UPDATED: Three Filipino Music Geniuses Collaborate on Sari-Saring Kwento; Covers OrangeMagazineTV’s August 2011 Issue!

Cover Feature: Ruth Manimtim-Floresca of Write, Breathe, Live

Photography: Jude Ng

Orange Magazine TV‘s August 2011 cover feature is three of the Philippines finest musician – Champ Lui Pio, Gloc-9 and Noel Cabangon, who recently collaborated for the song “Sari-Saring Kwento“.

Orange Magazine TV, along with selected Music Bloggers, were given an all-access exclusive sneak peak at their music video shoot held at Makati last August 16. Check the photos here courtesy of Jude Ng.

Here’s the official behind the scene footage and video interview with the three artists courtesy of Mecca Music Philippines.

Champ Lui Pio’s compositions have always resonated with people because the lyrics usually speak of things that many could relate to. Aside from the significant words, Champ’s catchy melodies make it very easy for fans to fall in love with his work over and over again.

Very recently, Champ shot the music video of Sari-Saring Kwento featuring two of the country’s well-respected musicians, Noel Cabangon and Gloc-9. The song serves as the 2nd single from his debut solo album, “Synergy,” released under Polyeast Records.

Champ shares that when he wrote the song, “I was just basically sharing my thoughts about the realities that I see everyday – about different people with different walks of life. I also wanted for my collaborators to give their own story in the songs.” He adds that, as an artist, his objective is for the song to open the eyes of people.

The concept for Sari-Saring Kwento is a performance video combined with a narrative. “The performance part emphasizes on the emotion of each singer on their parts of the song with subtle lights and shadows,” illustrates Champ. “The narrative part revolves around a little street girl lost in a big city. This part shows her struggle and reality.”

The collaboration with Noel and Gloc-9 came about because Champ wanted to get artists who are known to sing and talk about change; artists who use their talents to send a message and raise social concerns. “Gloc-9 and Noel Cabangon are these artists,” he affirms. “So I immediately called them up and asked for their participation in this song.”

The goal, according to Champ, was to create synergy between musicians from different genres into one sound. Champ sings the pop rock part, Gloc-9 takes care of the hip hop, and Noel Cabangon covers folk.

In a separate interview during the video shoot, Gloc-9 reveals that he didn’t find it too difficult to come up with the rap part of Sari-Saring Kwento. “Ang challenge lang sa akin is paano ako susulat ng rap na magfi-fit dun sa space na iniwanan sa akin.” How long did it take for him to finish his part of the song? “Medyo deadline na ako nun,” he grins. “Ginawa ko on the day of the recording.”

The rap part, Gloc-9 describes is composed of eight bars/lines. “Ang tricky kasi is yung timing and phrasing. Memorizing the lyrics is one thing and memorizing the phrasing is another. Actually, dito mo lang talaga mame-memorize yung kanta kapag nag-video shoot ka na kasi paulit-ulit   ipapakanta sa ‘yo.”

Champ says he considers Gloc-9 and Noel Cabangon not just as colleagues but good friends as well. “Working with them was a breeze and very productive. We were just chatting and catching up most of the time,” he recalls.

In terms of listening to a story or being the one to tell it, Champ admits to liking both. “When you listen to a story, you learn from someone who has experienced a situation and learned from it,” he explains. “When you tell a story, on the other hand, people partake in what you have to say or share, reversing the situation where you are the one sharing your knowledge and experience.”

When asked about his expectations with the song and music video, Champ replies, “I try not to expect anything with this song. All I can say is that it’s a great privilege to be able to work with these great musicians. This kind of collaborations doesn’t happen often. I’m very grateful.”

Here’s the official music video for “Sari-Saring Kwento:

 *The Sari-Saring Kwento music video is directed by Enzo Valdez with Jan Parma as Director of Photography. Vote for it at MYX Music Channel by texting MYX REQUEST SARI-SARING KWENTO and send it to 2366.