Multi-platinum certified and critically acclaimed Filipino band Ben&Ben have finally released their highly anticipated sophomore album, Pebble House, Vol. 1: Kuwaderno via Sony Music.
In a short listening party and press conference hosted by Sony Music last August 27, the band shared their motivations in entitling their latest album: Pebble House, Vol. 1: Kuwaderno, “Each song, much like an entry in one's personal journal, encapsulates something uniquely special to represent something in a certain point in time,” the nine-piece collective shares in a statement.
The production phase continued with Ben&Ben recording with some of their artist collaborators towards the end of May, and wrapped up with other songs in the album in mid-June.
The nine-piece band also shared their reasoning behind the release date, recounting the fact that the month of August is popularly known as the Philippine’s Buwan ng Wika, Ben&Ben opted to highlight their all-Tagalog album by releasing it within the aforementioned month.
The ensemble then later explained the great difference between their pilot album, Limasawa Street, and their sophomore album, Pebble House, Vol. 1: Kuwaderno, stating that during their debut album, the band decided to put their best foot forward in their choices of tracks, while for Pebble House they focused more on telling the story of how they themselves chose to see the world, along with their own experiences during this [weird, difficult,] trying time.
As like what they mentioned earlier, many of the tracks in the album embodied their own personal beliefs and stories; some of these tracks include “Kuwaderno,” which set the mood and tone of the record; “Kasayaw,” which they described as a metaphor that alludes to the difficult question of whether two people are in the same groove or not; “Elyu,” a classic sounding song about wanting to free oneself from something; “Ilang Tulog Na lang,” as a paean to long distance relationships; and “Kayumanggi,” an anthem that embraces the beauty and richness of Filipino identity.
Ben&Ben also shared that during the album’s production, they followed the “No work on Sundays” rule within their household, which they emphasized as non-negotiable. Further explaining that they completely understand one another in times of work and worry, with endearing one another to work slowly, and also face what they are feeling during times of struggles.
For all the other creatives out there, Ben&Ben shared these kind words: Hindi rin kasalanan magpahinga.
When asked about their creative process during the whole production of Pebble House, the band shared that though there were times that they had a slow of pace with some of the tracks like Kapangyarihan which took 2-3 days to produce, in contrast to Pasalubong which was finished right after the demo, they all never shamed one another for taking time off to properly rest and build themselves up together once again.
Pebble House, Vol. 1: Kuwaderno is out now via Sony Music on all digital music platforms worldwide including Spotify. And fans can also look forward to exclusive content only on Spotify.
