Eugene Tan is an award-winning singer-songwriter based in Cebu, Philippines.  He writes song for his personal consumption and liturgical songs for mass songs.  He also writes radio commercial, TV advertisement and songwriting competitions.  He liked singing when he was nine and on his sixth grade, he yearned to own a guitar.  The first song he learned thru a borrowed guitar is the song "El Condor Pasa" by Simon and Garfunkel because the chords are simple.  The duo is an influence to Eugene’s interest in music.  In everyday life, whenever Eugene hears a phrase and can make something out of it, he usually expands it to create a song lyric.  He makes basic backing track arrangements for a song.

 

Eugene first discovered his songwriting prowess when he joined a songwriting contest and was a finalist among numerous entries.  Since then he pursued his songwriting interest and regularly becomes a finalist and sometimes a grand winner.  Eugene is currently active in his music world by serving as a vocalist and coach for a Christian community choir based in a Catholic church in Lapulapu City, Philippines.  He plays the guitar, the keyboard and the bass guitar. 

 

Eugene used to be in the merchant marine profession and travelled a lot before deciding to settle in his native land.  Regardless of what occupation he has taken through the years, music and singing is still his first love.

 

Eugene write and speak good English but considers Cebuano as his favorite language.  He said that Cebuano is a regional language spoken by more than 18 million people all over the country.  When people from the Cebuano speaking regions in the Philippines migrate to a foreign land, they become homesick.  The first thing that comes to mind is the language and then the food.  The reason why he writes his songs in the Cebuano language is to reach out to them and keep them in touch with the language and culture.  He added that the song he write relate mostly to people’s everyday life and events.