To Prepare For His Lead Roles, Kelvin Miranda Makes Playlists

In Vogue Playlists, various personalities across art, fashion, and culture offer an intimate glimpse into the sonic landscape that soundtrack their lives.

In an exclusive interview with Vogue Philippines, Kelvin Miranda shares the songs that built the characterization for his film roles.

From The Smiths to Castlebeat, Kelvin Miranda’s taste in music cuts deep. The Frightnrs, Maxwell, Arc De Soleil, Radiohead, Oasis, Goodleaf, and Hazel English are some of the bands and artists that make up his playlists for getting creatively inspired or running errands. It is also one of his favorite tools for acting. “Creating a playlist is my process when building a character,” he says in Filipino. For him, the act of curating and listening to the playlists helps set the personality and attitude of a character. “Kapag naririnig ko pa lang yun habang nagi-internalize, mas mabilis at mas nakakatulong sa’kin makapasok sa world nung character na gusto kong pasukin at aralin [When I listen to the music while internalizing, it really helps and speeds up the process of me getting into the character’s world that I want to enter and study],” he says.

Aside from characterization, music also helps him get into the right mood for each scene. He shares that in Loving Miss Bridget, he listened to “Dark Waters & Stars” by Natural Calamity to prepare for an intimate scene with Beauty Gonzales. “It makes you feel high on emotions. You close your eyes, and you just feel,” he says.

In Vogue Playlists, Kelvin Miranda shares the songs and artists he listened to while preparing for his film roles in Dead Kids, Missed Connections, and Chances Are, You And I.

For Mark Santa Maria in Dead Kids (2019): Sleep Party People

In Dead Kids, Kelvin plays the role of Mark Santa Maria, a poor and hardworking scholar who finds himself entangled in a kidnapping scheme masterminded by his schoolmates.

For Kelvin, “isolation” is the key word for Mark’s character. “The character’s personality and perspective are a bit dark,” he says. To prepare for the role, he listened to Sleep Party People, a musical project by Danish multi-instrumentalist and producer Brian Batz. Kelvin shares that of all Sleep Party People’s discography, Mark’s favorite songs would be “I’m Not Human At All” and “Notes To You.”

For Norman in Missed Connections (2023): ‘80s-90s New Wave

Far from a troubled teenager, Norman from Missed Connections is a computer geek who connects with the hopeless romantic Mae after a memorable encounter. For Norman, Kelvin listened to ‘80s to ‘90s New Wave music to slip into the role. He shares that the choice of genre helps Norman “become creative” when it comes to computer coding. “My body becomes more active whenever I listen to the frequencies of new wave music,” he says. 

For Soleil Sikat in Chances Are, You and I (2024): The Ramones

Chances Are, You and I, deals with a more dramatic premise than Missed Connections. Kelvin plays Soleil “Sol” Sikat, a pessimist character diagnosed with a brain tumor who meets Gabi Sinag, an optimist with the same diagnosis. Although the circumstances of both characters are heavy, Kelvin shares that director Cathy Camarillo preferred to make the characters feel lighter. In preparation, he listened to a range of what he describes as “oldies” music: Chet Baker, Nina Simone, and especially, the Ramones. “The character is a bit stubborn, so I think he’ll like the Ramones,” he says. But for romantic scenes, he listens to “Sexy Sandy” by Jackie Edwards.

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