Nicole Laurel Asensio returns to the Philippines after her successful series of shows abroad and dives right back into the dynamic realm of music releases with her latest offering “LET OUR LOVE” under Warner Music Philippines.
Teaming up with producer and multi-instrumentalist Gabe Dandan once more, the prolific duo concoct a subtle and sensual, albeit fearless expression of the soul in their latest track.
“From a smouldering fire to a blaze”
“It was the first time I asked producer Gabe Dandan to strike the match and ignite the creative process. No prior references, lyrical ideas, soundbites or requests, I asked him to “create anything that you think would suit my voice”… I left the room for awhile and returned with my heart racing, ecstatic to write lyrics because I loved the vibe he was onto. We don’t always agree creatively, it takes a lot of adjusting co-creating sometimes but this time the creativity was torrential, it was effortless.”
“Together we make a picture with colors only the blind can see.”
“The production process was very casual and the goal was to let the musicians we collaborated with play what they really imagine on it, no rules. We encouraged them to add their own colors and be a part of the imagery of the song. I gave Michael Guevarra the initial arrangement, from there he made a beautiful horn arrangement on it and we recorded at Wildgrass Studio and Kodama Studio, then we got Mike Lichtenfeld on keys, Aman Dela Cruz on percussion and backup vocals and handpicked some of our all time favorite voices Kevin Yadao and Mel Torre to do backup vocals, Nicole and I arranged the vocals together. when the recording was done, I took care of the mixing and we sent it to Abbey Road UK for the mastering” – Gabe Dandan
“Weaving silk from our fallen tears.”
Brazenly poetic, the imagery in the lyrics are a surrealistic sojourn back into the arms of a quintessential love. The song draws its sound from Soul, Rnb and Jazz influences with a touch of 90s “sophisti-pop.”
“Reflections of yesterday in an iron frame, like butterflies break away.”
“In this season of my life, I am finding that the songs I write are not about what is trending, they are also less about making each recording a vocal showcase, I am enjoying slowing down the process, practicing some restraint and casually creating music that I feel sounds timeless, there is still depth to some extent, especially lyrically but at the end of the day it’s feel-good music that also makes me feel good when we create it.” – Nicole Asensio
“I think this release is more relaxed than our previous tracks sound-wise. Nicole and I write together based on images and how they make us feel— it is how we communicate best during the creative process. When I began creating the chord progression, it really reminded me of gentle rain so we used that image as the undertone throughout the song. Nicole’s brilliant lyrics and melodies are right there between happiness and sadness and the song journeys from restraint to blissful release. I think the blend of our styles create a very unique sonic mood that I relish and hope others feel that too” – Gabe Dandan
Nicole and Gabe Dandan’s last two EP releases “Changes Over Time” and “Matter Over Mind” have garnered a staggering 10 entries in multiple categories in this year’s prestigious AWIT AWARDS. 4 of those entries then made it to the AWIT awards finals round, with the awards night set to commence in late November.
“I’m grateful to keep creating, I think it is a blessing and when you have the opportunity to create, therefore nothing and no one should stop you. Love knows no bounds, neither do art and music… we can’t stop it, so we should just let it.” – Nicole Asensio
“LET OUR LOVE” will be released on November 7, 2025 on all listening platforms under Warner Music Philippines, it is a “teaser track” for an upcoming EP which is currently in the works and set to be released early next year.
