Robin Nievera. Image courtesy of HomeWorkZ
For someone of his roots, being the son of “concert king and queen” Martin Nievera and Pops Fernandez, it’s definitely more than easy for Robin Nievera to penetrate the music scene. But he shied away from the stereotypical to make his own sound.
Now older and wiser, Robin summons even more guts as he issues a challenge to fellow artists and musicians with his latest release, aptly titled “Dare“.
He explains, “My inspiration for ‘Dare’ are musicians and singers who write music but are never listened to or completely ignored. Everyone wants to make it as a songwriter, but everyone says, ‘That won’t work, it’s not masa enough, or not mainstream enough.’ Or my favorite, ‘We don’t have a budget for that kind of recording.'”
He envisions a goal for aspiring musicians to not be afraid of pursuing their own music. He believes no dream is unattainable if given platforms to produce.
“The reason I produced all my songs in my bedroom is to show that you don’t need a fancy studio. You don’t need fancy chords or instruments. You just need to believe in what you write,” he shares.
True enough, “Dare”‘s carrier singles, “No More Light” and “Love and War”, echo his artistic struggles.
He confesses, “It’s based on my feelings about my career as a musician-singer-producer for the past five years. I sing about how much I have struggled and if I should give up on this career. I saw it fitting to write these singles because of the irony, that I make a comeback singing songs about my frustrations.”
Thankfully, Robin has found his parallel spirit in RnB royalty Jay-R, himself a staunch OPM crusader and record producer whose label is fast becoming the haven of tenacious indie artists.
He proudly says “I’ve been through a number of labels and teams that couldn’t live up to their promises. I totally understood why. I’m not a marketable artist. I like doing my own thing. With Jay, I like what he was doing. He gave me the freedom to do what I wanted and helped me in areas I wasn’t good with.”
And just like Jay-R, Robin finds himself aligned with their common vision to be more proactive in creating original music.
“I think we have the same mission. Everyone needs to be more proactive if you wanna be in the music scene. It’s going to take more of that original music to make an impact,” Robin explains.
As part of his marketing strategy, Robin is gearing up for a promo tour this year.
Even when he’s not busy composing or playing, Robin still finds himself surrounded by music 24/7, and embraces every way that music manifests in his life: “I’m a radio DJ for Wish 107.5 by day, a music video producer by night, and a singer when I can be.” JB