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Maki and James Reid help take OPM to a global audience with 'luck'
As Filipino music continues to find a growing audience beyond the Philippines, artists Maki and James Reid are joining their voices in the growing OPM genre with their first collaboration, "luck."
As Filipino music continues to find a growing audience beyond the Philippines, artists Maki and James Reid are joining their voices in the growing OPM genre with their first collaboration, "luck."
Maki, a young artist who has seen a rapid rise on the charts, teamed up with the veteran singer and actor to release "luck" on July 30.
While it was their first time working on music together, James was someone Maki had looked up to for years, and Maki was someone James made note of.
"I've been in the industry for quite a long time, for about 16 years now, and Maki is one of the most talented, up-and-coming talents in the Philippines, and I’ve been watching him grow as an artist, releasing hit after hit, and it's so good to see OPM, Original Pinoy Music, thrive so much since I started," James tells FOX 13 Seattle.
Maki - luck (feat. James Reid) Official Music Video
"Luck" blends alternative and indie-pop influences and compares falling in love to placing a bet where there are no guarantees.
"We got really close when we went on tour together in Canada. I think it was about 5 to 6 shows..and I got to know him more as a person, not just as an artist I knew way back..so when we were in a van, we tried to exchange demos and had a listening party inside the van because we were so bored.. I told him I have songs that are in English now, so I made him listen to it, and he liked it, especially ‘luck,’" Maki explains.
While the collaboration marked their first time releasing music together, both artists recognized something in each other's approach to music.
"I had seen this kind of ‘Maki-verse’ that he's been creating, this world that he's been building..and when I actually got to work with him for for the song, and he ran me through the colors, the shades for this one..and how all of these things connect, what I learned about Maki is his degree of intention and and attention to detail. For me, that's super rare," James explains.
With Maki sharing his impression of working with James, adding, "One thing I learned about James is that he's a very professional person, but at the same time, he's like me. Like whenever I get distracted, I go back to my own personality, and I go back to being funny and quirky..and I resonate with him, because I feel like I'm still a little kid, and I have a lot to learn more about life and I don't need to be serious all the time."
While the two have a varying number of years of professional experience between them, the two were able to both grow as artists throughout the process of "luck," and adding to the growing OPM, Original Pilipino Music, was a special moment for them, as the genre grows beyond Southeast Asia into the global market.
Filipino artists, both solo and groups, such as James, Maki, BINI, or SB19, have seen growing support and streams across the world, touring here in the U.S. as well, and showing support for their fellow Filipino artists is important to them.
"All we have is each other, and I think trying to support one another during this time where here in the Philippines, all we have is music..sometimes we have music for hope because sometimes there are like a lot of bad things that are happening in the Philippines right now, and I feel like OPM is one of the main things that we want to like support because it really helps people, and it really inspires them," Maki explains.
James, with over a decade of experience, has seen the industry both before and after the global reach they are seeing now, and is humbled and in awe of the spotlight on their music.
"This new generation of artists, Filipino artists and talent, not even just Filipinos, but I feel like this is happening all across Southeast Asia, so it's really exciting to see more opportunities like this pop up," James says.
Between the long bus rides together where they first discussed the song "luck," to the recording and music video filming, Maki and James say they would love to work together in the future again, and even if they weren’t collaborating like this, they will continue to support one another in their careers, on and off the stage.
Maki says "luck" was written with the intention of being a song with good energy and happiness, with lyrics that were not too serious due to tension in the Philippines, and he wanted to be a source of light and luck to everyone.
And as OPM continues to make its mark on the global music scene, Maki and James hope their collaboration is just one more step toward showing the world the creativity, heart and talent coming out of the Philippines.
The Source: Information in this story came from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle.
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