MANILA, Philippines – It’s been two years since the release of Zild’s Medisina album, which told mundane stories of the singer-songwriter’s years spent growing up in the Metro – think Cubao and Manila. In Zild’s words, the record charted his youthful emotions, childhood nostalgia, post-teen feelings, and the friendships and communities he’s found himself in.
But the artist is now back with his fourth album, Superpower, which he likens to the feeling of finally getting out of the cave.
“Kung ‘Medisina’ nasa kuweba, ‘yung ‘Superpower,’ nakalabas na sa kuweba. Okay din pala sa labas ng kuweba,” Zild said during an advance listening party for his album on August 7, together with his fans and members of the press.
(While you’re in the cave in Medisina, you’re already out of it in Superpower. It actually feels good to be out of the cave.)
Now 27 years old, Zild described Superpower as a snapshot of his life from 2022 to 2024, capturing all the memories he had accumulated within those years.
“Snapshot ‘to ng mga experience ko, from pain sa kasiyahan hanggang sa kalokohan hanggang malasing with friends, lahat ‘yan nasa album na ‘yan,” he explained, hurriedly reminding his fans present at the listening party – many of them still young – not to drink alcohol after the last point.
(This is a snapshot of my experiences, from pain to happy times to nonsense up to getting drunk with friends, those are all in the album.)
“Superpower” was one of the last tracks Zild wrote for his 2024 album. Wanting to keep up the pattern of keeping his album titles short and vague, he eventually settled on the simple Superpower to keep people guessing.
Interestingly, in several ways, Superpower also serves as evidence of Zild pushing his artistry further. For one, the track “I.N.A.S” marked his first time rapping – or as he describes it, reading out lyrics without a tune.
“Matalino Street” was also a first for Zild, who admitted that he used to cringe at the thought of including certain words in his lyrics.
“‘Matalino Street’ [‘yung isa sa mga favorite ko] kasi first time ko magamit ‘yung mga words na ayaw ko gamitin sa kanta. Dati, ayaw ko magsulat ng love song, pero nakagawa ako ng love song. Ngayon, ayaw ko gumamit ng mga modern words tulad ng ‘jowa,’ ‘yung mga ganon, medyo may ick ako eh. Pero nagawa ko siya ngayon in my own way, na parang ba’t ako magkaka-ick eh araw-araw natin ginagamit ‘yung word na ‘yun?” he shared.
(“Matalino Street” is one of my favorites because it’s my first time using words I previously refused to use in my songs. Before, I didn’t want to write love songs but I got to write one anyway. Now, I didn’t want to use modern words like “jowa (romantic partner),” words like that, I kind of have an ick. But I got to use it now in my own way. Why would I get the ick when we use that word every day?)
Superpower was a long time coming. But even then, Zild shared that his writing style never really changed. Having previously referred to himself as a “pandemic artist” because he began his solo project at the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, the “Isang Anghel” singer has found peace in isolation.
“Na-realize ko mas nakakagawa ako ‘pag mag-isa. So, ‘yung mga collective experiences, mula sa gigs or mula sa personal life, naprocess ko lang siya no’ng mag-isa ako,” he told Rappler.
(I realized that I’m able to create more when I’m alone. So, my collective experiences, from my gigs or from my personal life, I only got to process them when I was alone.)
There’s no doubt that Zild is one of the biggest names in the local music scene. But even with the weight of all this recognition on his shoulders, all he feels he needs to do is to simply exist – and that’s exactly what he did to create his latest drop.
“Feeling ko para maka-establish ng culture or scene or generation, hindi mo kailangan isipin na may ine-establish ka. Kailangan mo lang mag-exist. ‘Di ko siya iniisip na parang ‘Ay, itong fourth album, ito na talaga ‘yun,’” he said.
(To establish a culture or scene or generation, I feel like you don’t need to think that you’re establishing something. You just need to exist. I didn’t think, “This fourth album is the one.”)
“Nag-eexist lang ako tulad ‘nyo. Parang siguro pinapanood ko lang ‘yung mga taong nasa paligid ko na nilagay ko lang sa album. Siguro ‘yung iba sa atin, sa post natin ilalagay, sa Twitter, sa comment, sa fan art, sa status sa Facebook. Ako, nagkataon lang na nalagay ko sa isang album ‘yung mga naranasan ko the past two years. Wala akong ginagawang grandiose,” Zild added.
(I just exist like you. It’s kind of like I watched the people around me and put it in an album. For some of us, we would put these thoughts into posts, on Twitter, in a comment, in fan art, on a Facebook status. For me, it just so happened that I put all my experiences from the past two years into an album. I didn’t do anything grandiose.)
And with the release of Superpower, Zild only hopes to leave his panikis with this message: “Pahalagahan ‘nyo ‘yung friends ‘nyo, ‘yung mga tao sa paligid ‘nyo, ‘yung mga taong nagbibigay sa’yo ng superpower (Value your friends, the people around you, the people who give you your superpower).” – Rappler.com
