XLR8 on Pinoy Magazine (ENGLISH TRANSCRIPT) P2
ALBUM TALKS
Individually, can you share your favorite track on the album and why?
KIKO:
FOR YOU. This is one song that would reveal our emotions through singing.
ARKIN:
YOU'RE SO HOT. Because it's danceable and upbeat. Those beats are the ones I'm really in to.
AJ:
For fast songs, it's YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL, because no matter how many times I listen to it I never grow tired of it. And for slow songs, it's FOR YOU, because it's like a distinctive song in our album, it's very catchy.
MM:
Of all the songs, I like YOU'RE SO HOT because it's our carrier single. Honorable mentions would be DANCE WITH ME, I LOVE YOU GIRL and I'LL BE THERE.
CALEB:
My most favorite is TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT because I suppose that is where I'm able to express my feelings when I'm singing that song.
MJ (Meljohn):
For me, my three compositions in our album: DANCE WITH ME and MISS BEAUTIFUL. I was still in high school when I wrote them, and then I LOVE YOU GIRL. It's a different feeling that you're the one who wrote the song, you're the one who composed the tune, others would be listening to them and we would still be singing them.
CARLO:
I like YOU'RE SO HOT because it's upbeat. It really raises spirits and the song is lively and then the approach feels like it's brand-new.
AKI:
YOU'RE SO HOT because it's so timely since it's summer. I also like the beat and the meaning of the song.
Of all the songs included, is there a particular song that is challenging for you to record? In what way?
KIKO:
Still FOR YOU, we had difficulty recording that song because we need to harmonize, the chorus has a lot of falsettos and my parts are really high.
ARKIN:
YOU'RE SO HOT. I'm in to pop but the genre of my voice wasn't for pop so I was trained to sing pop songs.
AJ:
In YOU'RE SO HOT, my line in the verse was really difficult for me because it seems that I'm pronouncing differently so the tone sounded different. So every night before I went to sleep I have to look back to that song so I would capture the correct pronounciation, especially in the part of "you stole my heart sa isang tingin". I had difficulty saying "ngin" then.
MM:
FOR YOU, because this song had more blendings (harmony) for us.
CALEB:
SHE WAS MINE, the rap part because we're the ones who thought up of the rap part.
MJ:
In our group, I'm pretty much the one who sings the high notes. I LOVE YOU GIRL and DANCE WITH ME because those are the ones that have the highest notes.
CARLO:
Perhaps FOR YOU because there's more artificial voice, more on falsetto and different kind of voicing was used in there. But it wasn't that hard because I was with them.
AKI:
MONEY MONEY because that is our fastest song, it's like I'm stammering so much in there.
What are the preparations you need to do for the album?
KIKO:
There are times where a song was just given to us the day before the recording so it's so much "ngarag", continuous replay, so that we'll be able to capture that particular song. Sometimes, there would be some changes on the spot at recording or whatever the producer tells us, we'll have to do it that way.
ARKIN:
Six months of training, not just vocals, but also dancing. We also have exercises while we're dancing, really singing.
AJ:
Of course, voice lessons since I'm not much of a singer. I excel most on playing musical instruments. Practice singing especially the lines. Losing weight because I'm stout. For me, it's like the effort that I'm giving to singing should be 100 percent because with dancing, it's natural, which is why I'm enjoying it.
MM:
Discipline to self. I don't drink anything cold, sleeping early, and vocalization before recording.
CALEB:
We have vocal trainings. We were able to have two vocal trainers, (sir) Eugene and (Miss) Marissa. And then for choreography, (Kuya) Miggy Tanchangco for YOU'RE SO HOT.
MJ:
If I know that there is a recording (session) I'm disciplining myself. I don't drink cold water, I sleep early and practicing the lyrics because during recording I'm almost the one who creates the demo of another song so I'm a bit familiar with it.
CARLO:
I started voice lessons back in high school and same goes for dancing, I attend a workshop just to stay fit.
AKI:
I practice my English and Tagalog. And always voice lessons everyday.
How easy or difficult doing your debut album?
KIKO:
Sometimes when we couldn't do what the producer wanted that may seem a bit difficult, the producer would get upset.
ARKIN:
Easy in a way when there are songs of my genre like ballad. It's difficult in a way that there are other genres included in the album, like pop, and a mix of R&B. I have to adjust my vocals. But the outcome of the album went very well.
AJ:
It's easy when I don't notice the time because I'm enjoying myself. But vocally, it's difficult.
CALEB:
It became easy because the rest of the group and I are helping each other out and are very supportive of each other. Our strong bond is there, we've been together for almost two years. Perhaps it's difficult when we were being drilled in our rehearsal times. Actually I'm from Bulacan (Province, 2-3 hours distance from Manila) so it's rather difficult.
MJ:
If you put feeling in to the song, it's easier to sing. The hard part is, of course, sometimes when you put feeling and when it has high parts you would have to put in technique in order to sing the song well.
CARLO:
It's almost two years in the making.
AKI:
It's really difficult because I came from Japan. I've been here for two years now and still having difficulty speaking English and Tagalog, so I'm really learning.
How did you guys motivate yourselves when recording each song?
KIKO:
This is what we dreamt of. If we're not doing anything, we would be singing or just fooling around. Perhaps our motivation came from our families, friends and special people in our lives.
ARKIN:
Of course I look up to my idols like the Jonas Brothers, Michael Jackson and the High School Musical casts. I watch their movies and listen to their music. I even watch their behind the scenes, how they made their preparations, so I'm watching them as my motivation.
AJ:
Firstly, my loved ones since I came from a showbiz clan. If I'm able to, I hope I would be able to achieve what they have done and of course, my love for music because I'm in to musical instruments.
MM:
First and foremost, my family, friends, and then there's also my dream. I still haven't seen the future as an entertainer, artist, singer and dancer.
CALEB:
When I'm singing, I'm really thinking about my family and close friends that I put my heart in to every song. I'm also inspired with the album because of all the hard work that we endured to create this with the help of (boss) Vic, (Miss) Veronique and Tita Geleen.
CARLO:
I'm thinking that I have my own character from the others so we would be more known individually though we're already known as a group. As long as your have good surroundings and always being positive, you'd come out looking good.
AKI:
I think of our fans and we want to thank them for their never-ending and overwhelming support of us.
CREDITS; XLR8 Forum