SB19 reveals stories behind 'Pagsibol'

MANILA, Philippines — It's going to be a rollercoaster ride for A'TIN and casual listeners of SB19's extended play (EP) "Pagsibol '' out now.

Fans should also watch out for visually striking jeepneys that carry the message of all six songs in the EP. These Pinoy street icons are made in collaboration with six artists and Spotify.

Three are freshly dropped along with the EP. "Bazinga '' is a banger English hip-hop track for the "doubters" while "Mana" is another similarly themed electro-pop track in Filipino. SB19 showed their love for A'TIN in their appreciation song "SLMT."

"Pagsibol" took a year to make. It contains earlier released tracks "What?" and "MAPA." The slow song dedicated to the frontliners unofficially released last year titled "Ikako" is included in the EP.

Pablo said that the whole EP will be a lot like a rollercoaster ride for their fans and listeners. It's aptly titled "Pagsibol" or "germination" to describe their group's growth as artists.

"Gusto po namin na parang sumakay sila ng roller coaster na paiba-iba 'yung mood nang sa ganon hindi nila mapre-predict or mabibigla sila kung ano 'yung mapapakinggan nila na susunod," he explained.

Pablo returns to the writing grind as John Paulo Nase. The band's leader fondly called pinuno by A'TIN, Pablo shared how excited he is to have collaborated with his teen music hero, Filipino-Canadian music producer Simon Servida.

"When I was 17, 18, nag-aaral ako sa YouTube tapos nag-stumble ako sa YT channel niya. Doon po nagsimula ako mag-aral sa videos niya kung paano ako mag-produce ng music. Noong naghahanap kami ng someone to collaborate with our music, I DMed (direct message) him sa Instagram and I was so happy kasi he replied. Sabi niya, 'I'm down. Let's go. Let's do that'," recalled Pablo to Philstar.com on Wednesday's virtual presser.  

Despite their time differences, Pablo made things work out for him to collaborate with Servida. After a long day of rehearsals, he would get in touch with Servida in the wee hours of the morning in the Philippines so that they could work on the songs.

Stell jokingly said that Pablo did not seem to have a difficult time writing the songs in the EP.

"For the record, parang 'di po talaga siya nahirapan," quipped Stell.

Justin fondly recalled how Pablo asked him, Stell, Josh and Ken what they wanted to say to their parents. They were all living in one condo and Stell was just doing his laundry when Pablo asked them about it. It resulted in Pablo writing "MAPA,'' which was co-produced with South Border's Jay Durias and Servida. The song was also tweaked for a collaboration with the nine-piece folk pop band Ben&Ben.

"What?," a song to boost the morale of those who are in doubt, is the longest at five minutes and the hardest to write for Pablo. He shared it was because of its tempo change and he was finding the right words to use on this shift in the song.

Justin's memory of doing "What?" is a bit more fond as he recalled how they worked on it while tinkering with Pablo's DIY recording studio amid a heap of pillows and comforters.

With their schedule packed and popularity rising, SB19 is not closing doors on any collaborations and appearances as long as their schedule permits. Among these clamor that started on Twitter is for the boys to perform at the 26th Asian Television Awards in December.

"Of course, if the schedule permits. Whatever happens or opportunities given to us, we'd gladly take it," said Josh.

They've also recently guested on Rollingstones via Twitch and iHeartRadio.  

"'Wag po masyadong super expect. Kami pa rin po 'yung madadatnan nila, kung ano man po 'yung personalities namin," Josh said.  

For now, A'TIN and listeners can look forward to exclusive SB19 content on Spotify’s Tatak Pinoy playlist. “Pagsibol” is out now on Spotify via Sony Music.

Fans can see SB19 perform live for the first time with their songs in the EP at their upcoming online concert "Back In The Zone," happening on August 1 at 7:30 p.m.