Ang Singer at Beauty Queen ay bumabalik sa pamamagitan ng Indie Pop Track na “Ocean of Emotion.”
Ben Madilynn
Filipina singer-songwriter dia maté makes a heartfelt return to her roots with her latest single, “Karagatan ng Emosyon.” The track, now available on all music streaming platforms, traces the singer’s journey through a failed relationship and the regrets that came with its end.
In “Karagatan ng Emosyon,” maté candidly shares, “The song is about my past relationship. I was young, naive, and deeply in love. But when the breakup happened, I was shattered. I wrote about how sometimes situations like these are truly beyond our control. People change, and they may drift apart, especially due to long distances. That’s what this is about: owning my truth, my feelings, and my mistakes, and then writing them down on a piece of paper. I was longing for something that is not meant to be.”
True to its title, “Karagatan ng Emosyon” cleverly uses the motif of water and the sea to depict the singer-songwriter’s distant relationship as she processes its unfortunate end. Beginning with the line, “Separated by the sea,” maté mentions distance as the cause of the relationship’s demise.
The chorus finds the singer-songwriter reflecting on what could have been, with lyrics like, “In the ocean of emotions, the feeling of devotion, I hope we last.” Ending on a somber note, she repeats the first line of the chorus but states, “My heart is crushed.”
As the song progresses, maté delves into the silence that exacerbates the distant connection, culminating in her final message (“Child, you took my heart from the start; please hide it”) to her former lover.
Throughout the song, maté reveals that her favorite line comes from the second verse: “‘Silence separated us; I was trapped in the darkness. Pain was my anthem, anything could’ve happened.’ This line represents the struggles of long-distance relationships in a nutshell. When everything is silent, it’s excruciating. The only means of communication are texts and calls, no physical connection. So when it’s silent, the pain creeps in—especially when you didn’t get the closure you needed. The pain becomes a living thing for a few moments, and anything can happen afterward. It’s what you do with that pain that makes the difference,” she explains.
Sonically, maté describes “Karagatan ng Emosyon” as a departure from her entire discography. “I wanted to dive deep into who I really am as an artist, a raw and genuine person. So I went for a more indie and folk style with a pop touch. For the lyrics, I wanted to tell a story and be poetic.”
The result is an atmospheric track that may seem softer compared to her other works but is nonetheless captivating. She skillfully blends strings and synths into conversational sounds, creating a distinct backdrop to the quiet introspection conveyed in the song’s lyrics. In addition to the fresh yet familiar sound of the track, maté uses her signature jazzy vocal performance to play out the poetic lyrics with her soothing voice. As the song ends with the sound of waves in the sea, “Karagatan ng Emosyon” encourages you to hit replay and immerse yourself in its universe again.
Reflecting on the influences behind “Karagatan ng Emosyon,” maté shares, “In my entire journey as a musician, I’ve tried different genres and styles of writing. Through this process, I learned a lot about myself, especially what I like and don’t like. I realized that my true sound comes from my roots and the music I listened to at a young age: indigenous music, modern jazz, indie acoustic, and rock are my primary influences growing up, so I want to honor that in this song.”
“Mak…
