Mla Bulletin | Gary V denies "Replay' a sign of "musical drought"

by Neil Ramos
October 6, 2010, 4:22pm

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MANILA, Philippines - Quick to refute allegations that he had run out of musical ideas is singer-songwriter Gary Valenciano.

In a recent meeting with the press, Valenciano merely laughed at the accusations even as he denied his new album, “Replay”, which is made up of old songs culled from past albums, is filler of sorts to satisfy contractual constraints.

“No,” said he. “I wouldn’t do that ever. I respect my fans so much. And for the record, Universal [Records, his recording company] didn’t put me up to this. This is my idea.”

According to Valenciano, he thought of putting all 15 songs together [plus two bonus cuts] in one album because he felt these “weren’t given the right amount of exposure” at the time they were released.

“Friends and fans alike would come up to me and ask why this and that song weren’t played on the radio. Some of them would even go, ‘Is that you?’, ‘Is that a new song?’ And I’m always like, ‘No. They were in this and that CD.’ The idea of putting all these songs together just kind of developed through the years,” he explained.

Valenciano said he personally picked the songs that were included in the album. He denied having “retouched” the tracks to suit current taste.

“I was tempted, I have to admit, ‘cause some of them were really old and there are bits that sounded very '80s, very '90s…but in the end I decided to stick with it.”

Valenciano said he was “surprised” that some of the songs sound as fresh as the day they were recorded.

“May times na nagugulat ako [with the songs]. Some of them retained much of their kick and energy. Best of all they fit in the current musical landscape,” said he.

A favorite at the moment is the track, “Home.”

“It might change in the coming weeks but it kind of speaks to me, you know? I listen to it and really feel the emotion [in the lyrics] and the flow of the melody just grabs me.”

The promotional single, “Did it Ever,” was suggested by his son, Paolo, who is also a musician.

“I was telling him to use it for his band and he was like, ‘No dad, I think you should do it.’ He told me that it will be very different from what I had released in the past and that it sounds very much like, ‘now.’ And he’s right.”

Valenciano insisted that he still a lot to offer the music industry, hinting at various ideas he wanted to get into in the near future.

“I’m still very passionate about what I do. I still want to go out there and just surprise people. I still have so many ideas that I’ve yet to start working on. I’d like to do musical scores for movies, I’d like to work with my kids, who are also good musicians in their own right…I have so many things in my mind actually. Thinking about the [work I’ve yet to do] is already very exciting for me and I look forward to being able to create more [music] and share them with everyone.”

An idea that Valenciano has already started working on is an instrumental album.

“I already wrote some of the songs. The idea [for the album] is to grab people through the melodies alone. I have titles which will somehow hint on the emotion of the song pero bahala na ang mga tao with what they would feel with each song.”

There is no time frame but Valenciano hopes to have the album out soon.

“What I’ll do is release it in like a two-CD album. The first one will be kind of bare bones, a simple instrumental, while the other CD will have a full orchestra. And you know what? I’ll give it away for free. Just put it out there.”

Source:  http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/280806/gary-v-denies-replay-a-sign-musical-drought