Paolo Valenciano on new musical ground

MANILA, Philippines - Paolo Valenciano has embarked on a solo musical career with the debut album Silence/Noise, although he has no plans of abandoning Salamin as its vocalist. The Star Records-produced CD lite is a test, where Paolo can bring his music or where music can bring Paolo.

“For the last 10 years, I’ve been doing heavy rock with Salamin,” shares the singer-cum-concert-and-event director. “This is me, stepping out of my com- fort zone. These are the kinds of songs

I listen to. This is just another aspect of me.” It’s the other side of Paolo listeners are not privy to. That explains the visual concept of the six-track album (with two bonus acoustic tracks). The X-ray of Paolo’s actual skull graces the front cover, while his face takes the back cover. The contrast between the two images is further defined by the paradox behind the Silence/Noise title.

“It’s basically the story of my life,” Paolo says of the theme that holds together all the tunes in the album. “The reason why I have the skull and my

face is, most people have that in their lives. They have two sides. One side (is something) they are willing to show everyone — which is (their) face. The skull is literally what people don’t see. The concept is, this is a part of me of who I am that I’m not comfortable showing

to people.” Since the album has already been released in the market, music enthusiasts can now figure out what is this new musical persona of Paolo.

“They call it post-rock,” he reveals of the type of music he has been exploring for the past year. “I think you can consider Coldplay a post-rock band. You need to listen to it to understand what

it is.” Paolo explains that post-rock uses electric guitars to create different sounds aside from just the regular distortion. “(The album) has a lot of that,” he adds.

To Paolo, post-rock is just a label for “down to its core, it is still rock.” Any- one can still appreciate it “down to its core” to borrow the singer’s line.

Coming up with a post-rock sound is a journey in itself. Initially, Paolo and his team tried to create a pop album, which is more palatable to many. The genre, however, doesn’t speak of Paolo’s true musical leaning. So they further redefined and refined what the perfect music for him. “There’s a lot of technicality,” recalls Paolo. “We prepared for a year. We tried to find the right way to do it. While we were recording it, we tried to figure out the sound. It is important to me (like) how can we come out with the sound that wouldn’t be pretentious, that wouldn’t be trying hard. We did soul searching — me and my musical director, who is also my producer. We tried to listen to all kinds of sounds.”

After all the collaborative efforts outside and inside the studio, Paolo had finally cooked up the final product, Silence/Noise. “The solo thing was a new ground for me,” he says. “I didn’t know how to start. I did not know what direction to go.” If there’s something clear in all this, it will be the fact that “we tried to offer something good,” shares Paolo, who thinks of himself as “a team player. I work best when I’m working with a good team.”

So, what aspect of his life does the album sing about?

“(It’s) my whole life,” Paolo replies. “Lots of heartbreak in terms of love. (It’s about) my biggest struggle. I have so many ideas for other people. I can direct anyone. But I cannot direct myself. I can’t direct what happens in my life. That’s really my life and that connects all the songs. It’s basically a commentary on what I went through growing up in my life.” Learn more about Paolo through the tracks Tag

Ulan, Parusa, Muling Magbabalik, Pangako, Hang- gang Kailan Kita Mahihintay and Kislap.

“Kislap is like the art track,” says Paolo. “It is the indie song in the album. It’s the only one which seems vague, but the rest are straight to the point. It has a two-minute intro.”

Whether Paolo is conforming to the present OPM trend or giving it a twist, the audiences have matured to be open to new sounds like what he is offering now.

“I’ve embraced it completely,” says Paolo of his latest recording experience. “I still have the stage fright with this whole thing. Good thing is, Star (Records) is helping me through it.”