Just the word kwentuhan or the thought of sharing stories with someone can excavate so many emotions from us, given our current circumstances. It reminds us of simpler times where it was easier to check in with someone and hang out face-to-face when we’re feeling a bit stressed and worn out. It also brings us the melancholy of loneliness, wishing for a chance to talk to a specific person we’ve lost touch with, or can no longer talk to.
Filipino indie-alternative rock collective, Autotelic‘s freshest track “Kwentuhan“, released just last March, reflects these emotions, and then some.
Cover layout by Bhernn Saenz
Image Courtesy of MCA Music Philippines
The lyrics to “Kwentuhan” depicts that yearning to talk to someone—a collective longing among all of us in a time of separation and isolation, but it also takes it deeper with mentions of a person no longer wishing to reciprocate that communication. The story in its songwriting hints at goodbye, with the singer’s words begging for why and a chance to talk it over.
With this message and story in mind, the single takes on a more profound significance—a reminder of just how important communication is. Something that we all probably already know, but have taken for granted with everything else going on around us. “Kwentuhan” pushes us to remember just how powerful a simple “Kwentuhan muna tayo” (Let’s talk for a while) can be.
Image courtesy of MCA Music Philippines
Songwriter and vocalist Josh Villena revealed that this song is among his most recent ventures to dive deeper into himself as a storyteller, and to share more messages that are more in touch with the band’s most intimate experiences:
“Being the songwriter of the group, I believe there have been changes in my perspective when writing songs. Sinubukan kong mas personal lang ang pagkukuhanan ng inspirasyon at araw-araw na nangyayari sa mga buhay natin.“
(Being the songwriter of the group, I believe there have been changes in my perspective when writing songs. I’m trying to get more personal in taking inspiration, and looking at the things we experience everyday.)
Evidently, “Kwentuhan” departs from the band’s distinct sound from its well-received discography, a collection of tracks that’s more commonly known to house the synth-heavy pop-rock dance music that has solidified the group’s rightful place in Original Pinoy Music (OPM). This is also why it took 3 years since conception for the track to be released, as Villena shared that it was too different from the sound they were creating at the time.
Behind-the-scenes stills courtesy of MCA Music Philippines
“Nasulat ko ang kanta noong 2018 pero tinago ko lang muna dahil sa tingin ko, hindi pa siya bagay with the rest of the songs we were promoting. But as time went by, mas nababad ang listening ko sa rock songs until we released ‘Ikaw‘ and ‘Bago‘, na tingin namin mas naging bagay maging follow-up single ang ‘Kwentuhan.’ We wanted to sound as straightforward as we could and steer away from our common sound.”
(I wrote the song in 2018 but kept it to myself at first because I thought it wasn’t a good fit with the rest of the songs we were promoting. But as time went by, I got into listening more rock songs until we released “Ikaw” and “Bago”, which we thought “Kwentuhan” would be a good follow up single to. We wanted to sound as straightforward as we could and steer away from our common sound.)
The group wants to assure fans that their classic sound isn’t going away, though. Instead, they want to treat it as a new way to explore and experiment with their sound:
“Pero hindi naman ibig sabihin ay magiiba na kami ng direction. Gusto lang namin ng different approach at palawakin ang genre namin.” (But it doesn’t mean that we’re changing our direction. We just want to take a different approach and widen our genre.)
Image courtesy of MCA Music Philippines
As Metro Manila continues to remain under strict quarantine due to the pandemic, Autotelic hurdled challenges in producing music at this time, especially with a track as meaningful as “Kwentuhan”. The six-piece band revealed that a lot of them had to cash out and create makeshift studios at home to accommodate these changes.
“It was really a big challenge for us to produce and record music during this pandemic season. Most of us had no choice but to purchase and set up recording tools in our homes. Nagtiwala na din ang bandmates ko sa akin sa paggawa ng ‘Kwentuhan.’ I sent them a demo of the song with complete instruments and my bandmates just followed most of the guide tracks. Sa studio na nabuo ang karamihan ng elements ng song.”
(…My bandmates had to put their trust in me in producing “Kwentuhan”. I sent them a demo of the song with complete instruments and my bandmates just followed most of the guide tracks. Most of the elements of the song were completed in the studio.)
Behind-the-scenes still courtesy of MCA Music Philippines
In looking at the future, the band teased upcoming projects to follow their most recent track. But if it’s a single, an EP, or an album, they zipped their mouths shut, and left it as a surprise for us fans to impatiently anticipate.
All they want to focus on now is to see the band take on more open-sounding music in the next few years, refusing to be stuck in one bubble with their projects: “We would love to widen our sound in which we could incorporate different genres and recording methods.”
In the meantime, fans of the band have its rocking discography to enjoy, with “Kwentuhan” adding a touch of vulnerability to their collection. As we listen to it on repeat until Autotelic’s highly-anticipated next chapter, we look at our own relationships, and see which ones are in dire need of a good kwentuhan session.
Image courtesy of MCA Music Philippines