Vincent Eco hopes listeners experience new EP like an art piece

CEBU, Philippines — During the recent Sinulog weekend, Cebuano artist Vincent Eco was in Okinawa, Japan, representing his hometown’s indie music scene at the Music Lane Music Festival.

The singer-songwriter held a fundraising gig last October for his trip to Japan. Thanks to the support of fans and colleagues, he was able to bring his band to help him play his music to an unfamiliar audience, as well as garner sponsors for his first overseas trip.

“Okinawa was an amazing place,” he told The FREEMAN. “It was an incredible honor to be part of Music Lane and represent the Philippines and Cebu, connecting with music professionals and artists from all over Asia. I met some talented artists from different countries and hopefully will be able to collaborate with them. Fingers crossed!”

He wasn’t the only Philippine representative, as Barbie Almalbis also joined in to represent the country. Their meeting was fateful as one of Eco’s band members had the chance to play with the former vocalist of Hungry Young Poets at the last minute.

“My band and I were able to meet with Barbie Almalbis and her team. Our bassist, Kyle, even got the chance to play an impromptu bass session with her because her bassist couldn’t make it. Kyle had to fill in. He did such a great job on short notice,” he shared.

Looking back, he enjoyed being in a community full of talented colleagues in new territory – something he won’t easily forget as an artist.

“My favorite moment was getting to meet different artists and listening to their music, which is so diverse. Music is definitely the universal language of mankind,” he said.

Visual, cinematic journey

Eco’s Japan trip for a music festival was well-timed with the release of his EP “Sa May Baybayon”, which was out on music platforms last January 10. This is his first full body of work since his 2018 debut album “Kiss and Disappear.”

Throughout the six-track, 22-minute EP, Eco takes listeners on a nostalgic trip of grieving a love that got away and moving on from it.

“It’s a concept EP,” explained Eco, emphasizing why he wants listeners to experience the mini-album from start to finish in the order of its tracklist. “I didn’t want these songs to be listened to solely in passing. We live in a time where a million songs are uploaded, so I want people to experience this record like an art piece.”

It’s not just a music project for the ears, as it’s a visual EP where each track is accompanied by corresponding visuals that are available to watch on the artist’s YouTube channel. Eco teamed up with his creative director, Nikko Tan, to fully realize his vision.

Some tracks, like the titular opening “Baybayon” and “Baby” – the EP’s first single – have music videos starring Eco. Others have lyric videos that display words in the backdrop of the mini-album’s aesthetic. This approach strengthens the concept of Eco’s story, set on a local beach in Cebu during the early hours of the morning when dawn slowly turns into daylight.

“You really have to listen from start to finish because there’s a story. We wanted to show the emotions Vincent had when he created these songs,” said Tan. “That’s why our intention for this EP is to make it cinematic. It would be a disservice if we had such a vivid EP and didn’t pair it with cinematic storytelling.”

Reliving the melancholic feelings wasn’t the hardest part of making the EP. Rather, it was crafting the sound while collaborating with someone overseas.

Eco worked with David Morys Prendergast, the album’s producer, who is based in Ireland. The Irish producer has worked with Cebuano band The Sundown, where Eco is a member, on their song “Come Home to Me”.

While working with a friend remotely presented challenges due to the eight-hour time difference, he ultimately helped Eco fully realize his vision with the EP’s sound.

“I was doing this record on my own, and I felt like something was missing, so I tapped David, and he agreed to help me out. He added his own touch to the production, and this whole project became tight and cohesive,” he said.

Once listeners journey through Eco’s experiences, the EP closes with an instrumental outro “Paghunas” (the onset of low tide) – a fitting title as Eco washes himself clean of past emotions.

“I wanted to capture the realization of moving on. That’s why it has no lyrics. It’s more about the instrumentation. It’s that feeling of drowning in emotions, and after a few realizations, everything subsides,” Eco explained.

While “Sa May Baybayon” may be one of his most personal works yet, Eco wants listeners to form their interpretations based on their experiences. This is reflected in the EP’s cover art, a painting by Cebuano artist Vince Aaron Omega, also known as Binsoy.

“Our prompt for him was: ‘Imagine a beach that you remember.’ So he painted his own vision of a memory of a beach – one that was close to his heart,” Tan explained. “This solidifies the concept of the EP as a visual piece because it’s a constellation of references.”

After all, it was the paintings of Cebuano artist Martino Abellana (dubbed The Dean of Cebuano Painters) at the National Museum of the Philippines Cebu that inspired Eco to bring his story to life in the EP.

“Whenever you see a painting, you interpret it in your own way. I wanted the visuals of my EP to be like an art piece, something listeners can interpret for themselves when they hear the songs,” said Eco.

“The visuals are not meant to be spoon-fed to the audience. They should interpret them on their own,” he added. “How do they feel when they hear this song? What comes to mind when they listen to the whole EP? What does it do to you and your life?”

Aside from being available for streaming and digital purchase, “Sa May Baybayon” is also available to purchase as a CD for P400 (excluding shipping) at Melt Records’ online store.