I talk to The New Hue founder H about coping with the pandemic, starting the media platform, being able to talk to artists and celebrities, fighting impostor syndrome, inspiring people, and what’s in the future for TNH.

If you’re a big fan of Pinoy music, you’ve probably already heard of The New Hue (TNH). It has been uplifting the local music scene for two years already, especially highlighting unity and diversity in the OPM community. It has even already held two video music awards—check out the most recent one here.

(Noel’s note: Follow The New Hue for the latest hottest updates on the Filipino music scene.)

All this started during the pandemic from one man: H. Ever since I started this website, I’ve been trying to interview H and ask him about The New Hue. After all, I did say that he was one of my inspirations for starting this site in the first place.

The times I proposed weren’t working for him, though. “Bro, you want to catch me, it has to be early morning,” he laughs. “After all, we’re titos (uncles) already. I’m awake at 5 in the morning.”

Early morning, it was, which was why I found myself talking to H one Sunday morning via Google Meet. And with us both having morning coffee (yes, we’re old!), I was finally able to ask that one burning question:

How did the country manager of a cybersecurity brand—something seemingly far away from the music industry—get the idea to start The New Hue?

H with his cybersecurity hat on

The New Hue: Starting Out As A Podcast

“The New Hue started as a podcast back around May, 2020, during the pandemic,” H says. “Believe it or not, it was because of me just trying to survive.”

When I pressed for what he meant, H got more candid. “Remember, 2020 and the pandemic was a time full of uncertainty. And after we all got used to the idea that we would be stuck indoors until further notice, I started wondering how my friends and the people I knew were, like what’s happening in their lives and in their industry.”

He describes it as him craving for conversations more than anything—and as something good for his mental health. “I don’t talk about it much, but I was having dark thoughts during this time. Imagine, I was living in a condo unit. It felt so small, especially since you’re not allowed to go out. This podcast, getting people to interview, building the website kept me busy, and helped me get past these negative things in my head.”

H with his current co-host, Mix Fenix on The New Hue Podcast

The Name

Even if The New Hue was technically a personal project, H didn’t want to half-ass it. He wanted it as something to be relevant to society. “After all, it can help me, why can’t it help others, right?” he asks.

He thought of the name as a sort of a wordplay. “The “Hue” in the name is a wordplay for you. In the unpredictability of the situation at the time, I kind of felt the need for reality and truth. So it’s kind of my way of saying that we should all break free from the gaslighting of society and questionable beliefs.”

H also made sure to associate his brand with black and white. “It’s appropriate,” he explains, “because some things are just black and white—no ifs or buts. I wanted this platform to be where guests could just be themselves for a change and not hide what they thought of things.”

Also, he associates black and white with something more personal. “”Asin at paminta. Literal! Nag-ulam ako ng ganun! Walang halong OA,” [There was a time I went from eating normally to suddenly eating just salt and pepper for a long time] H recalls. “When you’re seeing black and white, that’s my past. It’s something to remind me, to drive me to succeed.”

Never forgetting his roots in Tondo, Manila-part of the inspiration for the name

The Rise Of The Black And White Movement

H started out interviewing friends and people he knew. “My first guests were two good friends, RC delos Reyes and Kent Donguines. We were talking about how production would work in the “new normal” this time.”

The first interview.

He eventually got the idea to start talking to artists and celebrities. “I guess I just got it in my head to be curious about their lives as well and if it was possible to talk to them. I guess I was lucky I was prepared for this opportunity,” H says.

Was it hard to get these celebrities to become guests?

H laughs. “Before the pandemic, if you message them on their platforms, they wouldn’t reply. But during this time, they would get back to me quickly. After all, they were stuck in the same situation we were.”

Among the many famous people, he was able to speak with Mo Twister, one of the individuals he looks up to in podcasting. He also got to talk to Sasha Grey, an interview he’s very proud of.

“Despite Sasha being a former porn star and the comments section being, let’s just say, immature, I think we were able to handle the conversation well,” H says. “I think it was in this episode that we established The New Hue as a serious podcast. We’re not here to exploit the fact that she was a former porn star; we’re here to discuss issues that were relevant to society.”

A Different Perspective On Content Creation

With people locked in their houses in 2020, there was a need to make money, especially for those who were retrenched or in floating status in their work. This led to the rise of content creators. H was one of those, but he saw his method as something different.

“I didn’t set out to be famous. This was an outlet to survive. I didn’t want the attention to be on me,” H says. “The point is not to be famous or be the competition of artists and other content creators, but to be a platform to promote others. Aside from the pandemic, I think I started when ABS-CBN shut down. So I think that contributed to the artist community being curious about what TNH was, especially since with ABS-CBN gone, they needed another platform to express themselves.”

With Adie, Kean Cipriano, and Unique of OC Records

The New Hue—A Podcast And More

H started the podcast with Reg Ongsiako, an officemate at that time. “She was one of the first people I told about this idea,” H recalls, “and she was game. She was my co-host for the longest time.”

As word about TNH spread, H started getting contacted by different labels. “They were asking if they could send me PRs or press releases to put on my website. I was like, what the hell are those?” H laughs. “I also talked to someone in the industry who gave me the idea to put a publication angle on TNH. Sabi ko sige. Bored pa ako eh. Kulang pa.” [I said okay. I was still bored-the current stuff I was doing wasn’t enough.]

As a result, H also started bringing out other content besides podcasts and press releases. “We started Flat Tapes to showcase home recordings from known and unknown artists. I also got a bunch of writers to make articles to feature more musicians, talents, and even venues. It led to people getting portfolios—valuable for them. It was a rush being able to help people who were looking to get started in the industry somewhere.”

TNH’s Flat Tapes on the website

From 2020-2021, The New Hue was on fire with various podcasts, articles, virtual events, features, and so on. Notably, it shed light on the nightlife industry, where they started to feature DJs and had the first 2-day online music fest with Huenite. “It was 24 artists, 2 days, everyone performing in their bedrooms and me, Reg, Vino, Gita, and Nina building a framework to a show where all gathered for the love of music,” H recalls.

TNH had become one of the best places for undiscovered talents—musicians, especially—to have a platform to be noticed.

But all of it almost came to a crashing halt.

New Life With The Astbury

Life reached the point we were all looking forward to: the country was reopening again. That meant people’s priorities were changing—including TNH contributors. “Some people just decided to do other things,” H shrugs. “At the end of the day, The New Hue is really a passion project. I can’t force them to stay if the passion is gone.”

Live events were also happening again. “Online events were losing their effectiveness regarding viewership,” H recalls. “People wanted to go out again and experience things in person, not in front of their screens.”

All of these things made H second guess himself plenty of times. “I felt the impostor syndrome,” H says. “I had revolving co-hosts, people coming in and out of this creative collective, and a dwindling readership. Hassle men, di mo alam saan papunta.” [It was a hassle because I didn’t know where it was going.]

Was it still worth the trouble running TNH?

One day, though, he was contacted by Aia De Leon, the former vocalist of Imago. “She was one of the artists I contacted while trying to raise medical funds for a friend who had COVID-19 complications. I asked her about making a recorded concert, and she agreed to help,” H recalls.

Aia invited him and his current co-host, Mix Fenix, to dinner at The Astbury, a creative community slash co-working space. “Aia’s role was pivotal. She didn’t even want to be part of it. All I remember was her saying, “H, I think we met for a purpose. And that is for me to be a bridge between you and Astbury. Value for value is important here.”

One thing led to another, and The Astbury invited H to be a partner. “That gave me new hope, life, and energy in keeping The New Hue going,” H says.

That fateful meeting at The Astbury

The New Hue Video Music Awards

And because The New Hue now had a home in The Astbury, the wheels in H’s mind started turning. “If people wanted live events, we would let them enjoy live events and give artists a chance to feel celebrated,” H says. In the vein of the NU Rock Awards, H and Mix created the first ever The New Hue Music Awards back in 2022.

The New Hue Team at the 2022 VMA

“We researched if we needed to be licensed to give awards and discovered that we didn’t have to,” H laughs. “So we went for it!” They started promoting the award with the help of their contacts in the industry and labels and started soliciting nominations.

“We were actually surprised because when we started running votes on our website, around 20,000 people voted!” H exclaims. “And since it was our first event ever, I was nervous. One day, we were interviewing people online, and now we were mounting a physical event with just the four of us. We had to think about feeding people, ensuring people got invited, etc. But I think it was a success—people didn’t leave until the event ended. It validates our stand that the industry, the people who matter most, appreciates what is starting.”

H and Mix continued the success with another edition this year—beating their best so far despite the worst possible weather. Check out The New Hue Video Music Awards 2023 edition here.

The Secret To Success

As an introvert, I’m always amazed at people like H, who can easily talk to people and sell ideas to them. What’s the secret?

“I can attribute this to my dad’s advice: treat everyone from any organization fairly,” H says. “It can be the security guard or the CEO. You just need to talk to one person or one fish in that particular ocean, and if you’re nice to them, they’ll let you swim in their ocean until you find that person you need to know.”

H sums up success to two things. The first is starting. “If you never start, you’ll never get anywhere. And don’t worry if it’s not perfect; you can’t be good at the start. And, of course, you’ll really need some “kapal ng muka” or gumption—that’s reality. You can’t be shy at starting something—get the jump on people who may have the same idea.”

This principle has allowed H to communicate with even celebs like Coleen Garcia and Billy Crawford

The second one is maintaining a healthy ecosystem or people who believe in your dreams. “I can honestly say I’ve been through many failures starting something,” H says. “I’ve tried event organizing, selling fashion online—all flops because there was no support, no community—and that’s what makes TNH different. I found people who found what I was doing valuable. In return, you support whoever supports you.”

H continues: “So that’s what you should do: find something that people will find value in, no matter the topic you talk about, and the people will come. And I like discovering from people in my other industry that I’m also inspiring them to do things they’ve always wanted. When you inspire people, you’ll also get that support.”

Summing Up The New Hue’s Accomplishments

In creating The New Hue, H has rubbed elbows with names like Kean Cipriano and Chynna Ortaleza of OC Records, various Sony Music bosses, and James Reid of Careless Music. He has also gotten Jay Contreras of Kamikazee, Billy Crawford, and Clara Benin to write their thoughts on the website.

Today’s Golden Age OPM young bloods like Adie, Zack Tabudlo, Ben&Ben, Unique Salonga, and Kenaniah have graced TNH’s website and turned black and white. You’ll even see people like Liza Soberano, Coleen Garcia-Crawford, Bela Padilla, and Nadine Lustre supporting the platform as well—some have even been part of it, too!

To sum things up, check out this graphic:

Not bad for a guy who just started all this to keep himself busy, huh?

The Future Of The New Hue

So, what’s next for TNH?

H doesn’t know exactly, but he has plenty of ideas. “We’ll be doing more launches, collaborations, events, and video music awards. We’re going to release merchandise. We’re also seeking ways to get readers and fans to interact with the artists. I think our focus is really more on the Filipino music industry—they’ve been the most supportive, and I want to give back. I want to take care of them.”

With Liza Soberano and James Reid

After all, he considers The New Hue as “a platform that the artists built.” H says that without all of them showing interest and having his back, TNH would likely have crashed and burned in the first few months.

“That’s why I’m grateful for these artists,” H says. He adds that he won’t change what The New Hue is about. “When I started this, I wanted it to be a platform that represented real people. You don’t have to wear a mask when you come here; just come as you are. No BS, no gaslighting. Hindi namin sasabihin sayo na o dapat habang nag rerecord tayo, nakangiti ka pa lagi o dapat oo ka lang ng oo. [We won’t tell you that you should be smiling all the time or you should say certain things.] We can agree to disagree, and it’s fine. ”

Will he still think about closing TNH in the future? “Impostor syndrome will never really go away,” H admits, “but I will always go back to the people who matter. To the believers rather than doubters, and as long as I see the black and white, I’m reminded of what I went through. And if TNH is THE platform that can help artists avoid going through what I went through, I think I’ll have all the motivation I need to keep it running for a long time.”

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