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“
Prepare to change
your course”
In the summer of 2012, a young
singer rhapsodized about the
Philippine islands in a music video that
showcased gorgeous footage of the
country’s most beautiful beaches. “Phil
So Good” was clearly a love song to
the country. The clincher? The singer
was Frenchman Julien Drolon.
Drolon first came to the Philippines
in late 2007 as an international
reporter, whose economic reports
were published in
USA Today, The
Economist
and
The New York Times.
“
A few weeks after I arrived in Manila,
my team and I went to La Union to
surf. There was a music festival and
I thought, ‘This is the perfect place to
pursue my two passions: surfing and
music.’” More importantly, he was
smitten with the people. “Filipinos
always smile and they made me feel
at home.”
As a result of his love affair with the
Philippines, he moved here and has
quit journalism to become a singer and
songwriter. He met producer Jimmy
Antiporda, who listened to his song,
“
No More Divisions”, and offered to
make him a music video. After the
video went live on YouTube, Drolon was
invited to music festivals in Asia and
got airplay on Channel V and Myx. In
2011,
he had his first mall tour.
His biggest challenge was getting
his parents in France to understand
why he chose to live so far away. “I
wrote ‘Phil So Good’ to tell them they
should not worry because I found peace
in the Philippines.”
Drolon’s management company,
Entertainment Circuit, is the pioneer
in USB albums; they chose to launch
the product with “Phil So Good” on a
JDrive, a flash drive that lets fans listen
to his songs, watch his music video,
and store more music on it. Since the
release of “Phil So Good”, he’s been
busy promoting it in Asia and Europe,
and has inked a deal to distribute his
music in China. “I hope ‘Phil So Good’
helps Filipinos realize that their country
is so beautiful and that it has a bright
future,” he says.
“
Phil So Good” is available online
at iTunes and Amazon. Visit
juliendrolon.com
A C C I D E N T A L H E R O E S
Frenchman Julien Drolon hopes
he can make a difference in the
Philippines with his music
