Rising artists share unique musicality in semilucent 2

PARADISE RISING is at it again in showcasing new voices and their unique musicality. Among the “musical finds” in the label’s new compilation album semilucent 2 are Steven Peregrina and daze. The artists feel lucky to be part of the recording endeavor. 88rising is the company behind the label.

“I’d like to think that my songs are very soulful and are into R&B,” said daze of her music in a recent virtual group interview. “I’m definitely inspired by old school R&B music from the ‘90s. That’s why my music today is a little bit more of the soulful side.”

Not veering away from the genre is Steven, whose music inspiration is the R&B in the 2000s, with a tinge of pop and acoustic. “I have four artists that I look up to, they are Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Michael Buble, Michael Jackson,” said he. “The four of them are somewhat my DNA in music.”

daze’s love affair with R&B started when she was young. Every time she would make songs or sing, “dun naturally pumupunta yung boses ko,” said she. “It’s like naturally goes there although I don’t try so hard. It has always been R&B.” But she also got into alternative and independent music. The genres, according to her, have helped shape the totality of her music today. “Ever since I was young, it’s like I’ve always been soulful,” added she, who would do Mariah Carey and Jaya then.

As for Steven, he fully embraced R&B in 2016 after getting himself immersed in the music of Callalily, Kamikazee and Parokya, from 2010 to 2015.

“Kung ano yung mainit that time, parang yun ang gusto mong maging, parang gusto ko rin ng banda, parang gusto ko ring makipa-rock-rockan,” recalled Steven. But his inner voice, as he put it, encouraged him to explore more. At the end, Steven realized that R&B is his comfort zone in writing songs.

PARADISE RISING, for its part, captures Steven and daze’s talents in semilucent 2 with his and her tracks, All Night and Situation, respectively.

“It’s a blessing for sure because it serves as a bridge,” said daze of being part of the compilation album that also features tracks Island Baby (Maarte) by MANILA GREY; Black Hearts, CA Christian Alexander and Curtismith; and Reminisce, Manila Killa and Yuna.

“What I appreciate about it the most is that PARADISE RISING allows us to be the artists that we are without trying to mold us,” added she. “Throughout the whole process, they’re always keeping us, you know, involved in the creative steps, the creative vision.”

Steven couldn’t help but agree with daze by saying, “When it comes to music, hindi nila kami diniktahan na this was what we wanted to hear. They just told us to show our craft.” From there, the artists and the platform would build collaborations from ideas to music videos, added he. “The feeling na kasama sa album is sobrang nakakatuwa,” said Steven. “I took it as an opportunity and blessing, as a take-off to my career, hindi ko na dapat sayangin itong (pagkakataon), parang may bwelo na ako.” The album will inspire the artists to make more good and quality music.

Through his song, Steven is also, in a way, paying tribute to his grandfather, Eddie Peregrina, an Original Pilipino Music (OPM) legend. From his dad, Steven learned the popularity of his grandpa. “Sobrang lakas niya pala dati,” said he. “And my dad said that ‘Kung ano yung naririnig mo tuwing linggo, tuwing sabado ng umaga, sobrang taas nang chance na lolo mo yung naririnig mo kasi siya lang talaga yung icon dati na nag-re-release ng ganung kanta.”

Asked about the importance for artists to find their genre when starting their careers, daze said: “Finding your genre is not really the goal, more on self-awareness on who you are, what are you trying to say, who are you trying to talk to. In my experience, I’ve found that not naturally being constrained to a specific genre, especially in the beginning stages, is really beneficial because you can explore different (aspects) of yourself.”

“The only thing I can say is, as long as I stay true to myself and how I am growing as a person, yun po ang genre ko at that time, it’s always evolving,” added she. “But it’s also important to maintain a sense of identity, which is your core.”

For Steven, the No. 1 goal of an artist is “to be happy with yourself and with what you do,” said he, “On your path, you should have a straight (and clear) vision. Kapag masaya ka sa ginagawa mo, katawan lang yung napapagod sa’yo, pero yung diwa di naman napapagod yun. Laging nandyan yan. Kahit natutulog ka, nag-iisip ka, napapanaginipan mo yung pwede mong gawin bukas.”

daze shared that it’s also healthy for beginning artists like them to consider staying out of their comfort zone and being fearless. All this is part of Steven and daze’s self-exploration and growth.

(For details on semilucent 2, visit PARADISE RISING’s social media pages on Facebook at bit.ly/paradiserisingfacebook, Instagram at bit.ly/paradiserisinginstagram and Twitter at bit.ly/paradiserisingtwitter.)