Rising Filipino artist Daniel Paringit has released his debut album, Checkpoints. Released by EMI Records, a division of UMG Philippines, Inc., Checkpoints is out now on all music streaming platforms.
“Checkpoints tells a love story’s journey that everyone experiences from their teens to their 20s. It captures the feeling of growing older and gaining more experience and discovering who you are and what you are looking for in a partner or even just a friend,” Daniel describes the album.
“In that journey, you’ll experience extremes: you’ll get badly hurt, but you’ll also experience happiness, kilig, and everything in between. All those experiences in love teach you to be more careful and be more intentional with your relationships.”
Embarking on His Journey with Checkpoints
Checkpoints is composed of nine songs, written and produced by Daniel Paringit himself. He admits that the themes in the album are inspired by his own personal experiences.
As an artist who made his debut during the pandemic and has largely built his following through his infectious performances and single releases, Daniel shares that he tried not to feel too pressured when creating his first album.
“There was less pressure since I don’t have a previous album that I can compare it to. Because of this, I was more carefree,” he explains. “Whatever song came out, I just created it and included it in the tracklist. I’m happy that the songs are naturally cohesive, and I think a lot of people will relate to the experiences I shared in the album.”
While he’s taken a laid back approach to the creation of Checkpoints, Daniel hopes that the album makes a lasting impact on its listeners. “There are a lot of people that I think will resonate with these tracks, especially when they’re at specific checkpoints in their lives, whether it’s a happy or sad checkpoint.”
Singing About Love and Its Phases
Checkpoints indeed has a song that will resonate with everyone, no matter their current situation. Whether you’re hurting from a recent breakup, finding courage to talk to a crush, or feeling stagnant in your relationship, Daniel Paringit has written a soundtrack for that point in your life.
The album opens with Buntong Hininga, a synths-backed track that sounds like a reality check done by your best friend. “Pilit mong pinipikit mga mata, ba’t ba nagbubulag-bulagan?” Daniel writes, and it sobers you up, especially if you’ve been in denial and delaying moving on. But he means well, as he sings, “Siya’y hindi mo kawalan, ‘di ka naman para ganiyanin. Ilang ulit pa bang kailangan sabihin, akala mo lang ika’y sasaya.”
Di Ba Sapat is a pop ballad that features fellow UMG Philippines artist Zack Tabudlo, which talks about a complicated stage in a relationship where you don’t know where you stand with your lover. It’s about a confusing and painful time where you still want to work things out but your lover is already detached, as both artists sing: “I-klaro mo naman, hindi yung naghahabulan. Sabihin mo na rin kung gusto mo pa ba, pag-usapan muna natin, ‘di yung mang-iiwan ka bigla.”
Di Mo Lang Alam is a groovy, guitar-forward track about that push and pull stage in a not-quite relationship, where you know that the feeling is mutual. And yet, no one is making the first move, as Daniel croons, “‘Di mo lang alam kanina pa ako naghihintay, nakikiramdam kung hahawakan mo rin ba ang mga kamay.”
In Dinggin, previously released as a single, Daniel sings about pining for someone but still building the courage to confess your feelings. The track is anthemic with its animé-inspired sound, which sonically translates the song’s hope that your feelings are reciprocated.
Kunwari, meanwhile, is a synth pop track that betrays the sad content of its lyrics. The song details a relationship where both of you are no longer invested, but you’re both just pretending that everything is okay. “Tapusin na natin ‘to, alam naman natin jusko. Huwag nang mag kunwari,” Daniel sings, and it’s the perfect dance-cry track for when you want to hide your pain.
Palaisipan is a dream pop track about a person who’s confused and deciding whether to stay or leave a relationship. The atmospheric track is elevated by guitar riffs, as Daniel reflects and sings, “Palaisipan, ba’t naguguluhan? Mananatili ba o aalis na?”
Sayo (Heto Na Naman) takes a more somber, ballad route, as it’s primarily backed by a piano. In the song, Daniel tackles the feelings of someone who hasn’t moved on from their past lover, finding themselves looking back at all their memories together.
Wag Kang Ganyan is a cheeky, funky track that captures the feeling of falling for someone, as you try to rein your feelings in. “Walang ganyanan, puso ko’y walang laban, tingnan mo sa dulo ako rin ay iiwan mo,” Daniel sings and pleads, knowing that despite his cautiousness, he’s already fallen.
The album’s ender is Walang Hangganan, a catchy pop track that reflects the feeling of being giddily in love, promising commitment and never-ending love to your partner.
Stumbling Upon Checkpoints
While each track in Checkpoints talks about a specific stage in a relationship, Daniel shares a surprising inspiration for the album’s name: motorcycle talk.
“One night, I was talking about motorcycles with my team and my friends. I just had a light bulb moment to call my very first album Checkpoints,” he exclaims. “Because, like checkpoints, you never know when you’ll come across it in your journey. Just like riding your motorcycle or car, when you constantly drive and move forward, you’ll still experience a checkpoint along the way.”
He likens each stage in a relationship and your readiness for it to a checkpoint, explaining further: “At a checkpoint, you can be ready with your requirements and continue with your journey. But then you can be caught off guard by a checkpoint, and you’ll need to stay put until you can move on. There are also times when you spot a checkpoint and you change your route. Just like in life, we have different journeys with different checkpoints. It’s always our choice to stop, move forward, or even turn back.”
Daniel was adamant about not making his debut album a self-titled one, and he’s glad that the eventual album name Checkpoints came to him naturally.
“At that point, all of the songs were complete, and just the album name was missing,” he details. “It’s amazing that the name wasn’t forced, but it fit the album and the message that I wanted to convey to listeners.”
Taking Time to Create Checkpoints
While naming the album came effortlessly, producing it took a lot longer.
“It took almost three years to produce this album,” Daniel admits. “There were times that it was almost ready, but I took more time to sit with the songs.”
Daniel shares that his creation process for the album is similar to producing singles: he writes the songs, prepares demos for them, and builds the final song output with his bandmates.
The main difference that he cites between producing an album and a single is the intention he puts behind each track.
“I considered how the songs would make a cohesive album. When I produce a single, it’s just focused on a part of my journey. With an album, I had to put together a whole narrative, so listeners can feel like they’re part of my whole journey.”
But sharing his whole journey comes with some roadblocks. Daniel reveals that he had difficulties with finalizing Kunwari: “I think the track had three versions before it was finalized, since I wanted to make sure that its sound fit the song’s message, which is when you’re pretending that you’re not hurting, and you’re laughing to hide your pain. I wanted it to sound happy to mask the sadness behind the song’s lyrics.”
He also experienced changes in his personal life that affected his album creation. “During the preparation of both the audio and visuals for the album, I was in the middle of moving studios and houses. It was a physically messy environment, so there were times when I had to work on songs in random places like the kitchen or even my car!”
Despite the challenges during the creation of Checkpoints, there were also high points in his album-creation journey. He highlights Walang Hangganan, crediting it as the reason that UMG Philippines signed him. “This song captures the feeling of the honeymoon stage in a relationship. In the end, I produced it in just one day!”
He also lauds his fellow UMG Philippines artist ZackTabudlo as instrumental in the creation of Di Ba Sapat. “It only took us about six hours to create the song! Di Ba Sapat was made because Zack liked Buntong Hininga, and we were supposed to build on that song. But when we were in the studio, we decided to create a new song together!”
Daniel also shares his favorite track from Checkpoints, which he reveals originally wasn’t planned to be included: Palaisipan. “It’s my favorite because it’s simple in terms of lyricism, but it’s straight to the point. I’m sure that at one point in everyone’s lives, we’ve all thought whether to stay or to let go.”
Moving Forward
Aside from Palaisipan and its message of staying or letting go, Daniel also highlights a line from Di Ba Sapat as something that he doesn’t want his fans to forget.
“I want fans to remember ‘Imbis nagmamahalan tayo, nag-g*guhan tayo dito’,” he says. “As you go through life, you need to learn to detect which relationships are just bull. When you know how to detect red flags, then you can avoid them. Along the way, you’ll also realize that relationships shouldn’t be rushed. And I hope that’s when everyone appreciates the difference between being in a relationship just for the sake of it and having peace of mind.”
“I hope that fans find comfort in these songs that fit the different checkpoints in their lives,” he expounds on his wish for the album. “I hope they know that they’re not alone, and that everyone goes through similar experiences. There’s a time when we love, when we get hurt, when we need to let go.”
As he finally turns over Checkpoints to the hands of his listeners, Daniel is looking forward to the next phase in his journey, revealing his plans for two singles to be released soon.
“My team and I gave our best for this album. My listeners are my inspiration to move forward from every checkpoint I encounter. As long as you stay with me, I’ll be here!”