Cebu City, Philippines–For singer-songwriter Caleb Santos, being under quarantine has its advantages, too.
The 28-year-old Santos, during an episode of the Lockdown series by CDN Digital’s What’s Up, said being stuck at home due to the coronavirus disease crisis in the country has pumped up his creative juices in music writing.
“Like most people, I love music and this lockdown opened my mind more on the different genres of music as part of my creative process in making music,” said Santos.
At a young age, Santos, who is from Parañaque City in Metro Manila, discovered his musical talent and joined church choirs and school bands dedicating his passion to the Lord.
After graduating from college, Santos became a member of the first Pino-Pop (P-Pop) boy group called XLR8.
He is also known for his character “Von Palayan” in the 2017 Blockbuster Movie “100 Tula Para Kay Stella” co-starring Bela Padilla and JC Santos.
Santos wrote one of the theme songs for the movie – “I Need You More Today” reaching more than 60,000,000+ views on YouTube alone.
As to songwriting Santos notes that he often starts from scratch, “like from nothing talaga,” he says.
“I write what I feel in the moment and I use the emotion for my workflow,” he said.
“The process is different from every song I make. I can finish a song in 30 minutes, some songs take 2 weeks to finish,” he added.
According to Santos, he usually writes songs based on experiences from his friends. His skills in acting also made him recognize emotions and put himself on someone else’s shoes to put more life into the music he creates.
“Being an actor really helped me a lot. I’m able to recognize emotions I’ve never felt before and translated it to a song, even if I haven’t experienced it in real life,” he said.
Because of his talent in creating music, this brought Santos to easily express his feelings towards others and brought a new perspective in life.
Asked about his Cebuano fan base, Santos said that he is very thankful for the people who continue to support his music and OPM in general.
“The love is overwhelming and I choose to give back by creating more songs for you guys,” Santos said.
“My message to aspiring composers is to never stop creating. You will reach your full potential even when you feel you are experiencing slow progress or little steps. You are moving. So focus on your goal and put all your heart in every song you make, that will make a whole lot of difference,” he said.
Watch Santos’ Lockdown episode here: