Fil-Am musical director drops OPM album featuring intl. collaborations
A Filipino-American musical director based in the United States collaborates with local and international stars including Jordin Sparks for an album that features OPM hits, even contemporary and original songs.
Here with us now is Troy Laureta.
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Here with us now is Troy Laureta.
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00:00 A Filipino-American musical director based in the United States, collaborates with local and international stars including Jordan Sparks for an album that features OPM hits and even contemporary and original songs.
00:16 Here with us now is Troy Laureta. Good evening Troy. Thank you for joining us today.
00:22 Thank you for having me.
00:24 To see you today, let's talk about your new album, Dalamhati. You've worked with international stars, the biggest names in the music industry like Jordan Sparks, Catherine McPhee.
00:37 Understand Catherine McPhee sang "Kailan Kaya" and Jordan Sparks sang "Akin Kanan Lang". Yes ma'am.
00:43 Tell us, how is it like working with them?
00:46 It's super surreal, you know, working in the industry for so long and now being able to produce these artists that I had the privilege of working with as a musical director.
00:56 It's just such a full circle moment and to be able to celebrate our music with them, that's such a proud moment for me and for OPM.
01:05 And you've worked with some of the biggest names previously, right? Like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.
01:13 Yes ma'am. Okay, but Catherine McPhee, Jordan Sparks, how did you get them to sing Filipino songs?
01:21 You know, there's no, I'm a full believer that there's no harm in asking and I just asked.
01:26 I think there's power in just pouring with your heart, leading with your heart and when I told them about the project, they were just so willing to celebrate this music with us.
01:36 I was just telling them that, you know, our music is just so beautiful and it's just very cohesive with what they do as artists and as singers.
01:46 I'm excited to hear their rendition of the OPM hits. But anyway, tell us, there's also a lot of surprises.
01:57 There were many surprises doing "Dalamhati", for example, "Ang Huling El Bimbo" by Morissette. Tell us about that.
02:05 I wanted to do something really different with Morissette. I wanted to do this really beautiful rock ballad and I wanted to do it my way.
02:13 And we recorded it and it came out so beautiful. It hit number one on iTunes recently and I'm just so proud of it and I'm such a fan of Morissette.
02:22 Yeah, we're both fans of Morissette. Okay, what songs did you choose to include in "Dalamhati"? And tell us, why choose these songs?
02:32 You know, a lot of the songs on "Dalamhati" like my other albums are beautiful classics of OPM like "Kailan Kaya", "Kaiganda ng Ating Musika", "Nang Kihinaya".
02:42 "Apo", right? Yes. And also "When I Met You" by Apo High King. I just love these songs. I grew up on these songs and I wanted the Filipino people to just be reminded of how beautiful OPM is.
02:54 There's so much beautiful music in the world but with this album, I'm hoping that it becomes a reminder and a beacon of hope for how beautiful our music is and how far we can take it.
03:05 If we just believe in it. Like I said earlier, it's a good mix of the classics and the contemporary, the original songs also. Yes.
03:14 Tell us about why is this the third and final album for you? Why is it the final album? It's the final of the trilogy. I wanted to curate a story about unrequited love.
03:27 My first album was called "Kaibigan" and then it went to "Giliw" and now "Dalamhati". So this is like my breakup album, my hugot album.
03:35 Tell us about the breakup. Why choose this theme? Filipinos love, we're just such a passionate people with the teleseries and all that. I think that with this, it's just more real.
03:48 I didn't want to end it on a fairy tale kind of moment. I wanted to be more relatable and a lot of people can relate to heartbreak. Through heartbreak comes beautiful art like what we did.
03:57 Why is it that Filipinos can relate to sad songs? I think because we live it day by day. We struggle through life and we work hard. I think this album kind of represents our resilience as a people.
04:13 I'm hoping that with the music, it inspires people to just go and live out their dreams and live and celebrate who they are and what we are.
04:20 You said this is the last of the trilogy. Any upcoming projects? Of course, I will always continue to create and promote OPM. Even though this is the last of the trilogy, this isn't the last that you'll see of Troy Lareta.
04:36 Tell us more about "Dalamhati". You produced this as an openly gay man. What does this mean for you and what does this represent?
04:47 It means everything to me. The first album that I did as an openly gay man means that this album is 100% authentically me and you're going to get some of my, if not my best work because it came straight from the heart and it came through a place of pain and a place of redemption.
05:05 I think that unlike past stuff that I did, I think this album really represents who Troy Lareta is.
05:12 Tell us about the local artists working with you in this album. I heard Martin Nivera is in it.
05:20 Yes, Martin Nivera, Regine Velasquez, Ogiel Cassid. It's such a gag and such a surreal thing for me to be able to work with these artists. I've been such a fan of theirs since I was a kid. This is a dream for me. An absolute dream. I'm humbled and honored.
05:38 I'm so happy for you and congratulations on this album. Thank you for joining us.
05:43 Thank you so much.