Musical powerhouse Marcus Davis wows fans with his self-titled album, a project that showcases his penchant for music in a trifecta—singing, writing, and producing.
As he works with the biggest names like James Reid, Sam Concepcion, Kiana V, Curtismith, Jay R, Nivera, Emmanuelle Vera, and Leila Alcasid, OPM fans are buzzing with excitement.
Here, Marcus reveals all the details about this pioneering project, and we dig deeper to understand how it impacts the local music scene.
Behind Working With Biggest Stars
With 18 years in the music industry under his belt, Marcus’s goal was clear—to raise the standard of quality music production for OPM. In this album, he offers artists the chance to be supported by well-written and produced music tailor-fit for their sound.
“For me, this album has been a long time in the making. I’ve been here for 18 years, working with various artists. Through the process of working with the different artists, I’ve had my favorites—and I’ve also felt what was lacking in the industry was not necessarily the talent of the artists, but the production quality, for them to have the proper stage to feature their talent. So, over the years, I’ve always had this idea of working with my favorite artists by giving them the right production quality so that they could make their music well.”
Marcus also highlights how much he values the local music scene. Behind this project, the equation is simple—better production equals world-class talent. His genuine love for OPM artists was all the inspiration needed to ignite the flame for this project.
“Being seriously just a fan of local talent, the idea has been something brewing ever since I started working with some of the biggest artists in the country. I found that it was definitely going to come to a point when I wanted my project to be a reflection of the talent that I love here.”
But of course, releasing something as innovative as this doesn’t come without a few setbacks. Marcus describes the creative process as “challenging.”
“What I wanted to do was to make sure that each artist was represented how they wanted to be represented. My selling point to them was, rather than me dictating to you what the sound should be, you dictate to me what you want—and we’ll come up with something that works for both of us. The wide range of artists and songs on the album made it challenging for me to jump back and forth between different genres, but that was really the process.”
A Glimpse Into the Masterpiece
Between writing the songs and putting pieces together, Marcus pays attention to details very well. When asked about the sound composition and choice of instruments, he reveals that each song on the album is unique—especially because they made sure to honor the artists’ unique sound: “The instrumentals are definitely inspired by the artist’s sound, what they like.”
As a producer, Marcus also talks about his favorite track in the album—one that showcases not just technical flair but an absolute command of the lyrical narrative.
“Smoke and Mirrors is my favorite song on the album. That song came together as a discussion that I was having with Kiana about her experience in the States and everything that was happening with her in the States— how difficult it was for her to find her voice in the midst of this big country where everyone’s talented and everyone’s got an opportunity, or everyone knows the producer. So, in talking to her about that, the song was birthed. And I think it’s my favorite song—Kiana sounds amazing on it.”
Leaving the Marcus Mark
Around the world, Filipinos are known to have beautiful singing voices. So, it is no surprise that the country’s music industry is always glowing. In his words, it’s important to realize that “artists that have been on this journey of trying to find their voice in a sea of voices.”
With rising stars taking on international stages, Marcus understands how difficult it is to get a stamp of approval. But to him, it’s about lifting each other through collaborations—the very soul of the album.
“I think collaboration is key, especially at this day and age we’re in, where a lot of social media is driven by collaboration. Working with artists who have bigger followings than you is key.”