Soul, gospel, and R&B duo allen&elle at the launch of their latest single “Hanggang Dulo.” Image: INQUIRER.net/Dale Calanog
During the launch of their latest single “Hanggang Dulo” on Thursday, June 22, soul, gospel and R&B duo allen&elle, shared that creating music, to them, is more than just being artists, but rather a calling that’s centered on connecting with people and spreading love.
Stacy Abarca and Mich Basas, who constitute allen&elle, which was officially formed in 2019, have remained firm and consistent in how they go about their music amid the fact that their sound isn’t really what’s dominating the mainstream music scene.
“[T]here’s always a reason why we are doing allen&elle. We treat allen&elle as a calling, more than just us being an artist…So, even if we wanted to be part of the mainstream, we wanted to do what we were called to do, which is to make music to touch the hearts of people through the lyrics that we write and then ‘yung mga songs namin (through our songs) about love,” explained Allen.
Both Christians, the duo is in no way shy or hesitant about expressing their love for God, as they continue to write and produce songs inspired by their faith. In fact, their latest single and their first track in Filipino, “Hanggang Dulo” also tells of God’s unwavering love.
“Actually, ‘yung foundation po kasi ng song is (the foundation of the song is)—personally, we wrote it as no matter how imperfect we are, how much mistakes we make in our lifetime, we can always come close to God ‘cause He’s always gonna be there to welcome [us back],” shared Elle, adding how “just like in reality, our friends, our families are always there to welcome us back, to come home hanggang sa dulo (until the end).”
The close friends, who first met as Music Production majors at the De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde in 2015, decided to release a song in Filipino to connect with their local fans even more. “We were so inspired talaga (really) with our local fans, how they wanna be connected with us,” shared Allen, to which Elle added, that the best way for them to connect with their local fans is through their native language.
Allen, who’s usually in charge of writing lyrics shared that while her main inspiration is the gospel, the duo tries not to rub off the gospel on people’s faces or hearts, explaining how their music is “more about love, kaya (that’s why) we’re more focused on sharing love through our songs.”
Despite this, the duo expressed excitement when Allen recalled a time when an audience member thanked them for “bringing us to church,” which was a moment that left them thinking, “Oh, this is why we are here [making music].”
Prior to “Hanggang Dulo,” the Awit Award-nominated duo has released singles such as “Rest,” “Home” and “Call You,” for which Elle wanted to give a little bit of pop vibe. Elle does the music and the production for the duo’s releases, and she shared how the music usually comes first, then the lyrics follow.
Elle also shared that after she sends the music to Allen, they try to figure out what type of song they should do based on the beat or the music. “We root it from feelings…what we vibe from the song,” explained Elle.
Among their dream collaborations is to “make wonderful music” with “The Voice Kids Philippines” coach KZ Tandingan. Elle explained how the duo and Tandingan tackle similar genres. She also shared how they were able to meet Tandingan in last year’s Awit Awards.
The “Reign” singer expressed their gratitude to their record label for accepting and welcoming them at a time when they questioned if there is still something for them because of the massive impact of the pandemic, which at some point, halted their music making.
“[T]hankfully, kahit po may label kami na gospel artist na hindi pangkaraniwan (even if we have been labeled as gospel artist, which is uncommon), Tarsier [Records] wonderfully accepted us, welcomed us, and believed in us, until now,” Elle shared.
After their very first launch, which is a long-time dream for the duo, they are looking to release an EP this year. /ra