Jace Roque churns out uplifting, urban pop single Pagbangon

MANILA, Philippines — Jace Roque entered the local music and recording scene as an independent artist with EDM, electronic dance music, and pop as the chosen genre. As a one-man team, the singer-songwriter was able to churn out one single after another.

Then the chance to go mainstream and collaborate with ABS-CBN Star Music came, bringing about the debut album, “Paradiso.” And that musical partnership carries on with the latest single, Pagbangon.

“We’re shifting my sound to a more urban pop sound,” said Jace in a recent virtual chat with The STAR. “It’s less electronic and more pop.”

“Yun yung mga i-i-expect ng mga tao (it’s one of the things that the public can expect from me) with the upcoming releases because it’s gonna be a series of singles after Pagbangon leading up to my EP towards the end of the year.”

According to him, he wrote it in 2019 as a way to cope with the grief he experienced when his uncle, whom he considered a father figure and an unofficial manager in show business, passed away. Originally told in English, it was changed and translated into the vernacular when Jonathan Manalo of Star Music challenged him to come up with a Tagalog song. That’s how he revisited his composition.

And the latter also has to keep up with the times and trends.

From being a message to deal with grief, it has evolved into something current, like with what’s happening in the world.

“We need an uplifting anthem,” said he. “From a personal track, mas naging general and universal siya (it has become more general and universal).”

Genre-wise, the song started as an EDM, which was “more dancey during the demo stages,” shared he, adding that it also had that reggaeton vibe before “leaning towards pop and urban.” “The current version is better than the demo. Maganda na yung demo. Mas gumanda pa ng three times (it sounded three times better),” said he.

As for the core message of Pagbangon, Jace had this to say: “Before maka-bangon ka talaga (you can really recover or get back on your feet), it really takes time to heal. Everyone grieves differently. You have to grieve at your own pace, at your own time, and when you’re ready, duon ka talaga mag-start bumangon (that’s when you can really start to recover).”

“Dun mo ma fe-feel na slowly na-li-lift na yung fog, na li-lift na yung darkness (that’s when you slowly feel that the fog or darkness is being lifted), and then the inspiration to move forward comes in,” added he, also looking at the idea of “pagbangon” as an evolutionary process.

“Kailangan nandito muna sa pinaka-baba and slowly aangat to reach a point that you’re OK (you need to start from the bottom or base part and then gradually you move upward and reach a comfortable level).”

With that, Pagbangon is inspirational, particularly if one is reflecting on career goals and aspirations.

In a piece of information given to this paper, Jace said that “Pagbangon is the story of my rebirth, how I used pain and despair as fuel to rise again.”

Given his story from being an indie artist to a mainstream one, Jace was also asked to give advice to aspiring singers and songwriters who dream of establishing their names and working with recording labels.

“To stay authentic, like if you have a vision, stick with your vision,” said he. “Ipaglaban mo (fight for it). That’s what I did over the years. Pinaglaban ko yung artistry ko and yung creativity ko (I fought for my artistry and creativity) and it paid off.”

“You really have to review your contract… and always be grateful… you have to respect the industry and you have to respect everyone,” concluded he.

Pagbangon will be released on April 10 and the public can have its pre-order on iTunes on March 30. After that, the song is available in digital stores worldwide under ABS-CBN Star Music.