MANILA, Philippines — After presenting virtually to some members of the press his multi-genre, Tagalog-English single Forever in 2020, as well as its music video, and sharing its creative process and success, Jace Roque retreated from the limelight to find time for himself and have a clear perspective of his music. As expected, the EDM artist has recently resurfaced with new songs to offer the public.
“I’m more motivated to do everything that I need to do,” said Jace, looking refreshed and sporting a K-pop and J-pop-inspired look, in a one-on-one, via Zoom, with The STAR. “Somehow, I picked up where I left off. It’s still EDM. Forever was already P-pop. It’s a continuation of the P-pop sound, mixed with my EDM style.” That’s how the singer-songwriter sees his evolving music now after that break with a goal “to contribute ever since to the music scene,” added he, who is also responding to the emergence of P-pop, which, according to him, is close to his genre. Jace will treat everyone to this musical incorporation of P-pop and EDM.
“For me, P-pop is a modern Pilipino music,” Jace gave his two cents’ worth in defining the genre. “OPM is the more traditional sound like ballad, rock, the singer-songwriter-type of music,” which, he said, was prevalent before the dance music or EDM entered the Philippine music. “With P-pop kasi, dun nagkaroon ng parang evolution, the incorporation of all the traditional sounds from before sa modern (contemporary) sound sa ngayon,” added Jace and shared that “the structure of P-pop is based on Korean-pop, American-pop and Japanese-pop.”
Its song structure departs from the “verse-chorus-verse,” said he, and adheres to “verse-chorus-instrumental breakdown, which (refers to the) beats, and all. Then, there’s verse-chorus, sometimes nawawala na yung bridge, minsan may bridge and may rap in between.”
Following Jace’s line of thought, one can say that P-pop is another way for the Filipino music scene to be recognized globally. He cited the nominations of Sarah Geronimo and James Reid at the MTV Music Awards and the inclusion of SB19 at the Billboard Music Awards as signs that other Filipino artists have a chance “to penetrate the international scene, and that’s because of P-pop.”
As for crafting his song narrative, Jace’s approach remains autobiographical. “All of my songs, since I’m the one writing them, are very personal,” reiterated he. (A song) is like my diary in a music form.”
His latest releases, creatively brought about by his musical vacation, Di Para Sayo and Be Someone, are additions to his growing collection of songs that capture his experiences and thoughts in love and life.
“Di Para Sayo, my Tagalog comeback single, is about that after loving someone 100 and 10 percent, ma-re-realize mo rin na hindi pala siya karapat-dapat (you will also realize that you don’t deserve the person),” said he. “This time around, you should love yourself. My English comeback single, Be Someone, is about my struggles in showbiz, growing up in showbiz, the unrealistic expectations of family, friends and the industry that somehow (are) damaging for me, for my mental health kasi dapat… you’re living yourself authentically, you’re living your life na authentic ka sa sarili mo, not based on someone’s opinion that what you should be. Here, I discuss the struggles and battle(s), and I’m choosing to be me in the end.”
Jace has made the choice to continue writing tunes that are personal to him and relatable to others. He is an independent artist, but a part of Ditto Music Philippines. He was thrilled to share that in a matter of 21 days, his Di Para Sayo has 500,000 views. It speaks of how his followers have anticipated his comeback. That song and Be Someone are part of his mini-album, titled Inferno, that also features two other tracks to be released separately and soon.
“I purged all my pain,” said Jace of the album’s title, which reminds one of Dante’s literary work, “that you don’t need to blame yourself on events that you cannot control. You can’t blame yourself for everything, though you can take accountability for the things you have done, but you can’t blame yourself 100 percent. Like what others say, ‘Everything happens for a reason,’ pero isa rin yun, pero something’s happened because may ginawa ka na hindi pasok sa trajectory ng buhay mo. So, parang take accountability kung may nagawa kang di maganda. Then, the things you can’t control, hindi mo na ma-bi-blame yung sarili mo for that kasi (they are) out of your reach. Dun ko pinu-purge yung pain, yung blame ko sa sarili ko, the guilt, the sorrow and everything.” What matters, at the end, as Jace shared, that he has reached or the person will reach the point, where he or she is well again.
After some self-reflection, people, like Jace are ready to start again and pursue their passions in life. It’s songwriting for Jace.
(For updates on Jace, follow him on his Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube accounts.)