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Matthew Ong, a.k.a. Matéo, was taken aback by the overwhelming response to his debut single “Lalim,” which has been streamed millions of times on Spotify, over 7 million and counting. “I just know that embedded in the Filipino culture is the love for easy listening and soft love songs. I think, me doing a soft love song, it just somehow touched a part of us being Filipinos, that ‘harana’ is still within our core when it comes to music,” Matéo shares.
Like many Filipino families, Matéo’s household enjoys listening to music. But he remembers that singing was something he stumbled upon due to “peer pressure.” “You know how in grade school your friends would ask you to sing even though you don’t know how to sing? They did that to me and surprisingly, they liked my voice,” says Matéo. Eventually, he became used to being the one who sang in class whenever a singer was needed for any program or event. Then, Matéo stepped up his singing game by joining a legacy group known for its singers, musical arrangers, and producers it shaped. “I auditioned for Kundirana and got in… From my batch in Kundirana, we were nine. The auditions in Kundirana were strict because they have a legacy to uphold. Surprisingly, I passed even though I didn’t have formal training in singing prior to me joining. I just really had fun singing,” recalls Matéo. At Kundirana, they performed a lot of “harana” and “kundiman” songs, which nurtured Matéo’s appreciation for OPM soft tunes and heartwarming lyrics. He names Johnoy Danao, Bullet Dumas, Ebe Dancel, Rey Valera, and Gary Valenciano among the OPM musicians he enjoys listening to. Matéo also loves the lyrics of international acts such as Jason Mraz, Bruno Major, and Jacob Collier.
Matéo’s earlier role in the music department of VIVA Records allowed him to cultivate his passion for music. He’s the type who frequently uses his phone’s voice notes to preserve spontaneous musical inspirations and lyrical fragments. He says he has a lot of these sporadic spurts of ideas kept. “My writing is influenced by my experiences in life. Writing itself inspires me to be creative. If something important happens, I might write about it and just record it as a voice note,” shares Matéo. Creating songs is Matéo’s outlet to release stress from anything work-related that consumes him mentally. When he ultimately chose to share teasers for his first single “Lalim” on Tiktok, it grabbed the interest of those who use the platform. It also caught the attention of a popular member of a local girl group. “Bini Colet (Vergara) heard the song. She mentioned it on X when I released the full version. She’s known for suggesting OPM songs to listen to. She said my song is beautiful,” Matéo says. For his single, “Lalim,” he revealed that he had already composed the verse, which he had previously saved on his phone. He wrote “Lalim” for the girl he was courting at the time, and envisioned it as a slow dance tune. “My decision to release the song was for it to just be a zero expectation, passion project,” he shares. Matéo describes his creative process as straightforward; he simply picks up his guitar and matches his thoughts with a melody in his head, which he eventually plays.
His second single, “Pinipili,” which he released last year in November, was written with the specific intention of being a wedding song. However, he also wrote it thinking of his lolos singing for his lolas. He gave an mp3 of the complete song to a follower on Instagram who messaged him after he posted a teaser of “Pinipili.” “I gave it to them as a ‘thank you’ for listening to my songs. I said they could just DM me and I’d send them an MP3 copy of ‘Pinipili.’ I was only three days from releasing the song so I didn’t want to be selfish. It was their wedding, their moment,” Matéo shares.
Matéo credits Monching Carpio for guitar, Ronald Tomas for flute (in “Lalim”), and Emil dela Rosa for mixing and mastering his songs. These musicians, whom he has known for years, are his team, helping him achieve the best possible sound for his music. Writing about his experiences and turning them into beautiful music that people can relate to, work well for Matéo. This year, he plans to release an EP, followed by a complete album. His previous experience working in the record industry and music publishing provided him with significant insight about the industry’s operations, which influenced his decision to pursue an independent music career for the time being. “It’s as if Matthew manages Matéo. That is how things are for me right now. So, I’m taking on the roles of Matéo and Matthew, respectively. It appears that Matthew manages all of the logistics. Matéo manages all the creatives.,” explains Matéo. With Matéo’s commitment to crafting more heartfelt music that his listeners can relate to and his background of the music business, this year promises to be a fruitful and exciting chapter in his musical journey.
Listen to Matéo’s music here:
Follow him on Tiktok and Instagram for more updates about his music.
Denise J. Mallabo 