ICEBOX navigates a music career from Singapore

STAYING CONNECTED with his Filipino roots has been important for Singapore-based singer-songwriter ICEBOX (real name: Leo Matias). Though he grew up there following a split in his family between the two countries, his music in Filipino allows him to better explore themes like love, loss, and closure. “You can be based anywhere and still reach everyone because of the internet nowadays. Most of the time, when you’re based in one country, you’re limited to the intimacy of that country, so your fanbase physically can only be wherever you are, but having this second door from the very start is rare for people to have,” Mr. Matias said in an interview with BusinessWorld on Aug. 7. “With the Philippines as my home and being based in Singapore, I have two different settings where I can connect with people, and it’s amazing,” he added. Following his chart-topping hit, “ikaw, ikaw, ikaw,” which introduced him to a rapidly growing Filipino audience, ICEBOX fans can continue to expect more Filipino releases. His emotional new single, “SAAKIN,” is a deeply personal track. Lyrically, it describes “the emotional limbo that clings to one after the end of a relationship.” Mr. Matias said that coming from a family of divorce was what taught him to process emotions and be vulnerable about such things. “There’s a rift, with half my family here in the Philippines and me growing up with half my family in Singapore, and now I’m living alone and working there,” he said. Because it may be easier to “let life carry you away, push all your feelings to the back of your mind, and bottle them up,” he hopes that music can be a healthy outlet for listeners just as much as it was for him. “Music allows me to convey my emotions through song and music and art, and have other people resonate with it, so that it’s not just me that’s going through it,” he explained. Rather than presenting heartbreak as a singular moment, “SAAKIN” dwells on lingering feelings of abandonment and longing, to capture “the exhausting cycle of searching for closure in a place that no longer feels like home.” Initially conceived as a school project three years ago with longtime friend Julia, the song evolved through countless demos before ICEBOX revisited it with producers Dominic and Timothy of PARKA. In terms of collaboration, Mr. Matias credited “ikaw, ikaw, ikaw,” which he worked on with fellow Filipino singer-songwriter Eliza Maturan, as a turning point in his ability to write in both English and Filipino and to tap into the OPM sound. He told BusinessWorld that starting out as a producer-artist who made tracks by himself meant that his influences initially stemmed from electronic dance music. “I listened to a lot of EDM when I was in high school — the likes of Porter Robinson, Skrillex, Zedd, Martin Garrix — but my writing is very heavily influenced by Filipino artists that write in both English and Tagalog with very strong, poetic storytelling, like Ben&Ben, IV Of Spades, and Sunkissed Lola,” he said, noting that they all shape his indie pop sound. But one thing is for sure when it comes to Mr. Matias’ creative process: he won’t be using AI (artificial intelligence). “I have very conflicting feelings about AI. Ultimately, there are useful applications for it, but art is something that is born out of a soul, like a human emotion,” he explained. “It makes things easier, but whether it’s ethical is also a different discussion. It’s shameful that there are little to no laws that are able to protect creators from having their works used by it.” As for what to expect from his forthcoming second album, of which “SAAKIN” offers a little taste, he said different sonic textures will accompany intimate storytelling across 12 tracks. One of them will be a sequel to his track with Ms. Maturan — another collaboration with her following their hit. “As a producer, you have to have a very big listening palate, so that rather than taking the approach of ICEBOX having one genre, I’m always trying to find ways to incorporate my favorite parts of different genres into the ICEBOX sound,” he said. “There are some rock elements that I like that I put into my songs. That’s why some are heavier,” he added. “There will be some R&B elements, some indie pop, bedroom pop, electronic ambient stuff, too.” “SAAKIN” is out now on all digital music streaming platforms. — Brontë H. Lacsamana