Bamboo is one of the biggest names in the Filipino music and entertainment scene, but even he admits that new music has been long overdue.
The rock star, who performs in Dubai on October 31 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, tells tabloid! that fans can expect to hear new sounds late next year, although the songs are already in the works.
“This has been long overdue,” Bamboo — born Francisco Gaudencio Lope Belardo Manalac — said on Wednesday in an interview ahead of Friday’s concert, the final stop on his world tour. “I should have had a new album few years back already, but [it’s difficult] tackling the schedule and how busy I am with the TV show.”
The award-winning singer is a star coach on The Voice of The Philippines, and though he’s had a packed schedule, he tells us this is one of his best years yet. “I love what I’m doing right now. I’m in such a good place right now — happy place.”
tabloid! sat down with Bamboo on Wednesday to talk about that upcoming album, being a coach on The Voice and Thursday’s concert. Excerpts:
Q. Tell us about your upcoming album.
A. I’m still in the early stage of doing the album, songs are there but in the production sense it’s not there yet, because I’ll be producing for the first time with someone in San Francisco. I’ve just sent the material and got a bit of feedback... So I’m looking forward to maybe going there in a few months — after the holidays. Maybe we will be recording [in the] second or third quarter next year.
Q. What can we expect from the new season of The Voice of The Philippines, and from you as a coach?
A. I think we are just a lot more comfortable now. The chemistry is amazing between coaches as now we know each other on a personal level. Especially for myself, Lea Salonga and Sarah Geronimo — we’ve been doing this for the past three years already. With apl.de.ap, we hung out in LA for a while after the ASAP show. No one is so defensive anymore [laughs]. You know what I mean — we just lay it all out and just have a lot of fun.
Q. What about the artists?
A. We got such a great crop this year. I’m looking forward to how they will progress — how they will bloom with all the pressure, because that changes everything. You could be an experienced singer, but once they get up on that stage, they just freeze. I’m looking forward to sort of finding the real in reality.
Q. Do you think the next The Voice of The Philippines winner will come from Team Bamboo?
A. I’m hoping. I’m pretty confident to say that I have a great team this year. But then again, at the end of the day, it’s by votes. Hopefully they also let us have a bit of say in the finals, percentage wise. I still would like to have a voice at the end of the show — where I can say that this is the one I want to win. So, Kamp Kawayan [Team Bamboo] should win this year.
Q. What lessons have you learned from being a coach?
A. It’s all about developing the artist within. I’m trying to push them a little more. Some of them are out of their comfort zone, some are just very raw, so it’s easy to teach and guide them instead of feed them. Some are very experienced, but they still do those bad habits, so that’s even harder. I try to help them out of that. Some [need training in] taste — for them, they sound great, they think they are doing the right thing.
But for me it’s still a matter of taste. I’m still trying to instil that in them. Like some guy will sing, for example, [John Lennon’s] Imagine, and he will start to sing “Imagine all the people...” then he will ad-lib lines like “baby baby”. You can’t do that. Some songs are so sacred, you can’t ad-lib that way [laughs]. Yes, you have a voice, but how can we put everything together? That’s my job.
Q. You’ve been in the entertainment industry for 20 years. What’s the secret of still being on top of your game?
A. I don’t know the secret of that myself. I just love what I do and I just continue to push myself. I continue to try to do different things to keep it fresh. I always say, it’s always about your album, it starts right there — that’s what makes me happy first.
I’m looking forward to the next round of things. Now I’ve sort of figured things out and this is how I’m gonna do this: Write, do the TV show and then gigs — I love all three.
Q. Do you want to be part of a band again?
A. I’m great [at] being a solo artist. When I say great I mean I’m happy. No Water, No Moon [the last album he released, in 2012]... things were a bit dark and didn’t know where it was going to head. But through the process of that album, I found myself, found the joy again.
And now through the years, it just keeps going up, [getting] happier and happier. The secret is just to love what you do and you have to work hard in anything you want. The day you say “yeah I’m okay, I’m great, I’m done” is the day that you are dropping like a comet or sinking like an anchor. You just have to remain hungry.
For me this is still the beginning. This a beginning for me here in Dubai and in Manila, so thank you. (Bamboo left the band Rivermaya, one of the most influential Filipino rock bands, in 1998. Rivermaya perform at Dubai Tennis Stadium on November 7.)
