All-new Pinoy bands

The sweet, endearing Bakit is the song of the moment. It is about a lost love and comes in two versions in the album Maldita. The other one is the Spanish Porque, which is bakit in Filipino and why in English. It is not really Spanish though but Chavacano. Not only that, it is a cute mix of Spanish and Tagalog that the band Maldita has termed Chagalog.

The Chavacano element in Maldita’s music is born of the fact that the band comes from Zamboanga, where Chavacano is widely spoken. The album Maldita is therefore a mix of English, Pilipino and Chagalog. Interesting. But Maldita has really no need for gimmickry as far as its music is concerned. Songwriters Whey Guevara, who plays the rhythm guitar and Geraldine Lim, who is the band’s manager, have a sure grasp of the sort of commercial language and melody that will click with listeners. That is why Bakit became an instant hit.

Featuring the sweet voice of Demz Espinosa, the song is not only big here in Metro Manila but also in the Visayas and Mindanao where the Maldita craze actually started. In fact, fans from Spanish-speaking countries have discovered the song and are asking when a true Spanish version will be released. When this happens, they may also find out they like Iyo Ya Lang Era, which is a lovely tune in true Chavacano in the CD.

Maldita by Maldita is pop, the way Pinoys like it. There are tender acoustic tracks, Sana and Sa ‘yo. Tuliro, Selosa, Gayuma and Ayoko Na Sayo come with infectious beats. And then for the catchy pop rock sounds there are Bahala Na, Dehado and Crossroads. But of course the highlights of the whole package are Bakit and Porque, which echo the Manila Sound of the ‘70s but with a new millenium feel.

Ajka was discovered via Nescafe’s 3-in-1 Soundskool band contest

Maldita is Demz Espinosa on vocals; Whey Guevarra on rhythm guitar; Jimi Tristan Ong on bass; RB Bandiola on lead guitar; and Mad Nubhan on drums.

Still on Pinoy bands: Nescafe’s 3-in-1 Soundskool has become the competition to look up to as far as the search for new, promising bands is concerned. Soundskool has already produced Hilera, Eevee and Letter Day Story. Last year’s contest bagged Ajka. Will they do as well or even better than their predecessors? Listen to the album to find out.

Titled Undefined, the CD has a pop, jazzy vibe that easily shows off the musicality of the members. This is no garage band. Not surprising as Ajka is K.A. Antonio on vocals; JL delas Llagas on guitars; Aaron Caligner on bass; and Jon Pinto on drums and they met while they were members of the De La Salle University Pops Orchestra. Ajka comes from the first letters of their first names.

Tanong Lang, composed by K.A., won for Ajka, the Soundskool grand prize. It is well-written, well-arranged, well-produced and makes for a very good introduction for the band. Then and this is not to belittle the contributions of the other members of the band, who performed very well in the album, but as in the case of Maldita, Ajka, has an excellent female vocalist in K.A., who gives the band its distinctive, easily recognizable sound. The other cuts included are Ako Naman, In Denial, Down and Endless.

Ajka may have been the winner of Soundskool, but Soundvent, Kaligta and Kilos also did very well in the competition. They came out as finalists, but they are also getting their big recording break from Sony Music. Their original works are now the featured cuts of the album X3M Compilation.

 Soundvent does Tayo and Di Na Lang. The group has a light, pop alternative sound and good songwriting know-how. Members are Jhoranz Lopez on vocals; Tim Mejia on drums; JC Feliciano and Jeric Amistoso on guitars; and Jeremiah de Asis on bass. The playful Kilos, which comes from UP Los Banos, is made up of vocalist Chao Sison; guitarist Andres Villaruel; drummer Kevin Vega; and bassist Dunne Mamhot. Their contributions are Leaves and Dr. Love, in which they parody one of the Pinoy’s favorite radio characters. And then there are Akin Ka-Ibigan and Awitin Mula Sa Yo, inspirational songs of faith by Kaligta, which is actually short for Kaligtasan. Members of the band are Michael Artita on vocals; Arnold Artita on guitar; Sherman Tupas on bass; and John Michael Dino on drums.