Justin De Dios has become the fourth member of SB19 to launch his solo project with the release of “surreal.”
The new track premiered today (February 29) on all streaming platforms. Prior to the track and video release, he dropped an artistic trailer that featured Justin telling a narrative story over dreamy visuals. Justin also premiered the official music video upon the track’s release. During an exclusive press conference held on February 27, Justin revealed that the music video was shot in various places in the Philippines as well as in South Korea for the snow and winter shots.
“At the twelfth hour, the magic dissolves into the midnight,” Justin wrote cryptically in the description of the video. “The dreamsmith then embraces an illusion of his reality.”
Kara Angan
The track was co-produced as well as mixed and mastered by fellow SB19 member Pablo and his brother Josue under the moniker RADKIDZ. During the press event, Justin explained to Billboard Philippines that despite the difference in RADKIDZ and Justin’s personal sounds, working together allowed for a completely new version of the song to be formed, which he shared was very different from the original demo.
Kara Angan
“Sabi nga ni Pablo noong natapos na yung kanta na, ‘ah, masaya pala gumawa ng kanta ng iba’ kasi…galing siya sa different interpretation at point of view” (When we finished the song, Pablo said, ‘oh, it’s fun to work on someone else’s song’ because…it comes from a different interpretation and point of view,) he shared.
Upon talking about the inspirations for his surprising folk-pop sound, Justin shared that his inspirations include Ed Sheeran, Stephen Speaks, and local artists like mrld and Cup of Joe.
Listen to Justin’s “surreal” below.