New single from Nicole Laurel is all about 'What Matters Most'

In an imperfect world where friendships are fleeting, where money slips though our fingers faster than we can count it, when we often run out of time right before we reach the top of the mountain, let us be reminded to celebrate the things and people that matter most while we still can.

In a nutshell, this is what “What Matters Most”, the latest single from Nicole Laurel is all about. 

“I recall going down the media rabbit hole to de-brief from another song we had just finished,” Nicole says, who added that “What Matters Most” was written with sleepless eyes in the midst of a hot summer sunrise after wrapping up a production session. “Producer Gabe Dandan and I found ourselves immersed in the soundtrack of the film ‘Cadillac Records’ featuring blues greats such as Etta James, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. 

The inspiration for “What Matters Most” was mostly quartet music from the 50s-60s, shares Gabe. 

“Nicole’s vocal versatility spans many styles and genres of music but I think she sounds at home and authentic in this setting,” Gabe adds. “Sometimes you just have to let songs that draw inspirations from classic roots retain that classic sound. The main focus of the simple no nonsense arrangement was to keep the song era-accurate with modern treatment and post production.”

Nicole says that with “What Matters Most”, she wanted to carve a little a space in time where she could freely celebrate love and the astronomical feeling of being loved through and through. She had the lyrics and a simple melody for the song scribbled somewhere with bits and pieces scattered in between production sessions of other songs. 

“I see the little changes around me- friends that come and go, loves and losses and the lessons they bring, growing pains that come with each season… telling me to start over,” Nicole says. “As I take another trip around the sun, I would like to take this time to celebrate WHAT MATTERS MOST — all of you. This song is a little birthday treat to everyone who has remained in my life and inspired me to continue making music.”

“Working with Nicole is smooth because our writing chemistry is instant and natural, we have a dynamic where we can both freely express ourselves and understand our creative palettes and processes, this is also why we get along so well,” Gabe says. 

Nicole and Gabe then called veteran producer and composer Dan Gil to join in and take over keys recording duties. Gavino Sabalburo’s drums and Timpani recordings from Marvin Querido and ONQ studio made for a wonderful companionship with Gabe taking over bass and guitar duties with veteran engineer Angee Rozul handling the tracking. 

“It was a no-frills recording with simple instrumentation laced with incessant laughter and a cheerful round of drinks afterwards,” Nicole says. “There were times I was tempted to add a horns section or back-up vocals, but this time around I think the simplicity was needed. I was convinced by my co-musicians to keep it simple, light and happy. I probably have a lot of things to ‘hugot’ about…. and yes I have been writing about that too… Pero ayoko muna humugot… this isn’t the song for it… saka na ‘yan…. Let’s just stay in love for a little while… kahit mga five-ish minutes lang and celebrate the things that matter most. 

The track was mixed and mastered in Dolby Atmos by: Waxie G. Joaquin of Waxiefied Sound Production. 

The music video is set to be released mid July with another secret MV by Nicole. 

For more info, follow Nicole Laurel’s official social media accounts:

Nicole Laurel Asensio (FB)

@nicoleasensio (IG)