From the frying pan into the scorching musical fire

Dadee Joon

We knew it was just a matter of time. But for prolific songwriters whose singing skills are as extraordinary, recording artist Dadee Joon’s decision to step in front of the spotlight may seem like the proverbial move from the frying pan into the scalding musical fire. Be that as it may, the bold move has been a long time coming for Dadee Joon, the singer, songsmith, producer and arranger also known as Jun Murillo, who recently released his debut single “Parang Asianobela”—a catchy but bittersweet ode to overseas Filipino workers that was directly culled from his experience as an OFW’s son.

While his moniker may not immediately ring a bell outside the music industry and theater community he inhabits, Dadee Joon’s self-penned songs, including “Sa ‘Yo,” Sarah Geronimo’s first massive original dance hit, as well as Carol Banawa’s “Hanggang sa Muli” and Mark Bautista’s “Baliw,” guarantee instant recall among true-blue OPM aficionados.

Even before the abovementioned tunes created quite a stir on the airwaves, we’ve known Jun as an innately inventive musical director and arranger who could turn even bland-and-blah melodies into crowd-pleasing showtunes.

We first met Jun when we acted in Nestor Torre’s (NUT) musical about St. Bakhita in the late ’90s. Halfway through its rehearsals, we had to grudgingly multitask and replace (you don’t say no to NUT) our dear friend Bibsy Carballo as the play’s production manager, following Bibsy’s tiff with one of the show’s producers.

Part of our job was to remind topnotch production designer-director Leo Rialp for his sets to be delivered on time. And if memory serves, the original composer also left the production after finishing the music for the first act, so Jun was called in to finish the job.

Thereafter, we sang the songs that Jun wrote and arranged for NUT’s Cory Aquino musical, the Nene Pimentel bio “Pag-ibig sa Bayan,” “Birhen ng Caysasay” for producer Ramon Orlina, and the refreshingly rollicking Chinoy musical, “Tsinoy: Kaisa Ka.”

Sarah Geronimo

Musical revival

In 2018, when we were tapped to direct a revival of NUT and Bing Pimentel’s popular religious musical “Nasaan si Hesus?,” we opted to “revamp” some scenes and asked Jun to “youthen” some of its songs with brand-new arrangements. To no one’s surprise, he didn’t disappoint.

Through it all, we always wondered why the guy behind the soaring, sturdy voice in Jun’s demo tapes—the songwriter himself—wasn’t singing professionally. (He did have a short stint as a theater performer, for Repertory Philippines’ staging of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”)

But it’s Jun’s intimations of mortality that helped convince the songwriter to step up to the plate and finally sing his own song.

“I’m always paranoid. Given how stressful the pandemic has been, we all could go anytime soon (laughs),” Jun said, half in jest. “‘Parang ‘Asainobela’ was written and recorded 10 or 11 years ago. I entered it in a songwriting competition, but it didn’t make the final cut.

“Then, in another songwriting contest—by Filscap, I think—I backed out because I wasn’t comfortable with the terms and conditions laid out for the participating entries. So, I said, ‘Huwag na lang.’ Then I completely forgot about the song.

“But this raging pandemic really got me thinking. I’m 44 now, and I decided it was time to do whatever I wanted, just in case something happens to me (laughs). I realized that I no longer needed permission from anyone to feel that I’m good enough. It was time to stop seeking everybody’s approval.”

Mark Bautista

OFW theme unplanned

Asked how the song came about, Jun recalled, “As a songwriter, I am a melody-oriented person and certain melodic patterns would just pop up in my head. I thought, how nice it would be if an Asian superstar like Jackie Cheung or a local luminary like Jose Mari Chan could sing what I had in mind.

“At the time, baliw na baliw ang Pilipinas sa Asianovelas, and I was a huge fan of ‘Jewel in the Palace’ and ‘Kim Samsoon.’ From there emerged the single’s OFW theme and flavor. You know, I later realized that this is the second of three songs I wrote that had something to do with OFWs—and that wasn’t even part of the original idea!

“It’s about me at 7 years old being the son of an OFW, and I remember my father packing his things with my mom the night before he leaves again for another 10 years—and I didn’t realize the impact of that in my life! It’s about the things said and left unsaid before another parting.” “The first time I wrote a song about a similar experience, it was about me nung naghatid ako sa bus station kasi uuwi sa probinsya ang special someone ko. I was so affected by it that I ended up writing ‘Hanggang Sa Muli,’ which was recorded by Carol Banawa. “When my father heard the song, he thought it was about him and my mom saying goodbye to each other. Kinakanta-kanta n’ya, but I couldn’t tell him that the song was really about me (laughs).”

Does he enjoy writing songs more than singing them?

“At the top of my head, singing comes first for me because that’s more like my second nature,” he quipped. “In writing, I feel the fulfillment mostly after it’s done—meron s’yang birthing pains. Songwriting is always an arduous process for me because I tend to criticize it a lot.”

As for the songwriters he looks up to, Jun quickly singled out Ryan Cayabyab, Willy Cruz and George Canseco: “Those three are gods! You can savor the majesty of the Tagalog language when their music is part of it. They make you realize how grand and gorgeous old Tagalog is. And whatever genre their songs are arranged in, the beauty of those lush and lovely melodies always come through. Classic talaga!”

“Parang Asianobela” is now streaming on digital platforms, including TikTok, Spotify, iTunes, Apple, Amazon and Deezer, with its music video available on Dadee Joon’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.