Singer-songwriter Jace Roque says third party in his relationship inspired new song ‘Trust’
Jace Roque opens up about being authentic and unapologetic in his latest mini-album ‘Inferno’.
Although he has relatives who are established OPM artists, singer-songwriter Jace Roque is determined to make a name of his own. The 30-year-old “Sober” and “Day and Night” singer recently released his new mini-album titled Inferno. The track list consists of pop and dance sounds with lyrics fit for a hugot anthem.
“The music I grew up listening to was heavily influenced by American and European music. I was also a party goer during my college days so my exposure to dance music was immersive,” Jace told PUSH in an exclusive e-mail interview.
“As I also have relatives who are OPM legends (Gino Padilla and Luke Mejares), when it was time for me to enter the recording industry, I just wanted to create music that’s authentic to me and carve a path away from my relatives’ shadow,” he added.
The four songs in his latest mini-album would show the authenticity he was talking about. He said, “Inferno is about the struggles I’ve experienced for the past couple of years. It showcases different kinds of pain—from love to family to career. The creative process behind it was I just wanted to translate my pain into art. I wanted it to be as authentic and unapologetic as it can be.”
Talking about the concept, he relayed, “The title is inspired by Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. In Dante’s Inferno, he describes his descent to the Nine Circles of Hell in a very vivid and graphic manner. The parallelism with my mini album is that I am also discussing the hell-like experience I went through very vividly and graphically.”
Given the thought-process he poured out for this project, what song from Inferno does he relate to the most and why?
“All of my tracks are autobiographical and based on my personal experiences, it’s like a music diary. In terms of what song affected me the most, it would be ‘Trust’.
“It is one of the hardest songs to write because during that time, everything was fresh, I wrote the track a few hours after finding out that there was a third party in my relationship. But through this song I was able to process and heal, and that powerful journey garnered recognition and nominations from Awit Awards and PPop Awards.”
Jace was one of the nominees for People’s Voice Favorite Male Artist at the 35th Awit Awards; and Pop New Male Artist of the Year at the 7th PPOP Awards.
Is he looking to explore other music genres in the future too?
“I am actively exploring other genres outside of dance music. My other influences are R&B, Hiphop, Rock, Latin, Reggaeton and more—genres which I incorporate into my music to create a hybrid sound that’s reflective of all my influences.
“As far as doing a 360-overhaul with my sound, it’s not in my playbook yet. Right now, I just want to make a mark and be known for the genre that I am pushing,” he concluded.
