27 year old André Molina is just getting started on getting you to know his name. A self-proclaimed “hopeless romantic”, the Philippines born musician won’t allow you to put him in a box. He’s a musician, but he can be a chef too? And don’t get him started on clothes. We caught up with Andre in a brand new series titled Five More Minutes.
Talk to me about your upbringing, and where music came into play in your life?
Growing up, we had one of those televisions that had antennas on top of it. It was always a struggle just to get a channel out of it. One of the channels that we did get was a channel by the name of MYX. It was basically a Filipino version of MTV. Just like MTV, they played music videos all day. I would sit there in the mornings, watching as I waited for the school bus to come. I remember being exposed to all types of music like this. From John Mayer to boy bands like Backstreet Boys and N’Sync. The boy bands were my favorite because they could sing and dance. I started my love for pop-music. I just loved the fact that they were multi-talented.
What is it about pop-music in particular?
I love pop music. There was so much of it when I was growing up. The lyrics can be corny, but it’s all about the delivery. If you know how to sing, you know how to connect.
Personally, the guitar leads most of my songs. I love the sound of the guitar. Producers that I work with will go ahead and send me guitar based songs because I’ll go in and mess around with vocals and melodies. It’s an easy way for me to write.
So much of your persona is colored by the clothes you wear. What’s your relationship to clothes?
My relationship with clothes is tight because I like to dress up. I think it’s one of my favorite ways to express myself outside of music. I love the process of thrifting to actually trying on the clothes and building an outfit. Back in high school when “hashtag swag” was popular—that was me and everyone knew it. I’d get complimented constantly on what I was wearing. My shoes, my clothes. It became a way to make friends even though none of those friends voted for me for Best Dressed.
What’s a quintessential Andre clothing item?
A quintessential Andre clothing item would have to be my platforms. I just love platform shoes or boots. I like being tall [laughs]. Second would be a button down shirt. Then my accessories. I have to have my accessories. Whether that’s a bracelet, anklet, necklace, choker—I have to have them.
What’s your favorite thing about the process of music making?
My favorite thing about the process of making music is the collaboration between my producers and I. Having that basic structure at the very beginning. We call it the bones of the music, then we begin to see the vision come to life slowly. Sometimes producers get impatient, but at the end of the day I have so much trust in my team—that’s the best part.
What’s one positive thing influencing your days right now?
It's been hard to stay positive with all the bad things happening in the world. But I think one thing that reminds me to be positive is knowing that I have really good people around me that always have my back.
