James Reid at Steffi Lucero
UMAARANGKADA ngayon ang actor-singer-record producer na si James Reid dahil sa mga nakalatag na collab sa iba’t ibang artists.
Tampok siya ngayon sa isang dokumentaryo tungkol sa mundo ng roller skating sa bansa, kasama ang isang grupo ng kababaihan na nahihilig sa naturang libangan.
Sinamahan pa siya sa isang bagong awitin, maliban pa sa mga nakatakdang pakikipagsanib-pwersa niya sa ilang mga musikero sa labas ng bansa.
“Every day, whenever I’m feeling down, whenever there’s a challenge that I feel like is too great, I think it applies to me every day, that mindset, just keep walking.
“Just keep moving forward, whenever there’s a creative block, just keep moving forward to whatever it is,” sinabi ni Reid sa Inquirer sa media launch para sa dokumentaryong “Rhythm and Roll” sa Kondwi sa Makati City noong Hunyo 17.
Tinatalakay nito ang minsang dinededma at madalas na hindi nauunawaang Pilipinong nahihilig sa roller skating, at kinuha ang pangkat na tinatawag na “Skatebomb Girls” upang ibahagi kay Reid ang kuwento nila at mga paghihirap na nararanasan nila.
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“As artists, really, one of our responsibilities should be to give our platform to other subcultures, unique aspects of Filipino culture, especially the underrepresented aspects, for example, with roller skating,” ani Reid sa Inquirer.
“And I think these kinds of collaborations can really help us think outside the box. You know, try something different, experiment, take creative risks. And I think that’s what I hope other creatives, artists, any other subculture, that’s what I hope they can take away, you know, think outside the box,” dagdag pa niya.
Gumawa rin si Reid ng isang kanta para sa dokumentaryo, ang maindak na “So Fire” na kalaunang naging isa pang kolaborasyon sa Skatebomb Girls.
“I wanted to create something that was not different from what the girls usually skate to. So that’s a bit of a disco twist. I think that was perfect,” ibinahagi ni Reid.
Sinabi niyang gustung-gusto niyang sumusulat ng mga awiting tulad ng “So Fire,” at sinabi pang minsan na niyang naisip na gumawa ng isang music video na may kasaling roller skating. Kaya nang dumating ang alok na makatrabaho ang Skatebomb Girls, hindi na umano siya nag-atubili pa.
Naging bukas naman umano ang mga dilag sa mga naiisip niya, ani Reid, at binigyan sila ng producers ng “space to just kind of go crazy.” Spontaneous din umano ang naging proseso ng paglikha, kaya naging on-the-spot ang paglatag ng mga plano.
“It wasn’t even in the original plan to have [the Skatebomb Girls] sing, it was added in the last minute, so it was fun and especially not tedious,” aniya.
Ngunit sa pagsusulat ng awitin, may mas buong proseso siyang sinusunod. “I find the emotion first that I’m looking for. So in this case, it was something that was fun and just kind of free, something where it makes you want to dance, makes you want to move. And once I had the music that has that emotion, it just kind of flows out,” paliwanag ni Reid.
Mapapanood na ngayon ang “Rhythm and Roll” sa YouTube channel ng Vice Asia YouTube. At nagpatikim pa si Reid kaugnay ng mga susunod niyang hakbang.
“I think for the next few months, definitely this year, I’ll be having some collaborations coming up with artists from Singapore, South Korea, and other Southeast Asian countries. I think I definitely want to explore international collaborations. It’s very exciting,” lahad ni Reid.