Asian Music Review | Asian voices matter

Inspiring and full of grace!

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Welcome to Asian Music Review! Tell us a little bit about you and your music.

Namfi Fernandez is a Christian songwriter who hails from the Philippines. She started her exposure into music as a keyboardist and at times a worship leader of their Church’s Music Ministry. When the pandemic hit, a door of opportunity opened to join a formal training in songwriting at Kingdom Music Academy under the auspice of Brad Guldemond and vocal training at Singing Made Simple by Sophie Shear. Namfi’s songwriting is of multi genres, writing songs that would depict the transparency of her heart.

Congrats on the release! What was your inspiration when you were writing this project?

Released February 23, 2023 Earlier last year, I was invited by Miguel Llado, Johann Tanchangco, and Calvin Anchores to help build a start-up record label (Cre8Music Records). So, as we were in the process of scouting for artists, it just dawned upon me that maybe it would be a good idea to produce a song together. So I ribbed Johann if he had any extra song lyrics lying around. He shared with me a couple, but I settled on this particular love song that he was working on.

I just felt the song spoke to me in terms of my relationship with Jesus. So I was drawn to this song for that reason. Johann supplied the lyrics, I added the bridge part and the melody, and we had Miguel come in as the arranger and the producer. The inspiration was about that bond that we built in starting Cre8Music Records.

What lessons would you like to impart with your audience?

We wanted this project (Falling In Love) to touch the hearts of our audience. Particularly that feeling and the decision to fall in love with Jesus. Sometimes, we treat Jesus as a distant God, someone who we put on a pedestal and is unreachable. But in the song, we made Jesus very close to us. Like we are in a very close personal relationship with Him. Because truth be told, that’s how we should treat Jesus and our relationship with Him. It’s an honest declaration of our love to Him—a commitment to stay in a relationship and worship Him. I think that’s the most important message we want to impart to our audience.

“God is not a distant God. He is very much close to us if we acknowledge His presence in our daily lives.”

What is your favorite part of this body of work?

The chorus part was what drew me in at first. Johann’s declaration of falling in love with Jesus was so pure. It inspired me to add the bridge part (to make the lyrics whole and match my melody) and added my own declaration and commitment to worship and love Jesus. Of course, Miguel’s arrangement was the icing on the cake. I think the combination of our talents was what made this project one of my favorites to date.

“Falling In Love” is just song number one of my planned three-track EP of love songs. I recently released my song number two, “Mahal Kita Sabi Mo Sa Akin,” this week. Song number three, “Pintig Ng Puso,” meanwhile, will be released in April. So these songs will be bundled together as an EP to complete a trilogy of love songs written to honor and declare our love to God.