“For this album, we asked people in the internet kung anong local songs ang gusto nilang isama ko rito and the response is overwhelming,” he says. “There are thousands of suggestions. The most requested ones, sinali ko rito like ‘Huwag Mo Nang Itanong’ by Eraserheads, ‘Bilanggo’ by Rizal Underground, Aiza Seguerra’s ‘Pagdating ng Panahon’ and Ogie Alcasid’s ‘Nandito Ako’ which is now the carrier single.”
Other songs in “Acoustic Noel” are “Himala” by Rivermaya, “Araw Gabi” by Basil Valdez, “Makita Kang Muli” by Sugarfree, “Tuyo Nang Damdamin” by APO, “Itanong Mo sa Mga Bata” by Asin, and Noel’s own songs given new arrangements, “Awit ng Bahaghari” and “Nag-iisa, Wala Ka Na”.
Since he’s with PETA, doesn’t he intend to write a musical for theatre? “I do. I started exploring that idea two years ago with playwright Rody Vera with a love story about streetchildren. Before that, I wrote four songs for the play ‘Sandosenang Sapatos’ staged at CCP.”
He’s active with OPM (Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit) and he announces that they’ll have a big meeting in March for local composers, record labels, the networks and other stakeholders to chart as to where local music is really going.
