Ben&Ben Reunite with Moira On the Confessional Ballad “Pasalubong”
After working together last year for the
heartwarming ballad “Paalam,” which has reached more than 40 million streams on
all combined music platforms, Ben&Ben and Moira are reuniting
again for a song that captures the intensity of deep longing and persistent
desire.
Their second collaborative single “Pasalubong” is a romantic confessional
that drips with unapologetic sentimentality:
a song that is defenseless in its yearning and honesty, hoping that
one’s profession of love will be received and reciprocated.
According to Ben&Ben, the song was
inspired by the double meaning behind the title, which is a term that is
commonly used to refer to a gift, and a word that could also mean
to meet. “The track is a play on both these meanings,” the
acclaimed nine-piece outfit explains.
Moira adds that the song’s impact
radiates on a universal level, simply because it shows bravery and honesty
despite the odds. “It isn’t so common anymore today to say what you mean,” the
hitmaker says. “So I love that after a whole song of poetry, we end with the
simplest but scariest lines to say…. Gusto Kita.”
Written and produced by the band and
Moira, with arrangement from Ben&Ben’s very own percussionist Andrew De
Pano, the folk-pop tune encapsulates the beauty in sparseness, and the magic in
turning an outpour of emotion into a generation-defining anthem.
Andrew reveals that he was tasked to
oversee the production side of the material, relying heavily on the weight of
the word as basis for the arrangement and the overall vibe. “A big immediate
difference from the usual Ben&Ben sound is the way the guitars sound, and
the absence of most of our usual elements in the beginning. There was a major
effort to really embody and project emotions of waiting and uncertainty and longing,
and the ‘bass drum’ sound that is present throughout the song is meant to
symbolize those times we get so caught up deep in thought that we end up
hearing our own heartbeat.”
For their part, multi-awarded
singer-songwriter duo Moira and Jason Marvin Hernandez helped finish the lyrics
and added lines that give the material its enduring pop appeal. “For Pasalubong,
we built it from the original song and added elements to it while in the car on
our way to the Ben&Ben house,” Moira shares.
Together, both Ben&Ben and Moira
interpreted the heart-wrenching nature of the material with precision and
character. They made the song both timely and timeless, with every flow
punctuated by unwavering vulnerability, and every word cutting deep and
beautifully.
“With Moira and Paolo’s evocative vocal
performance and the band’s emotional execution of Andrew’s arrangement, Pasalubong
is a song that will certainly bring up all kinds of feelings, and hopefully
will give people comfort in knowing that they aren’t alone in their frustration
and longing,” the band shares in a statement.
In terms of delivery, Moira is very
particular with the tone being conversational, as if telling a friend about her
day or sharing the story to a lover. She also commends Andrew for being hands
on in the studio, guiding her in every step of the way. “He has this crazy way
of making something complicated, seem so simple. There’s this pitch where we
used the 7th note for the last chorus which I thought was genius— that was all
Andrew.”
“Pasalubong” is the third single off
Ben&Ben upcoming sophomore full-length album to be released next month. The
song is now available on all digital music platforms worldwide via Sony Music
Philippines. Watch out for the music video premiere on Ben&Ben’s official YouTube channel this July 30, 2021 at 6:00pm,
Friday.
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