano ‘yung type of music na gusto kong gawin since solo,” Felip shared.
He added that as Ken in SB19, there are limitations.
“Sa pagiging Ken naman ng SB19, alam ko lang talaga kung ano yung role ko sa band. Syempre kailangan… may limitations, kailangan mo lang talagang sabayan ‘yung ano nila don kasi bawat isa sa amin may iba’t ibang opinyon so kailangan mo rin i-acknowledge ‘yon,” said Felip.
Felip happily shared that his bandmates from SB19 are “supportive” of his musical pursuits as a solo artist. He said, “Supportive naman sila sa solo ganap ko and happy din sila na gumawa ako ng ganito.”
Asked on how he writes, Felip shared, “Minsan ginagawa ko ‘yung main topic or ‘yung pinaka main idea ng kanta so sa word lang na ‘yon parang doon ko kinukuha or doon nag re-revolve ‘yung lyrics.”
He likened writing songs to writing essays. He said, “Kumbaga pag nagsusulat ka ng essay parang kinukuha mo lahat ng pinaka buong idea niya so ganoon po pag nai-inspire ako magsulat, ‘pag may nakita ako somewhere na inspiring.”
But more than the lyrics, Felip shares that the very first thing he works on is the melody of the song.
“Pinaka unang ginagawa ko is paggawa ng melody ng kanta and paggawa ng beat kasi don ko binabase yung melody,” he shared.
Felip added, “After ng beat mag-iisip ako ng magandang loop tapos ulit-ulit lang yon tsaka ko siya ni-re-rearrange kumbaga kung ano pa ‘yung pwede kong idagdag or bali baliin na melody tapos tsaka ko siya pinapasukan ng humming…mga ganon lang muna tsaka ko siya sinusulatan.”
It was around July last year when Felip started working on his EP “COM·PLEX.”
“Mga July, pero at that time kasi ‘Straydogs’ pa lang ‘yung nasulat ko nung time na yon and tinuloy ko lang siya nung tour namin,” he shared. For context, the tour that he was talking about was the SB19 world tour in 2022.
When they were in New York, Felip discovered Jersey Club music and reaped inspiration from the genre. It was how he completed “MICTEST” in his EP.
“Noong narinig ko siya (Jersey Club), cinorporate ko siya sa Bisaya in the lyrics about, you know, being proud to be a Bisaya, so ayon sa tingin ko naging complete (MIGTEST),” he said.
Asked which are his favorite tracks in the EP, Felip said “CRIMINAL” and “DRINKSMOKE.”
He explained, “Para sa akin, medyo malalim ‘yung ibig sabihin ng lyrics kasi pinag-isipan ko talaga siya ng mabuti.”
“COM·PLEX” is available on all music-streaming platforms.
