Not everyone gets to meet their real-life heroes, more so the chance to get to know them better. But up-and-coming artist raven had been given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of working with his musical influence Rico Blanco – an experience he likened to meeting his childhood heroes.
In an exclusive interview with FreebieMNL, the rising songwriter-producer shared what it’s like working with Rico Blanco for the lo-fi track “s.u.k.i” which he released last March.
“Masaya,” raven told FreebieMNL as he shared about working with Rico Blanco.
He added: “Tulad ng lagi kong sinasabi parang Spider-Man and Iron-Man ‘yung dating. Madami ako natututunan and lagi siya nakagabay sa mga ginagawa kong music.”
Who’s raven?
Asked to describe himself in one word, he told FreebieMNL: “Inspiring.”
But the 21-year-old artist’s love and passion for music wasn’t something he randomly felt pursuing as a craft.
In fact, he learned how to play the guitar at a young age.
“Bata pa lang ako talagang napamahal na ako sa music dahil yung family ko mga musikero, then nu’ng tinuruan ako ni papa mag gitara nung bata pa, doon ko nasabi sa sarili ko na gusto ko maging isang artist,” he said.
raven said he drawns inspiration his own experience as well as real-life stories of his friends.
But what makes raven an interesting artist is that at a young age, he is feels certain about not putting himself in a box and not sticking in just simply one genre.
“Gumagawa ako ng Chill lo-fi hiphop, indie folk, indie rock and indie pop music na inspired sa real life story ko or ng mga kaibigan o minsan inspired sa books and movies. Madami ako trip na genre kasi ayaw ko i-limit sarili ko pag dating sa music,” he said.
On creating music amid the pandemic
Despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, ravens finds it both challenging and exciting to get to make music.
“Masaya and cxciting kasi kahit may pandemic tuloy tuloy padin sa paggawa. Challenging din siya kasi through online lang nakakapagbigayan ng ideas kung paano mapapaganda ‘yung kanta and through online lang din nakakapag send ng tracks,” he said.
Meanwhile, raven assured his fans that he will be releasing new songs, new music videos, and extended play (EP) in the coming months.
