Behind the songs: Alisson Shore

Amanda T. Lago

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Behind the songs: Alisson Shore
Who knew sad love songs could sound this chill?

MANILA, Philippines – R&B beatmaker and producer Alisson Shore started his music career as the vocalist and lead guitarist of a metal band (a fact that made this writer and host drop a couple of curse words on a live stream), but as his current music proves, his creativity knows no genre.

Aside from being a musician that fits comfortably under the R&B umbrella, Alisson, whose real name is Emmanuel Sambayan, is credited along with Nica del Rosario as the songwriter for Sarah Geronimo’s immortal hit, “Tala,” so there’s no doubt that he has both the talent – and dexterity – to be a genre-hopping musician and songwriter. (PLAYLIST: A celebration of dance pop and the immortality of ‘Tala’)

“Music is music, wala namang boundary ‘yun (it has no boundaries), no matter what genre,” he said.

Alisson shared that he usually gets his inspiration while he’s in motion – whether it’s a bus ride, or a walk, or a jog. And because he would often take a bus from his hometown in Batangas to Manila, that meant a lot of time spent on buses – which means a lot of inspiration.

Kunyari, nasa biyahe ka, tingin ka sa salamin, okay, tapos ano eh, minsan, halimbawa, ‘yung mga naproduce kong track, blank lang siya eh, wala siyang sulat, ta’s ipe-play ko lang siya sa earphones, tapos nagfi-freewrite lang ako sa cellphone,” he shared.

(Let’s say you’re on the road, you look out the window, and for example, the tracks I’ve produced are just blank, there are no lyrics, so I play them and then I freewrite on my cellphone)

So ‘ayun, doon siya, sa process ng travel, siguro doon ako nakakakuha ng strength (It’s in the process of traveling, maybe that’s where I get strength),” he continued.

Live Jam’s February theme was love – and our guests gave it to us in all forms throughout the month. We had Earl Generao’s soulful musings on why people are obssessed with hugot. We listend to Ysa Yaneza’s pop ditties that captured the giddiness of having a happy crush. We bore witness to SB19’s love for their craft and their fans.

Our last February guest, Alisson Shore, was perhaps the perfect way to end this month’s Love Jam (hihi). He performed 4 songs when he came over on February 27 – each of them full of feelings, with hugot to match, let’s say, a Ben&Ben track. But Alisson’s lo-fi R&B beats make his brand of feels particularly unique. Who knew sad love songs could sound this chill?

Here are the stories behind each song:

Sundo

As Alisson shared, everyone has a sundo, that is, someone who waits for them at the end of the day. This song, released in January 2020, was inspired by that.

Everytime kunwari tapos na tayo sa work or sa school, that’s basic na may nag-a-abang sa ating sundo, so parang sinulat ko ‘yung kantang ‘yun for that (everytime for instance we’re done with work or school, it’s basic that there’s someone waiting for us, so I wrote this song for that),” he said.

Parang at the end of each line may nag-a-abang para sa atin (it’s like at the end of each line, there’s someone waiting for us).”

“Violet”

In 2017, Alisson was about ready to give up on his music career – then he released Violet in 2018, which picked up with listeners, and gave him reason to keep going.

“Siya ‘yung start. Doon siya nagstart, umano talaga ‘yung career ko as a musician (This song started it all. My career rose as a musician),” he said. “You’ll never know when the opportunity comes, kaya talagang ‘wag kang titigil talaga (so don’t stop).”

Alisson shared that the song – which he clarified wasn’t written from personal experience – is about someone giving their all to a person so that there’s nothing left for themself.

So parang it’s time you reflect on yourself. Tama ba ‘to, tama bang magstay ako sa kanya (So it’s like, it’s time you reflect on yourself. Is it right that I stay with this person)?” he explained. “Do I still keep on holding on to this person, or should I let go?”

As for the title – he said that Violet is the color of wounds and bruises, reflecting the wounded state of the person in the song.

Hanggang sa Huli

By contrast, his 2018 song “Hanggang sa Huli” is about a person who has no doubt that they want to hold on to a relationship.

Parang you’re still trying to hold on doon sa taong ‘yun kasi mayroon kang nagawang mali sa kanya (it’s like you’re still trying to hold on to that person because you did something wrong to them),” he said.

So parang, hanggang sa huli sulitin natin, kahit this day lang. Patunayan ko sa ‘yo na I’m still deserving, I’m still the one (So it’s like let’s make this worth it, until the end, even just for this day. I’ll prove that I’m still deserving, I’m still the one).”

Halaga

Halaga” is Alisson’s latest song, released on February 13. As Alisson explained, it’s a song about mistakes.

“Imagine a piece of white paper, then someone draws a dot sa gitna (in the middle),” he said.

Big chance na mas mapapansin ng karamihan ng tao ‘yung small dot imbis na ‘yung white space (there’s a big chance that most people will notice the small dot instead of the white space).”

“Small mistakes are what it takes to break someone. Isang maliit na bahid ang kayang sumira (one small stain can ruin something),” he said.

When asked about what inspired that particular subject, he said: “I just find strength in weakness; I find strength in sadness.” – Rappler.com

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Amanda T. Lago

After avoiding long-term jobs in favor of travelling the world, Amanda finally learned to commit when she joined Rappler in July 2017. As a lifestyle and entertainment reporter, she writes about music, culture, and the occasional showbiz drama. She also hosts Rappler Live Jam, where she sometimes tries her best not to fan-girl on camera.