Every album I make is personal - I do not make albums just because this genre is trendy or just because I had an interesting idea. The motivation has to come from within. And I suppose that it is through these that I am able to somehow chronicle my life, at least for the past 6 years of the "official" existence of Electrique Music. By listening to my albums, I am able to refresh my memory of the important and pivotal things which happened in my life. By listening, I am able to compare who I was to who I am right now and measure how much I've grown and changed. That way, I am able to preserve my memories. I am able to make each year of my existence more significant.
Sharing these albums is, of course, central to why I make albums in the first place. Over the years, I have garnered an audience who, more or less, are eager to listen to these new songs. I am grateful to my listeners, and they are the reason why I always try to create an awesome listening experience. Whenever I receive praise that they liked my album, or that they felt it, or that they got my message, I am instantly satisfied and fulfilled. My craft is comparable to making a movie, or making a rollercoaster ride, and for my listeners to give me that chance of allowing me to take them on a ride - that is a favor I will always be grateful for. So I always do my best for my rides to be a worthwhile experience. I do not want my audience to lose interest in what I'm cooking up for them next.
I am now working on my 26th album, but before I release it next month, I think it is timely to have another lookback on the past 25 albums. I am glad about the recent suspension of classes because it gave me enough time to reevaluate all my past efforts from a more detached perspective. It was an overwhelming experience because of the sheer awesomeness of some of the songs I was able to find and include in my albums. Even I was surprised that I still love them even after all this time. Ranking my past albums proved to be very difficult because it was a tight race - and I had to change the lineup numerous times. I am curious to know whether my listeners will agree with my ranking or not.
NOTE: I excluded ranking my greatest hits albums because it wouldn't be fair for the rest. These were "Lovely", "Forca", "X3", "Dusk at Red Island", and "Demons".
Top 7: "REASON"
Album #9, September 2007
Key songs: Bjork - "All Is Full Of Love", Coldplay - "Square One", Keane - "This Is The Last Time", Texas - "Put Your Arms Around Me", Rob Thomas - "Little Wonders"
There is always a feeling of unreality whenever I listen to "Reason". It just exceeded my expectations at the time when I made it, and even I am surprised that I was able to make a masterpiece such as this back then when I was still quite inexperienced in love. "Reason" is about letting go of someone who you still persist on loving even if there wasn't any reason for you to love him in the first place. This is a well-crafted album, and its ethereal sound brings to mind a foggy forest. I also made this the soundtrack to my fiction mini-series, "The Count's Tale".
Top 6: "Rainbow's End"
Album #11, May 2008
Key Songs: Paula Cole - "Pearl", Vanessa Carlton - "Hands On Me", Ingrid Michaelson - "Corner Of Your Heart", Wake Up Your Seatmate - "Panaginip", Sarah McLachlan - "The Rainbow Connection"
I still remember the time when I told my students that this album contained my heart. Although my heart now may be colder, this is my proof that once, I can give all that I have just for a bit of love. "Rainbow's End" is about catching your dream, and the magic it captures is not the happiness one receives when you catch your dream, it is the fulfillment that you are still able to hold on, even though you already know it was doomed in the first place. The innocence of "Rainbow's End" is plainly seen in the child-like melody of the songs but there is something here which just transcends what is heard by the ears. That something tugs the heart, and even though there is nothing very unique about the songs in this album, I consider this one a groundbreaker since it was successful to captivate the heart. Years may pass and I know that "Rainbow's End" will always have a special place in my heart.
Top 5: "RUNAWAY"
Album #17, March 2010
Key Songs: Avril Lavigne - "Runaway", All Time Low - "Weightless", Good Charlotte - "I Just Wanna Live", Weezer - "Troublemaker", The Ataris - "In This Diary"
If there was one album packed with an astounding number of punches and hooks, it would be "Runaway". This is just a hit factory, where one catchy punk song is followed by another and another until you have reached the end of the album. "Runaway" fully captures the reckless state I was in at that time, and even though running away may not always be laudable (I admit that it is an immature act), the album somehow justifies it. Despite this carefree attitude, the album sobers up toward the end and reminds us of the fleeting nature of time. That we have to go get us some fun right now because youth does not last forever. A riot of an album, "Runaway" remains to be a testament to the teenage spirit - the perfect summer anthem, if I ever had one.
Top 4: "HEART LIKE A WHEEL"
Album #16, October 2009
Key Songs: The Corrs - "Heart Like A Wheel", Mandy Moore - "Pocket Philosopher", Anna Nalick - "Catalyst", Leigh Nash - "Along the Wall", Sara Bareilles - "Bittersweet"
"Heart Like A Wheel" is the culmination of years of experience in album-making. I consider it a masterpiece because of its timelessness, wherein one can listen to it a decade from now yet still derive the same satisfaction as if it was new. It may not be musically edgy, but it has a classic theme and it flows like a story. This is as smooth an album as one can get and not a single song flags behind the others in terms of quality. "Heart Like A Wheel" does not attempt to magnify issues of the heart to a grand and world-changing scale, but it shares them in a quietly confiding way. But what sets this album apart from the others is the wisdom it shares with its listeners. There is more to each love song than what is seen on its surface.
Top 3: "A CROWD OF OTHERS - PART 2"
Album #22, February 2011
Key Songs: The Futureheads - "Skip To The End", Best Coast - "Our Deal", The Drums - "Down By The Water", The School - "I Don't Believe In Love", The Weepies - "They're In Love (Where Am I?)"
Perhaps what I like best about this album is how it is able to transport its listeners to a completely different era. It was my first attempt to make an "old-sounding" new album, and I must say that I am happy with what I was able to come up with. As with some of my best albums, it has this distinct sound which makes one recall the album. It brings to mind a 60's or a 70's setting (it successfully owned it), and with this template I was able to create another story about love. This is one of my recent efforts, and the maturity I have earned from my experiences is obvious in the song choices I presented here. Listening to it again is like coming home to me, it makes me feel warm.
Top 2: "A CROWD OF OTHERS - PART 3"
Album #23, March 2011
Key Songs: Silversun Pickups - "Growing Old Is Getting Old", Stars - "Undertow", School of Seven Bells - "Half Asleep", Siobhan Donaghy - "Ghosts", M83 - "Coloring the Void"
Perhaps no one would have anticipated this album to my second best effort. It wasn't very popular compared to the others, and the response I got from those who I asked to listen to it was mostly silence. But when I was evaluating my albums, "A Crowd of Others - Part 3" unnerved me. It was as if I was able to tap into something even I cannot fully comprehend. At first, it will be very hard to pinpoint what exactly this album is talking about (even I was confused) but after a while, it started to sink in that this was an album about voids and emptiness and lacks. It was just so weird that it somehow transcends basic human understanding. Somehow, I was able to create something more primal than the heart or the mind. I do not really understand it, but there is just something in this album which takes hold of you.
Top 1: "ICARUS"
Album #25, August 2011
Key Songs: Yeasayer - "Sunrise", Death Cab for Cutie - "Soul Meets Body", The Rosebuds - "Nice Fox", The Shins - "Split Needles", Youth Group - "Forever Young"
The response I received from this album was overwhelming, and it came as no surprise because I have been promoting that this album was indeed my best effort. It does not take too long in listening to the album that I was up to something different in here. People did not expect that I was able to scale the musical heights I presented in this album. "Icarus" just excels in almost all musical criteria you can impose on it. It is smart, unique, listenable, deep, and meaningful, and I still feel goosebumps whenever I listen to it. This album is almost perfect, and even I am having doubts as to whether I can make a better album than this. "Icarus" draws its strength from the experiences I had to go through as I left UP and face a new environment. All these changes somehow coalesced into the songs of this album, and perhaps that is what made this album a success. It showcased my biggest leap in maturity, and it showed through the songs.
Download "Icarus" HERE
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Watch out for my upcoming album, "Drifter" this October!
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