Blaster is finally making art for himself
An evening in a hidden bar in Makati’s Japanese strip was the first time I formally sat down with singer-songwriter Blaster, though I’ve met and re-met him at many points in my life before then.
I was in high school in 2017 when Blaster, then in the popular band IV of Spades, performed at our little school in Cavite. We screamed the lyrics of their hit Mundo, still an unreleased deep cut at the time. Students waited to meet them at the stage door. Blaster was the moody lead guitarist and everyone’s favorite.
Blaster was also still a kid then, having just turned 18. In the following year, the four-piece band dissolved into a trio. They still released music, even earning viral fame with Come Inside of My Heart (which Blaster wrote). When the pandemic struck, the rest of the band decided to work on projects on their own. Blaster took his time. His debut album My Kosmik Island Disk, an atmospheric, masterfully produced sonic trip to outer space, came out in 2022.
Save for live shows with his band The Celestial Klowns, Blaster has taken a two-year break from releasing new music. He returned late last year with Kamukha, a ’90s visual kei-inspired track about seeing a lover’s lookalike. It is an amalgamation of the singer’s loves and all the lives he’s lived. Here, he sat down with Young STAR to tell the story behind the song and how his music is growing up with him.
YOUNG STAR: How did you start writing Kamukha?
BLASTER: Sa songwriting ko, usually nauuna talaga ‘yung sound. May iba pa nga siyang version originally pero napunta ‘ko sa current version, at doon na rin ako nainspire na gumawa ng bittersweet na kanta (about) yearning. Bigla ko na lang siyang nagawa, and currently isa siya sa mga favorite kong kanta na nasulat ko.
Can you share more about the song’s initial version?
Medyo dance-y pa siya nung una, pero iniba ko na lang siya. Parang ‘yung state ko rin siguro nung panahon na ‘yon, ito yung feeling ko n’on. Para siyang snapshot ng panahon na ‘yon.
Do you find that a lot of your music is snapshots of what you feel while working on them?
Yes, pero as an artist, tinatry ko pa lang gawin ‘yun. Medyo struggle ko rin mag-release agad-agad kasi may pagka-perfectionist ako pagdating sa songs ko. It took me two years para maka-release ng kanta ulit, pero ngayon handa na ‘kong magtuloy-tuloy.
Were you working on any songs during those two years?
Sobrang dami kong gumawa ng songs pero sobrang grabe rin ako mag-filter. Bukod sa songwriting, madalas ine-experience ko rin ‘yung buhay ko, kaya mas dumami ‘yung pwede kong isulat. Meeting people, good and bad, malaking tulong sakin ‘yon. Very observant ako, kaya kahit saan ako mapunta, usually tahimik lang ako sa una, tapos tsaka lang ako makiki-engage sa conversations. Marami (akong) natututunan sa buhay, tapos tsaka ko siya maaapply sa art ko.
In a previous interview, you said you express yourself better through music than speaking. What is it about music that makes you feel this way?
Meron kasing mga bagay na nililimitahan ng salita, na minsan kaya mo siyang i-express through singing and performing. ‘Yung performing live, ‘di lang naman boses mo gagamitin mo; buong kaluluwa mo ‘yon eh.
What was it like working on the visuals for this new era?
Very exciting kasi para kong ni-revisit ‘yung childhood ko. Nung elementary ako, naging superfan ako ng Japanese rock, visual kei, at mga music ng anime, kasi lumaki talaga ‘ko sa anime. Akala ko nga, ‘di ko masasali sa art ko ‘yun kasi akala ko hiwalay siyang part ng sarili ko.
When you first started making art, were your personal interests not a big influence?
Mas ginagawa ko (dati) ‘yung feeling kong gusto ng tao. Wala rin namang problem do’n and na-enjoy ko rin naman ‘yun, pero this time, halos wala na talaga sa utak ko ‘yung iisipin ng ibang tao. Talagang gumawa ako ng music na sobra kong gusto. Kung ano ‘yung gusto kong marinig sa radyo, imbes na magreklamo ako na wala nang ganitong music, gumawa na lang ako.
How did you unlearn that impulse of caring what other people think when making your art?
Malaking factor din ‘yung environment ko, na napapaligiran ako ng community na merong similar interests. ‘Yung mga ka-banda ko, sobrang into Japanese culture. Sila talaga ‘yung mga kasama kong enjoyin ‘tong mga ‘to. Nakakuha ako ng confidence na merong may mga taong tulad ko; onti man pero meron pa rin.
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Kamukha by Blaster is out now on all major streaming platforms via Island Records Philippines.
