Inigo Pascual releases international album, says he finally found his new 'sound'

MANILA, Philippines — After years of preparations and self-discovery, Filipino pop singer Inigo Pascual shared that he finally found his new “sound” through his international album “Options,” released last June 25.  

At the global media conference last June 22, Inigo shared that his second full-length album was totally different from his previous release as his preference and his personal taste in music developed. 

“As an artist, masasabi kong mas nagmature ako and then also my music definitely matured with this new sound. Ibang-iba siya sa tunog ng first album. I’m glad that I was able to work on these kasi mas natuklasan ko ‘yung tunog na gusto ko pala para sa sarili ko,” Inigo told Philstar.com and other media at the virtual conference. 

‘Options’

The 23-year-old singer, who now describes himself as an "island pop artist," also narrated that through this album, he became more “vulnerable and open” not just about how the song sounded, but because each lyric of the song was more personal.

“With my first album, pakiramdam ko nag-eexplore ako kung ano ‘yung tunog na gagawin ko for myself. With this album, I felt like this is the Inigo that is more open and mature,” he said. 

"Options: The Album" will revolve around the concept of self-discovery as Inigo explores “infinite options” in his musical career. 

“I just feel that it kinda relates to a young man, which is just me, would have to go through life and would have certain options to deal with and each song kinda represents that certain time and that emotion that I felt,” Inigo explained. 

It is a 12-track mix of his previously released singles “Options,” “Danger,” “Should Be Me,” and his collaborations with Tarsier Records’ label head Chris Lopez, “Lost,” “Catching Feelings,” “Always,” and the stripped version of “OMW.” 

One of the highlight tracks of the album is Inigo’s carrier single “Neverland,” produced by Bernard Harvey. 

Pascual released a music video for this song last June 28.

Lopez, also known as Moophs, a music producer, said the all-English album also means “decisions.”

“If you have options, you have to decide. Like when you are producing music, it comes with a thousand decisions that you have to make,” he explained at the press con. 

Journey toward self-discovery

After two years of working with this album, Inigo said that he grew up with it with a lot of learnings and realizations. 

“One thing that I learned throughout in this journey in making this album was that it is possible to work and make music without making it feel like work,” he said. 

The singer-actor shared that through this project, he learned to be more patient, enjoy life at the moment, and to never stop because of the pandemic. 

The singer-actor also realized that he is an “island boy.” He wanted to combine his love for island music and pop music, while also keeping that OPM (Original Pinoy Music) sound that stuck with his roots.

When asked about their plans about having a digital concert, Inigo said that they will be announcing a lot of dates soon. 

In 2016, Inigo released his self-titled debut album wherein he has established his status as one of Star Magic’s brightest up-and-comers by dominating local music charts with his hit single, “Dahil Sa’yo.” 

Today, July 23, Pascual and Moophs are sharing more good vibes through the catchy song “Araw Mo,” their first all-Filipino track collaboration.

Released today, “Araw Mo” is about hope for the future and the love that inspires that hope.