Clem Castro Profiles Orange & Lemons from Their Genesis to Their Comeback

OG

Clem Castro of Orange and Lemons shares a great deal of storytelling in this interview. He opens up about the band's early days, his musical background, songwriting, musical influences, working with bandmates, the band's breakup, what their comeback looks like, and more.  You don't want to miss the part where you realize it's not only you whose musical tastes shift as you age in line with key life changes and challenges. Those "intense" pop-rock sensibilities are gone because, well, teenage days are now in the distant past. Find out how their sound has evolved as they continue to make music as a trio. (The group disbanded in 2007 due to differences between bandmates and their managers. In 2017, 10 years after their hiatus, the band got back together but without Mcoy, their vocalist.)   Orange & Lemons is a Filipino indie pop/alternative rock band formed in 1999 by singer-songwriter/guitarist Clem Castro along with drummer Ace Del Mundo and his brother JM del Mundo on bass. Former member, Mcoy Fundales served as the second vocalist since its formation until its last reception in 2007. The group's musical genre's been a mix of alternative rock, indie pop and experimental music and heavily influenced by several well-respected bands in different generations like The Smiths, The Beatles and the Eraserheads.  The band had released three several albums and gained commercial success with their sophomore album Strike Whilst the Iron Is Hot released in 2005, reaching double platinum status. Their last album Moonlane Gardens was hailed Album of the Year in the 2007 NU Rock Awards. (See complete bio on Spotify)  Video Clips Courtesy :  NewYorkCityBlues https://youtu.be/9Y1dttyp8LI Orange & Lemons  https://youtu.be/x2e2RQpH_aA https://youtu.be/KxOdFSzjVZ8 https://youtu.be/olcgnlL_I7s https://youtu.be/dDe3q9ljjpM HDBeatles https://youtu.be/CTsB-llTzyc IV OF SPADES https://youtu.be/SF-FaZBMYdM Universal Records Philippines  https://youtu.be/5F0Y-fzW324 https://youtu.be/qMbL67TjnJk https://youtu.be/vgG5Qk3rSgo https://youtu.be/Mrlyj9JhrR4 Dragonfly Collector https://youtu.be/oNdj2lUnNSc https://youtu.be/cJOc-uPsCGY  Click here to subscribe to OG: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIj3xiW-RIO2cpr5LBvokRg/?sub_confirmation=1  About OG Using the power of video to tell one good story at a time... ONLY GOOD... OG.  OG is Summit Media's video first brand. And like all Summit Media brands, OG is anchored on top-notch storytelling to delight, inspire, and connect with our audiences.   We are deliberate in creating content that spread positivity, inspiration, and good vibes. Expect only good here at OG. Subscribe and be part of the community!

Transcript

00:00 With Orange and Lemons, we just lasted for four years as recording artists in the industry.

00:06 We disbanded in 2007.

00:14 Started in 1999. But prior to that, we were using different names. When we started focusing on

00:27 original music, we started with "Irony," "The Cranes," and then "Mushroom."

00:33 So when a band member left, we would change the band name.

00:40 When the repertoire changed, or we went in a different direction, we would change the band name.

00:46 Until we settled with... We became a four-piece band without a keyboardist. We settled with the name

00:53 "Orange and Lemons." When we were researching for possible names, one of my bandmates

00:59 suggested that. He saw it on a music magazine, an album title of a British band called XTC.

01:07 The title of their album is "Oranges and Lemons."

01:17 Since we are very Brit-pop influenced, we love The Beatles, we love New Wave.

01:25 And we later on found out that "Oranges and Lemons" is also a British nursery rhyme.

01:32 And funny thing is, that British nursery rhyme starts with "Oranges and Lemons,"

01:41 says "The Bells of St. Clement." For me, it's a perfect name for the band and our music.

01:47 I grew up with music in the house. My late father was a rondalia instructor.

01:57 So even at the age of five, six, I was exposed to music.

02:02 My father would take me to rondalia practices, teaching kids. So I was there.

02:09 He was there. Sometimes we would play maracas. So I was exposed to folk music,

02:14 traditional folk music. My father has a phonograph. So he has records.

02:19 They are different. There are old music, records for rondalia, records for big band.

02:26 So, almost everything. And then my brother got into folk music, like country music.

02:35 So I was exposed to that. And when I got to college, it was The Beatles that

02:41 gave this effect on me that I want to be in a band. I want to write songs.

02:47 Like, I could only get .0001% of their success. That was my inspiration to start writing.

02:58 And I discovered I can write songs without any formal education.

03:03 I started writing songs in high school. So even though I finished college,

03:08 I know in my mind that I won't pursue that. Because I have a lot of songs written.

03:15 And after college, I went full-time music. In terms of branding, it's just happenstance.

03:21 We play Britpop-inspired songs. And we love The Beatles. So that's where our laptop came in.

03:32 We have a lot of hair. We don't have any for-profits. I think we were one of the first ones to start.

03:40 And the hairstyle, the clothing, a bit vintage. And later on, I became the stylist of the band.

03:48 I hired a tailor. Our clothes were tailor-made.

03:54 I learned about imaging and how important it was for the band.

03:58 My life is not complete when you're gone.

04:03 Most of my creative process are subconscious efforts.

04:07 Based on the influences I gathered over the years during my childhood.

04:14 Listening to The Beatles, folk music, country music, new wave, British music, standards.

04:24 It's like they're all mixed together. So subconsciously, when I start writing songs,

04:30 it's most often lyrics first. I like to write poetry. I write an idea, or a stanza, or a chorus line.

04:39 That's where I start. Lyrics first. Because it's easier when the lyrics are there,

04:45 it's easier to find a proper mood or melody for it based on what is written.

04:53 If the lyrics are sad or profound, I'll look for a melody to suit it.

05:00 I'm more of a melody maker. That's my creative process as a songwriter.

05:05 When it comes to the band, it's also collaborative. But most of the time,

05:17 I'm the one who injects or guides everything. How I imagine it to be in the final output.

05:29 Because unknowingly, I already have an idea about imaging, having a consistent sound.

05:40 So in my head, I already have a foresight that the sound should be like this,

05:54 the selection of songs should be solid. In fact, when we were starting,

06:00 we had three albums with Orange On Lemons. Would you believe that even before the first album was

06:08 released, some of the songs in the second and third album were already written?

06:14 So I really plan it from the juvenile materials, when you start, you kind of cheesify the lyrics.

06:25 Because I grow as a songwriter along the way. So I just choose it, I just pull it off the shelf.

06:34 "Oh, this fits the second album. Oh, this fits the third album. Oh, this is too deep for the first album."

06:39 So I already have that because it's already been collected. And then when I start working on an

06:48 album, when I still need materials, that's the time that I'll write with the intention of putting it

06:55 in that album. So that's my creative process. And before, I arranged and used Finale.

07:04 I really note everything, drum, bass. So that's how I'm patient. I study Finale music.

07:14 Even though I don't have an education in notes, I studied it for six months so I can hear it

07:20 being performed at the same time.

07:28 That's how my process was. And then my bandmates, when I present to them that the song is almost

07:45 finished, I ask their input on it and we jam. So in the jamming, we'll know

07:52 what the direction of the song will be. So we talk about it. So there are the collaborative parts.

07:58 When "Orange and Lemons" was reformed, we also discussed for a long time what

08:14 theme of the album we're going to do. Because it's not the first, it's a bit of a commercial

08:22 pop. The second, the third is so deep. "Moonlight Gardens" was one of the most

08:32 brooding work that I did. And it won the album of the year, the annual rock awards, even though we're

08:39 disbanded. So the fourth album, the third is like an international one. That was my goal

08:47 that time. That's why we were disbanded. We were never able to promote it. And now we're back.

08:55 We're old. We've been out of the industry for 10 years. What am I going to do now?

09:01 So I decided, why not a full Tagalog album? One word that came to my mind. Why not "Kondiman"

09:11 inspired? So there's rondalia, then kondiman, Tagalog. I think it's a perfect marriage. It's a

09:18 really good concept for me. And then we mix historical materials to make it solid.

09:29 I like planning. So everything that's happening this year, it was planned a year or two years

09:36 ago. We're just looking for perfect timing for everything. Especially now,

09:42 there's a pandemic. So the timeline has been moved. It's pretty hard as an artist to cope up

09:50 with the times. We lost our work, our gigs, our tours. We lost a lot last year.

09:57 And actually, I got stranded in Canada when the pandemic was announced. I was touring solo.

10:05 It was a 10-city tour. Half of it was canceled. And then I was stranded in Vancouver for three

10:13 weeks. My flights were canceled. So it cost me a lot because it's self-produced.

10:20 And then when I got home, everything was canceled as well. So can you imagine that

10:26 I, you know, as working musicians, it's really hard for us. We are just living off on our

10:32 savings until things get better. Tapos gusto pa namin maglabas ng album. So it's coming out from

10:40 our own pockets. So ang nangyayari yun, pa isa-isang kanta, nagirelease kami. And then hangga sa

10:46 mabuo namin yung album, pag may material nagre-record kami, we started recording the album

10:54 first quarter of this year. Namumove lang siya, namumove because of the nag-announce ng quarantine.

11:02 For this album, finally, our drummer, Ace Del Mundo, contributed to two songs. I've been

11:19 egging them to contribute because I don't want to, you know, I want everyone to grow. So Ace was

11:27 able to contribute to two songs. It inspired me to put music into it. So like, even before,

11:35 like kami ni Makoy, most of the songs ako kasi nagsusulat. So I encouraged Makoy from time to

11:41 time to, "Come on, give me some lyrics, you know, I might do something with it." So yung version

11:46 one ng Orange and Lemons, ganyan yung relationship namin. I try to encourage everyone to contribute.

11:53 Medyo wide at large yung ideas namin eh, to the point that we cannot play it live dahil sa dami

12:00 ng instrumentations. And because we have a keyboardist in the band, yung contribution

12:06 niya is very unique and completes us with this project.

12:14 To our fans, one thing that you can expect from Orange and Lemons is we will keep on making music

12:21 regardless of any challenges. We will uphold the quality of our releases. Pinag-aralan namin lahat

12:28 ng mga i-release namin. I hope that you will be there to appreciate it, listen to it, and share

12:35 it. And we hope that it will connect with you as a listener or affect your life as a music fan as

12:43 well. Thank you for being there for us. Hi, this is Clem Castro. Please don't forget to like and

12:49 subscribe this channel. OG.

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