crwn, Muri turn Bali songwriting session into new single ‘Shelter’

A songwriting session in Bali brought Filipino artists crwn (King Puentespina) and Muri (Muriel Gonzales) together for “Shelter,” a collaboration about finding your way forward by discovering that what you’ve been searching for may have been there all along.

The single, now available on digital music platforms worldwide, grew out of the artists’ first extended songwriting session at the AXEAN songwriting camp in Bali, where they were paired to work together for a day.

Muri and crwn are longtime fixtures of Manila’s band scene, coming up in different corners of the indie scene — Muri as a member of indie folk band The Ransom Collective, and King as a member of SOS before launching crwn as his solo electronic project. 

Years after their bands first crossed paths, the two reconnected at an international songwriting camp in Bali, where both were performing and working on their individual solo projects. 

“King and I have known each other for years, but the AXEAN songwriting camp in Bali was the first time we really got to hang out. ‘Shelter’ was an idea that started when we paired up to write together for a day,” Muri said.

“‘Shelter’ is about realizing the thing you’ve been looking for was already close to you the whole time. That idea came about organically as we were laying down beats, violin riffs, and reflecting on where we were in our lives,” crwn added.