It only takes a couple of seconds for your life to completely turn around and it could happen anywhere, maybe while stuck in traffic or even on an uneventful day at home. For Paolo Sandejas, it was while out bowling with his family.
"My family and I were going bowling that day and it was just like a normal day. Then all of a sudden, my sister just started screaming because she got a phone call from a friend of hers," said the Filipino singer-songwriter, recounting how he found out V of BTS included his song 'Sorry' in a vlog.
"We were all in shock because V wasn't just like listening to my song but like really singing and vibing to it, that was really surreal for me. We all just kind of stopped bowling at that point and had to figure out what was going on. My life hasn't been the same since, it's been quite the rollercoaster ride," he added.
Considered to be one of the greatest opportunities he's ever received, Paolo's immensely grateful for the recognition for the music he's been working relentlessly hard on.
"I've been writing music and releasing songs for four years now. So it's nice to kind of just get that recognition and the fact that it came from someone of his status, and it's just really surreal and unbelievable," he shared, thanking not only V but the many new fans who found their way to him.
Most recently, the young artist released 'Hide & Seek', a heartfelt track about fate and risking it all to find love. It comes as the first of many releases he has slated for the year. With newfound confidence, thanks to his new community of fans, Paolo says there's a lot more music coming our way.
"I'm working on an EP that I've been working on for the past couple of months, I'm just trying to put the right songs together and really make the EP as good as I can," he teases.
As he's in the midst of his next release, Bandwagon caught up with Paolo to talk about getting recognised by BTS' V, how he's establishing his sound, and where he wants to be in the next couple of years.
Hi Paolo! You've had a crazy week, what's it like dealing with everything?
It's been tough, a nice kind of tough though. It's definitely a new thing for me to deal with. I've got a lot more support now, which is really nice and everyone's been really appreciative of my music and the music that I've put out besides 'Sorry', which is really cool.
Everything has also given me a lot of encouragement to explore my sound and really push for the vibe that I want to go for with my music, which is super exciting. I'm excited for what's to come now.
How does it feel to be recognised by one of the biggest artists today?
It's definitely humbling because, before this, I've been writing music and releasing songs for four years now. So it's nice to kind of just get that recognition and the fact that it came from someone of his status, and it's just really surreal and unbelievable. I'm super thankful to him for doing something that I don't think he intended to do, so it's just kind of crazy that all of this happened because he was just enjoying the song, so it's really humbling.
Thank you V for sharing my music with the world, and thank you ARMY for the love and support you guys shared with me. This one's for you guys :) I'll forever be honored and grateful for everything you guys have done for me.
— Paolo Sandejas (@paolo_sandejas) July 12, 2022
Do you have a favourite BTS song?
Let me look at my playlist—I have a playlist of all the K-pop songs that I've been listening to because I somewhat got into it over the pandemic. I really like 'Pied Piper', I really enjoy that one. My sister showed me one of their performances and they were playing a lot of their B-side songs—which I really like and definitely needs more attention—and 'Pied Piper' came up and I really liked it.
Let's go back to the beginning a little bit, what first drew you into music and songwriting?
Growing up, I always loved listening to music. I really enjoyed listening to John Mayer, something about his music really connected with me as a kid, I loved the way his songwriting was very honest and the way he would tell stories through songs, and of course, his guitar playing also is insane. So, he would be my first inspiration in music, I loved his songs so much that I wanted to try writing my own songs.
I was also kind of like a sentimental kid and I was going through typical teenage things—you know, falling in love for the first time, getting your heart broken, stuff like that. I needed a way to process that and writing music became kind of my safe space where I could process my emotions and the things I was going to do. That's how I kind of started writing music. In the beginning, it wasn't really for anyone, it was just mostly just for me to express myself and really understand the things that I was going through and feeling.
How would you describe the music that you make now?
I'm trying to get into this new sound that's more fun and more playful. One of the things that I also learned from this whole experience is to be comfortable, I'm more comfortable now exploring the sound that I kind of want to go for.
Whenever I write I have different personas: there's one side of me that wants to be really intimate and slow, kind of like Bruno Major-esque intimate love songs, and then there's the other side of me that wants to write songs that people can really enjoy when I perform because when I write songs, I always think about what would this song feel like live. It's difficult for me to kind of marry those two ideas, I'm trying to work on bringing those two those personas together and figuring out the sound that I want to go for.
But if I had to describe my sound now, it's usually very relaxed and very laid back. I do enjoy that and I'm happy that people are enjoying the songs and kind of relaxing with them.
You recently released your song 'HIDE & SEEK', what's the story behind that song?
I wrote the song sometime last year when I was having really bad writer's block. I was having difficulty putting the songs together because I only had the chords back then, so I was just going back and forth because I really wanted to use those chords in a song. Then slowly but surely, the first line came to me and that song started building itself. I wanted to go for a song that felt very peaceful and something that would put people at ease.
The song is about fate and finding the right person for you because in my head finding your soulmate is a kind of like a game of hide and seek. You're looking for the right person and sometimes you think you've found them but it's not the right person, then you kind of get heartbroken. It's like hide and seek, it's a gamble each time and I wanted to kind of express that in the song.
Is there a song that you've released that you're most particularly fond of?
I really enjoyed working on 'Different Shades of Blue' because I just got a synth plugin then and I was kind of messing around with it and trying different things. I really liked the sound of it so the whole song was just built around that synth. It was really fun, I really enjoyed working on that.
It's always fun when the songwriting is easy, like it kind of just comes and builds quickly. You add something and a whole new realm of possibilities opens up and then you add more things like a kick or a snare and it goes so smoothly, all because of one thing which is cool. I find that really fun.
What are some of your dreams for your music?
I just really want to put myself out there as a musician. I want to reach as many people as I can with my music and still maintain that same joy and fun for songwriting and performing. I want to make a name for myself and also the Asian indie scene—that's the ultimate goal for me.
It's kind of like what Phum Viphurit has done, I want to be like him someday. He's really cool, I actually have a poster of him up on my wall, haha.
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Are there some stages you hope to perform on in the future?
At least in the Philippines, there's a festival called Wanderland that I really want to play someday. They bring in a lot of really great artists and a lot of artists I look up to, so getting to hopefully share the stage with them someday would be insane.
I also want to do some festivals in Asia, like there's that Java Jazz Festival in Indonesia that'd be really cool. I just really want to explore Asia and perform, so anywhere really I would love. So, if anyone wants to get me, just hit me up, haha. It'd be really fun.
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Where do you hope to see yourself in five years?
Wow, that's a long time. I just hope that by that time I would have developed a solid sound and really established myself as an artist, especially in the Philippines and hopefully around Asia, maybe the world, I don't know, maybe the world is reaching, haha. I want to really make a name for myself and give people music that they really enjoy and that people are going to wait for it, like 'I can't wait for Paolo Sandejas' new song'.
At the end of the day though, I really like writing music and wherever it takes me I'll be happy. This all stemmed from that love of just having fun writing songs about random things going on in my life. It's gotten me this far so I don't know where it would take me next but it's exciting.
What can we expect from you in the coming year?
Definitely new music and hopefully a couple more shows! After being in a pandemic for so long and doing online stuff, it's nice to finally somewhat be out again and performing live shows so definitely wait for that. And then later on in the year, I'm working on an EP that I've been working on for the past couple of months, I'm just trying to put the right songs together and really make the EP as good as I can.
Listen to Paolo Sandejas' 'HIDE & SEEK' here.
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