Rising singer-songwriter, mrld, just dropped her latest acoustic pop record, ‘Ikaw Pa Rin,’ on Friday, September 2.
Published under O/C Records, Ikaw Pa Rin follows the release of mrld’s hit track, Maligayang Pagkunwari, released last April 2022, and has garnered over 3M streams on streaming platforms.
Ikaw Pa Rin depicts a narrative revolving around unrequited love but highlights that even though one has the other person on the pedestal, there is a chamber for well-founded love and appreciation.
“To simply put it, I would say it is basically just like picking someone even though you know that they’ll never pick you anyway. I wanted to write a song where we can still appreciate and love people without the thought or the need from them to like us back,” mrld shares as she talks about the core narrative of the record.
The production of Ikaw Pa Rin stems from the artist’s quest to explore the vast range of music– making the sound of her newest track a representation of a newfangled artistic offering. The creative development of the record was greatly influenced by the artist’s love for K-pop music which significantly impelled her to expand her horizons.
“As an artist, it’s a goal for me to really not just stick with one sound. It would be boring, or the listeners would think, “Oh, this just sounds like her previous releases. There’s nothing new,” and I don’t want that. And especially, Kpop is taking over the music industry all around the world now! I see these idols as an influence on how passionate they are and sound wise, I’m trying to write such songs as well,” mrld explains.
She adds, “Kpop has been a very huge influence in the industry right now, and I know a lot of people go through a phase where they want to meet or have this relationship (no specifics) with a certain group. I wrote the song with these idols in mind. Knowing the fact that they don’t even know me but I treat them as family. It’s more of an “I still love you even from afar” or “I’d still pick you over anything else” type of situation.”
Ikaw Pa Rin propelled a form of artistic evolution for mrld. The crafting process of her latest song was nourished by her drive to deliver creative pieces that will bring out new experiences for her listeners– anchored in her motive to power up a “listener-artist connection.”
“Just by listening to my previous songs, the growth is insane! I’m very proud of what I’ve become. I just want to grow as an artist who is willing to learn and to take risks,” mrld shares.
While mrld takes on a new artistic approach in terms of musical production, this latest release still speaks of the artist’s distinct stamp. Ikaw Pa Rin features an acoustic pop tune that elicits her great prowess in rendering romantic and mellow energy.
Other creatives who pitched in the record production include producer Jefferson Macasarte, vocal producer Jade Riccio, and Hazel Pascua, who mixed and mastered the track.
Ikaw Pa Rin is now available for streaming on digital music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. The official music video is also up on O/C Records’ YouTube channel.
mrld, who’s also behind the track called An Art Gallery Could Never Be Unique As You, which already garnered over 30 million streams on Spotify alone, is set to hold her first ever live show and it is happening in Manila at Social House this October 28, 2022.