DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 24 July 2026) — Long before he signed with Diorama FM under the mentorship of Allan “Daddy A” Silonga — known as the creative force behind IV OF SPADES — Jae Laurent was already making music with one guiding principle: “If it sounds good, it sounds good.”

The Davao City artist admitted he never formally studied music theory. Instead, he learned through experimentation: following melodies that appeared unexpectedly, layering sounds until they felt right, and trusting emotion over learned technique.

“I’ve always approached music by asking one simple question: ‘Does it sound good?’ If it does, I keep it,” he told MindaNews.

That instinctive approach has become the foundation of his music.

While Laurent’s songs move between hip-hop, R&B, and lo-fi and other alternative influences, his discography as a whole remains cohesive. Rather than chasing a particular genre, he said he is more interested in preserving an emotional consistency across every release.

“No matter how much I experiment with different sounds, I always try to stay within the same emotional world,” he said.

“My songwriting always starts with a feeling, and from there I build the production around it.

The emotions dictate the chords, the textures, the drums, and every other element that comes after,” he added.

The result is a discography that feels less concerned with grabbing attention than with creating spaces listeners can live inside — a description Laurent himself embraces.

“I’ve never been interested in chasing trends just because they’re popular,” he said. “Of course I’m aware of what’s happening in music, and I enjoy listening to what’s out there, but I never want trends to dictate the kind of artist I become.”

“I want my music to be a reflection of who I am at a specific moment in my life,” he explained. “Trends come and go, but emotions don’t.”

That philosophy has carried him from producing bedroom demos to signing with Diorama FM, where he is now developing under Silonga.

On signing with Diorama FM

“Coming from the streets and slums of South Bay, Davao City, this milestone means even more,” he said. “I hope my story becomes proof that where you come from doesn’t define where you can go.”

He credits Silonga’s mentorship with changing not only the opportunities available to him but also the way he approaches songwriting and production.

“It’s made me realize that great music isn’t just about having good ideas — it’s about paying attention to every detail,” he shared.

Yet even as his production has become more polished, Laurent insists he does not want perfection to become the goal.

“There have been times when I realized I pushed certain effects too far and some lyrics became harder to understand,” he admitted. “That’s all part of the learning process.”

“At the end of the day, I don’t want my music to sound perfect. I want it to sound like me.”

That sense of authenticity also extends to his lyricism — rather than relying on dense metaphors, Laurent intentionally writes from a more conversational register, drawing on personal experience.

“If I’m writing about heartbreak, loneliness, falling in love, getting cheated on, or even just feeling confident and ‘swag,’ it’s because those are real emotions I’ve experienced or witnessed,” he said.

“I want my listeners to hear my songs and think, ‘I’ve felt that before.’”

Growing up in Davao

Coming from Davao has likewise shaped his songwriting, albeit in a quieter way — his music often shifts from English, to Filipino, and Cebuano, because that reflects how people around him communicate.

“I always choose the language that conveys the emotion best. Sometimes a feeling is better expressed in English, sometimes in Filipino, and other times there’s just a Cebuano phrase that says exactly what I want to say. I don’t force it. I just follow whatever feels the most natural,” he said.

“Mixing English, Filipino, and Cebuano is just how people around me naturally communicate, so it doesn’t feel unusual when it shows up in my music.”

Laurent said he has also been surprised by listeners overseas who connect with his music despite language barriers.

“I have listeners in places like the United States and Japan who probably don’t understand every word I’m saying, but they still connect with the emotion,” he said. “Music is a universal language.”

Looking back on his earliest releases, Laurent recognizes how much his production has evolved. But he has no desire to erase the imperfections of those recordings.

“They were demos I made in my bedroom while I was still figuring everything out,” he said. “The imperfections are part of its identity.”

Upcoming debut

As he prepares for the July 29 release of his debut single under Diorama FM, Laurent said he hopes listeners discover more than just another emerging artist.

“I’d describe JAE LAURENT as someone who’s always searching,” he said. “Someone who’s trying to make sense of life through music.”

For now, he sees this latest milestone not as an arrival, but as the beginning of a much longer journey.

“This next chapter is the biggest one yet,” he said. “Coming from the underground scene in Davao City and now stepping into the mainstream, there’s still so much left to discover. I don’t even know exactly where this journey will lead, and I think that’s the exciting part,” he shared.

“One thing’s for sure. JAE LAURENT is the embodiment of ambition, self-belief, and just enough delusion to make the impossible feel possible. He’s constantly chasing something bigger than himself, but you’d never hear him brag about it. He’d rather keep it lowkey.” (Bea Gatmaytan/MindaNews)