The current difficult times call for some bright love songs. Thus, it actually feels timely for a cut called “O Sige Lang” to drop in digital stores tomorrow, Friday. The title alone offers that good vibe.
Singer ADJENG and I had come a long way as she was among the first female band lead singers I interviewed when I was starting out in the music beat. She was fronting a band called Wink, with an album in CD format and promoted by a mainstream pop label. Outside of her group she had been frequenting the Finals stage of notable songwriting competitions, from The Levi (Celerio) Music Festival to the Metropop-reincarnation Philpop.
In short, she’d been around — talent proven. Thus, her debut solo single is being celebrated by the music circle familiar with her track record, thrilled to hear a gifted lady who always got what it takes to fly on her own.
The track is by all accounts a romantic pop single with a strong chorus. Her magic wand as a lyricist delivering the spell in every line with such warm feeling to it.
“It may have been a long time coming to record and release my originals. But I think it’s worth the wait,” said ADJENG who is a hands-on parent and worship leader.
She wrote her anticipated first solo record with Nino Regalado who has been her frequent collaborator; the other half of a songwriting duo that made the grade in highly competitive craft contests. The song has the markings of a songfest gem. She expressed, “All of us have different love stories, each unique and meaningful in its own way. I liked the thought of incorporating nostalgia in this kind of love song.”
“When I wrote the words, I was honestly imagining that giddy feeling of a fresh kind of a love, one that is young and carefree and yet full of hope,” she added.
The track, an eight-year-old composition, was recorded amidst the pandemic, with ADJENG laying down her vocals at home and Nino mixing and mastering the track in his place. It’s just the first of several originals she intends to release in the coming months and years, notwithstanding the continuing saga of a virus-halted world.
ADJENG is expected to collaborate with other songwriters and musicians who are as passionate about music.
In 2010, she and Nino’s tandem made the shortlist to the KBP Music Awards, as well as the first FILSCAP (Filipino Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) songwriting competition.
Eloquent and dynamic, ADJENG rose up against the challenges of the new normal with flying colors. She expressed, “During the onset of pandemic, my husband and I have been able to embrace and maximize being hands-on parents even more. We showed our children that we can still be far-reaching and passionate about accomplishing goals. We can surrender our dreams to God in prayer, seek wisdom and favor, and quietly but efficiently do the work.”
Sounds like she's a voice we need to hear at this tough time in our lifetime.