MANILA, Philippines — Singer-songwriter Ely Buendia dropped the music video for "Kandarapa," the third single off his latest album "Method Adaptor."
The album itself came from the depths of Buendia's soul which relishes on narratives personal and deep from within, ultimately creating a meaningful 10-track masterpiece.
Produced by Buendia himself, the "Kandarapa" music video is proudly do-it-yourself, done with the assistance of Buendia's own record label Offshore Music and directed by in-house creative Gada Nyssa Zayco.
"When I first heard 'Kandarapa,' I felt the courage behind it. It takes a certain kind of bravery and strength to begin a song with an admission to say that you or something is not okay right from the first line, before any instrument even begins," Zayco said in a statement detailing her initial reaction to the song.
"I wanted the visuals to feel like a dream you're half-aware of, caught between wanting to wake up but at the same time trapped."
Zayco has done plenty of creative work in Offshore Music, most of which are for the internal side of the label and for its own impressive music roster, most regularly for official photos and visual collateral.
But Zayco's prowess in directing, shooting, and editing for these types of work have already been out in the open having directed the music video of Pinkmen's song, "Di Pa Rin Sapat (Ang Sahod)."
That music video is a five-minute mirror-to-society visualizer which heavily presents working class struggles through guerilla-style shots and political imagery, utilizing the song's explicit message about underpaid labor as base for the video.
In Zayco's terms, her directorial approach for "Kandarapa" differs from "Di Pa Rin Sapat (Ang Sahod)" through implementing more of an "art house" style in its overall concept, toying around with colors (and the lack thereof), significant props that borders on metaphors, and of course the most prevalent of them all, the ocean.
"They all echo what it feels like to live through cycles," Zayco added.
In the same breath, the young creative acknowledges that this particular project holds a significant amount of weight, not only because she classifies herself as "fairly new” in her film journey, but as this marks her first time working on a project of this caliber with Ely.
"He gives you space to create, yet challenges you to see things from a deeper place," said Zayco. "I used to see him as someone almost unreachable — a legend whose work defined generations."
She also got candid with her feelings, recalling the time when Ely approached her to be the director of the single. She ended by citing the singer's simple act of trust which became her compass throughout the project. — Video from Ely Buendia YouTube channel