ena mori jams ‘Telephone,’ a song about being confident in yourself

Filipino-Japanese musician ena mori didn’t know she was going to perform on cam the day that GMA News Online met her at Crow’s Nest Studios in Paranaque.

So when we informed her about it, all the 21-year-old could muster was a panicked, “really?! I didn’t know!”

RELATED: In the studio with ena mori, the 21-year-old classically trained Fil-Jap musician making sophisticated song 

But such is ena’s grace, confidence, and know-how that she quickly looked for solutions. She found it in fellow Offshore musician Tim Marquez, with whom she decided to jam “Telephone,” a song, ena says is about “being independent and confident in yourself.”

“Telephone” is among the songs included in the upcoming Offshore Vol. 2, a compilation record featuring songs by the label’s artists, and one that illustrates the singer-songwriter’s varied influences.

Growing up, ena listened to a lot of Chopin, while Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin were her favorites to sing in the shower. Queen is a major influence.

“I was never able to sing in my entire music life. I was very shy to sing at first because I came from a background of classical music; I am a pianist. But Queen songs relate to me because I grew up listening to classical music and Queen’s music was very influenced by that,” said ena, who moved to Manila four years ago.

According to Offshore’s A&R Director Pat Sarabia, ena is “very emotional. When she plays, you can really feel her choice of notes. She has the right mix of emotions, cerebral, and theory and that’s where her background of being a grand champion pianist comes into play.”

Offshore Vol. 2 will be released on December 10. — LA, GMA News