Independent singer-songwriter Darwin Navarro talks about his The Next Odd Creature journey, how his creative process is a means of catharsis, and why his music carves an emblem of the "complexity of love."
One of the Top 5 finalists of O/C Records' The Next Odd Creature talent search, Darwin Navarro, describes his music as a mixture of "pop," "folk," and "coffeeshop music."
Heavily influenced by the music and songwriting style of multi-awarded singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the variety of music genres played in coffee shops that stir up soulful and calming emotions, Darwin Navarro discovers that his music is anchored with stories that talk about the "complexity of love."
"I write songs because I'm so amused how love is such a universal thing. Love has been a recurring factor in my songwriting and my music. It's really just one of the things I write about because love can be everything. Love can be anger; love can be happiness, loneliness, melancholic. It captures everything. It captures every aspect of the world. It's so amazing how we can all uncover a lot about love, and it's not just a single thing. It's many things," he says.
While he revealed that he has never been in a romantic relationship, Navarro's tenet on capturing stories of love is prompted by his personal experiences of infatuation and unreciprocated feelings.
The friction caused by his attempt to manage his emotions in such circumstances vivified his developing creative process. He realized how his songwriting and music became an instrument in expressing bottled-up emotions — which later developed into a shared experience as he rolls out the narrative to the public.
He made his debut release in 2019 with "Kahit Na Mali," followed by "Feelings," "As Long As It's You," and "Take Me for Awhile."
In July 2020, O/C Records began their search for the next "odd" talent in The Next Odd Creature. Captivated by the record label's "ideas," "vision," and "artists," Navarro shoots his shot without any expectations.
In his first appearance at The Next Odd Creature, he serenaded the judges with "Kailan" — a song about the endless questions entangled in love.
"Despite it being direct and straightforward, I think it's not superficial at all because 'Kailan' is a song about the different questions we ask ourselves when we're in love or trying to get past on something," he explains.
Afterward, he presented one of his unreleased songs entitled 'Jose.' Written in mid-January of last year, 'Jose' captures Navarro's emotions spawned by unrequited love.
"When I wrote 'Jose,' I know na Jose is a straight person. Jose is a straight guy. And he clarified it to me so many times. It's me purging all my emotions about what I feel about Jose. It's just me speaking to Jose, telling him all the things that I wanted to say but I couldn't, and it's really one of those things na okay let me get my notebook and say all of the stuff I want to say to Jose because I could never say these to him personally,"
Navarro shares that he considers joining The Next Odd Creature a once-in-a-lifetime experience that validates his artistic craft.
"The journey impact me in so different ways. First of all, the journey inspired me because I've witnessed a lot of different talents. I've witnessed a lot of different bands, different genres of music, and I listen to all of them, and I just realized how people are so talented. The music industry, it's so diverse, it's so creative, and that just intrigued me into creating songs more, which becomes the second impact of O/C Records to me because when I witnessed all those talents, it just motivated me to create more music," he adds.
When asked about his creative process, Navarro shares that while most of his songs are influenced by personal experiences and catharsis, there are instances wherein he takes an experimental approach to his songwriting technique and writes stories that are fuelled by various creative make-believe narratives. Such instances allow him to get more creative and improve the way he tells stories through his music.
"I think about music or songwriting as sort of a catharsis in life, but at the same time, I also think of it as a hobby, as something I can do every time. I want to tell a story. I want to tell a narrative that I have never experienced, and these are stories that sometimes become my favorite because I poured a lot of effort into it, I poured a lot of twists into it, I poured a lot of my creative thinking, my intelligence about it. Half is just a catharsis; half is just me experimenting and creating," he explains.
No matter the technique incorporated in his music, Navarro primarily aims to connect with his listeners by presenting intriguing and relatable stories that can comfort and strike any emotion.
"I sort of want it to become a hailing experience for them. I want people to relate or connect with the songs I've written," he explains.
Navarro's striking fashion of telling stories through his music and his distinctive approach to his audience through short monologues incorporated in his tracks highlights his eccentric qualities — bearing out assets of an "odd" creature.
O/C Records' The Next Odd Creature talent search was launched in April 2021. The winner gets Php50,000 and a management and recording deal with O/C Records.
For updates on the search for the next odd creature, you can follow O/C Records' socials:
Facebook: O/C Records
Twitter: @OCRecordsPH
Instagram: @ocrecordsph
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