I received a message from a friend in the Philippine music-publishing world: Another publisher in the United States was looking for someone to write a Tagalog translation. That was all I knew.
“Sure, why not?” I replied.
Then a text arrived from someone at NBCUniversal.
Was I available to write Tagalog lyrics for a song? The demo was ready.
Yes.
BINI would record it.
Yes, please.
The song would be part of the promotional soundtrack for DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island.
Of course, yes.
Then came the caveat: I could not tell anyone yet.
I received the demo, sat with it for a week or two and thought carefully about how the Tagalog words should move with the melody. When I finally began writing, the lyrics came together within a day. I recorded a guide vocal, sent it through the approval process and waited.
At that point, I did not know whether BINI would record the song in Los Angeles or Manila. There were emails from producers asking for lyric consultations, then stretches of silence. In music, that is normal. A project can move quickly at the start, disappear from view and return when the work is finally ready for release.
The song returned as “A Parallel World,” an upbeat electronic-pop track that blends English and Filipino lyrics and centers on friendship, hope and resilience. Written by Nathan Matthew David and Shawn Wasabi and performed by all eight members of BINI, it is part of a soundtrack that also features Filipino and Filipino American artists including Lea Salonga, SB19 and KATSEYE’s Sophia Laforteza.
For me, the news carried a particular sense of wonder. BINI’s song is connected to a film whose story is rooted in Filipino culture and mythology, with a cast that includes some of the most recognizable Filipino and Filipino American voices in entertainment.
Forgotten Island follows Jo and Raissa, best friends who find themselves on an extraordinary journey. H.E.R. voices Jo, while Soberano voices Raissa. Manny Jacinto, Lea Salonga and Dolly de Leon are also among the Filipino and Filipino American performers in the voice cast.
What made the experience meaningful was not only the speed of the assignment, but also its quietness. I had spent much of my career arranging music and producing across genres. At times, I wondered whether I had moved too far from the kind of songwriting work that first made me feel most connected to music.
This project was a reminder that opportunities sometimes arrive without fanfare. A brief message, a demo, a deadline and a request to write in Tagalog became a chance to contribute to BINI’s music and to a global film that brings Filipino stories, talent and language into a wider conversation.
Maybe that is the magic of “A Parallel World.” Some dreams appear to come from nowhere. Then, suddenly, they are real.
Editor’s note: “A Parallel World,” performed by P-pop group BINI, is an original song from DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming fantasy-adventure film Forgotten Island. The film follows inseparable friends Jo and Raissa, voiced by Grammy-winning artist H.E.R. and Filipino American actress Liza Soberano, on a final adventure that leads them to an island shaped by Filipino mythology. The voice cast also includes Manny Jacinto, Lea Salonga, Dolly de Leon, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng and Sophia Laforteza. Nepomuceno, a Southern California-based Filipino music arranger, producer and songwriter, wrote the song’s Tagalog lyrics.
