It had been a little while since noted multi-talented Nicole Laurel got back in the recording cycle. She didn’t stop writing new songs. In fact, there are dozens in progress.
For her new single “Bawal,” Nicole collaborated with a co-musician she had met nearly nine years ago but never really had the opportunity to write with—guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Gabe Dandan. During an impromptu jam, he put down the guitar and began playing keys. Nicole began humming instantaneous melody and lyrics—the initial songwriting for “Bawal” was done in about 30 minutes.
“This is one of the simplest lyrical expressions I have published, nothing poetic here, just a sentiment revolving around the quintessential question: ‘Bakit masarap kapag bawal? It was one of those instances na halos sabay lumabas yung lyrics and melody, and halos tapos na yung song form
in the first session. I was led into the song by the chord choices. The song is a simple, slow, soulful blend of sultriness and the melancholy of desiring something you can’t have,” Nicole noted.
“I like working with Nicole because I am inclined towards improvisation-style writing, it brings out the best in my playing and musical choices,
Nicole encourages that environment. Her brain is like a factory for making lyrics, the workflow is seamless and that doesn’t always happen with everyone,” Gabe said in turn.
“Bawal,” launched on October 28, aims to take listeners along with the memories of countless chases, losses, painful lessons, maybes, possibilities, and loves that could have been.
More songs are birthing from Nicole Laurel Asensio, but for now, she just needed to publish at least one to ignite the process again.
“The beautiful thing about songwriting is—technically, walang bawal…you can write about anything, anyone and everything… you can use any note, rhythm, topic, lyric that reflects your soul and sentiment. Marami ngang bawal, ngunit, sa paglikha… lahat pwede. This is why creativity proves to be my greatest purpose and escape all in one, theres no telling where the creative chase will lead, but one thing is for sure, the creative chase is never futile, and always masarap,” ends Nicole.
