Rico again does the unexpected

MANILA, Philippines - There’s more to Galactik FiestaMatik than being just a striking title. Its creator, Rico Blanco, is proclaiming it as the genre for his sophomore record as a solo artist.

The title came about when a boss from the regional office of his label Warner Music told him that he loved his brand-new album and that it would be unfair to place it in any genre.

Rico tells The STAR in an exclusive interview, “So I went through genres and didn’t know where to put it either. Then he said, ‘You better be ready, just put it in whatever genre you like.’ So, I’m proclaiming it as the genre.”

If the title comes across as out-of-the-ordinary, small surprise really. The rocker himself is no stranger to doing the unexpected, and he does it again with the content and creative process of Galactik FiestaMatik.

If his debut record Your Universe in 2008 gleaned inspiration from the flexibility and freedom to finally work with other musicians, the former Rivermaya frontman and main songwriter seemingly stepped up the meaning of being a solo artist in Galactik FiestaMatik.

Many thanks to finally having his own studio, which is nicely ensconced in the attic of his new home, Galactik was performed and recorded entirely by himself.

“To have my own studio is a long-time dream of mine. That’s my basic inspiration for the album, just having your own gear, your own studio, your own time, your own pace,” says Rico.

For six months since late last year, Rico had largely holed up in his studio and shut out what he deemed as distractions. He worked on his music at 6 p.m. up to 8 a.m., woke up around lunchtime, did some grown-up stuff in between before heading back to work again. He also purposely stayed out of the radar, unless he had to leave the house for a friend’s birthday or an important gig.

“I just wanted to see what would come out if there were no distractions,” he explains.

He also didn’t listen to other artists, which what other people may perhaps think he’s doing when he’s making music.

Noting that some people have entertained all sorts of ideas as to how he writes his music, he has actually set it as a rule that whenever he writes, he does not listen to other music.

“Why would I listen (to others during recording)? I have listened to all those CDs growing up all the way to where I am now… why do I want to influence myself now by a direct source when I have this wealth... parang blender na,” he muses.

“There’s no way to know how I write songs unless you stay with me. But I don’t really care if others don’t get it right (about how I write songs), but what I do care about if kids will believe them that this is the way to write.

“You don’t combine stuff directly: I’ll take from this, I’ll take from that, then put together. You create music from (pounds on his piano keys) and (pounds on the piano again) and see where it goes, then you make a beat, and see where it goes, or jam with friends, and see where it takes you,” he shares.

Also, Rico always keeps his guitar close by as well as his notebooks. If he doesn’t have a guitar with him, he draws a keyboard on his notebook like as if he has a piano with him, or he sings to his cellphone.

But with or without an album to produce, he never stops writing, whether he’s sitting inside a van, waiting for his turn at a concert, or getting stuck at traffic.

He finds his inspiration from where he wishes to find it — even if it means from unlikely things.

According to Rico, he did away with “everything I’ve gotten used to” in making music with Galactik FiestaMatik. For one, there are instruments, the so-called fixtures in his previous recordings, that he replaced with unconventional if not raw sources of rock sounds — from melodica, lyre, giant cowbell, a few violin strings, to things he bought from the hardware shop as well as a neighbor’s junk — for the album’s tracks.

Galactik was indeed a novel experience.

“As a solo artist, I had to consider my Rivermaya fans somewhat in the first (solo) album, but this time around, it’s my first time to create something wherein I no longer cared where the listener comes from,” Rico says. “I’m just being myself. More than anything, the goal is being authentic.”

He adds, “I think I arranged and produced (the songs) in a way that they sound not surprising for someone who just likes music. I just want them to hear the melodies and the lyrics.”

The first single out is Amats, which was featured when Apple recently announced that the iTunes Store is now available in 12 Asian countries including the Philippines.

Rico was the only OPM artist/song featured in the New Releases, Top Artists and Top 10 Singles Chart, wherein Amats peaked at No. 2. A song about “infatuation that’s borderline stalker-ish,” it is the song that got the album started.

“I got excited with Amats because I’ve always wanted to infuse Ati-Atihan (drumbeats). My previous songs Awit ng Kabataan has it, Posible has it also,” he explains. “Then I stumbled on the idea of mixing it with technology, of something futuristic, something that I’ve long been in love with. Synthesizers or keyboard, that’s really my choice of my instrument. And since I’m really comfortable in the studio creating sounds, I found out ang ganda ng chemistry ng Ati-Atihan, something native, organic, local with electronic music.”

Some of the tracks that The STAR was able to preview include Lipat-Bahay, which got its spark from a random encounter with fellow rocker Dong Abay, who casually suggested that they meet up to discuss on future albums. Rico happened to mention that he was moving house, then Dong told him why not make a song about it. “So while he was talking, I already thought of the song. Then and there, the concept was formed.”

The song’s effect is bittersweet. “We all go through things like that. We all try to say goodbye to something or try to say goodbye to something that you can never let go of, whether it’s a house, an old lifestyle, a person or an old self. It’s about change.”

Then there’s Sayaw, which showcases a “French House-y” feel to it, which is another ode to Rico’s love for dance and a nod to expressing oneself without fear of being judged.

“It takes an extra level because I’m supposed to be a rocker, and I have a song about dance. It’s not a joke, I’m passionate about dancing. I love to dance as much as I love to sing. I can dance better than I can sing.”

Rico’s gift for anthemic songwriting is also on display with Ngayon, which is a song he was commissioned to do for a rock event of a liquor brand. He included it in the album because “I felt that it wasn’t given the proper exposure that it deserves.” There’s a celestial mood created by what Rico aptly describes as a “chill song” about appreciating the future with his specially-crafted synths.

He also turns playful but still biting in Tsismis, an upbeat, statement-of-sorts number that Rico incorporated with pre-set tones. “To be honest, I hate pre-sets, I always design my sounds. But here I used the pre-set horn and trumpet para tunog pre-set. Gusto ko kasi hindi i-glorify yung tsismis.”

He continues, “Don’t you think it’s ridiculous how much time we waste on gossip? If we spend the same energy on nation-building, we’d be so far from where we are right now. It’s a joke song but I feel strongly about it.”

One of Rico’s favorites in the album is When The Wheels Turn, which he originally wrote sometime back for a young band he was helping out. He ditched the song after finding it corny. For the longest time, it was saved on his computer. Then he decided to revive it as he was trying to overcome a bout of “arranger’s block” after recording five songs straight in a span of a week only.

“I didn’t know where else I could still go with my concept of using tribal drums and electronic music... There are albums na pare-pareho ang tunog ng songs, but I’m not used to that. I wanted each one to sound different,” Rico recalls.

“It had no lyrics but I decided I would sing it with whatever I could think of. The first time I wrote (the lyrics), it was a stream of consciousness. I wrote it part by part not knowing where the song was going. So I wrote it as I was recording it.”

And it never happened to him before. “I even tweeted about it, Thank you, Lord because I learned that trash can be a diamond. When I did it, it was as if I was on a trance. It was as if someone else wrote it. It’s about destiny and faith. If I sing it, it’s as if I’m covering someone else’s song but it really is from me.”

For Rico, making the album was simply another validation that “it really makes me happy creating music. It really is a privilege.”

With the ingenuity and artistry that went to each song, it will certainly be fascinating to watch how the songs will be performed live.

“It’s more complicated than I thought, but I can already see it. It’s another challenge I’m very excited about. And I would rather be challenged and fear failing than be bored by doing the same thing that I have been doing for a while now,” he says.

In previous interviews, Rico, who has had songs that charted in other Asian countries, had admitted that patronage of foreign listeners used to mean everything to him.

But it’s a different story now in Galactik FiestaMatik, the songs of which are intentionally written mostly in Filipino.

He says, “For this album, I think this is the first time that I didn’t care about selling it abroad. I told my label Warner if I can just write an album that’s for the Philippines and for Filipinos.”

The nine-track full album will be digitally released tomorrow on iTunes, with the Amats video premiering on MYX and on Rico’s Facebook fan page tomorrow night at 10.