Top local acts off to new heights

MANILA, Philippines - Once an artist reaches the top, they say there’s no way to go but down. Yet, the finest of musicians often find ways to reinvent themselves. So, there’s really no stepping down, just looking for the next ladder to step on.

Here are four local artists, all A-listers, who in one way or another have scaled the summit of their journeys and are heading to new routes.

Sitti. The Queen of Bossa sighed never feeling comfortable being given a title. She simply doesn’t want to be boxed. Thus, she prefers placing her new album under the category of easy-listening music.

The self-titled CD released by Warner Music showcases the ASAP Sessionista trying to be less-bossa and collaborating with some tried-and-tested acts. “I hope you guys will join me in my journey,” she expressed, wishing that die-hard bossa nova fans will continue supporting her.

The carrier single Wag Mo Na Munang Sabihin, a beautiful piece written by the prolific Ebe Dancel, opens the album and quickly announces the bold move towards more commercial music. Two of her compositions, Baby I’m In Love and End It With You, end up among the album inclusions, proving that the premier cover singer is widening her horizon as artist.

Still, the presence of veteran musicians empowers the album with that old school class touch. She performs with RJ Jacinto in her take of the latter’s signature song Muli. She likewise revives videoke favorite Ako’y Sa’yo At Ika’y Akin with original singer Jek Manuel (who is no longer a member of I-Axe). Then, there’s Gary Granada contributing his 20-year-old piece Sulat to the 10-track album.

“Dream ko talaga makagawa ng album na maraming originals,” she reiterated, before surrendering to tears in front of the press, feeling emotional that her dream album is already realized.

Jim Paredes. APO is no longer around. Yet its chief-songwriter isn’t signing off yet. He just came out with a solo album released by MCA Music called Laro. Sound-wise, one can say that the master songwriter was feeling playful while recording the 14 tracks, all of them he wrote, as expected.

Though Jim admitted he didn’t try to avoid sounding like APO, even saying “because that’s a proud legacy,” his compositions here are decidedly not rehashes of APO classics. In fact the carrier single Butong Pakwan is the coming from his own lips, “a song nobody has written about.” 

Some of the intriguing titles are May Araw Ka Rin, OPM Rap and Libog Lang Yan. He added, “I have no expectations on this and my main aim is just to release the songs.”

For someone not caring about what people are buying and listening to, this is a kind of freedom few senior citizens of OPM get to enjoy and deliver. 

Rico Blanco. The former frontman-songwriter for Rivermaya experienced the work of a teleserye actor in the hit ABS-CBN series Imortal. What he describes as a “humbling experience” turned him into a torch-carrier for people behind TV work.

Reacting on how critics attack TV dramas once they do not meet certain standards, Rico shared, “It’s sad that many of us are quick to judge the movie industry. We have so much talents, more than enough. What we don’t have enough is time which means money. People should understand that so much work is being given to create teleseryes.”

Rico’s label Warner Music just released a two-CD special limited edition featuring his teleserye theme Kahit Walang Sabihin, his other CD-unreleased tracks like the Ondoy victims-tribute Bangon, and Neon Lights which topped Hong Kong’s radio chart. Disc 1 recaptures the rock icon’s ground-breaking solo album Your Universe while an acoustic version of its title track relaxingly appears on Disc 2.

With his steady rise as a multi-faceted idol, the musician-actor has become a Sesame Street ambassador in line with the project Sesame Street Kid Ako. This hopes to create a kiddie corner featuring videos of the classic children’s program to be put at public schools. In addition, he is reworking two Sesame Street songs into rock pieces.

Humanfolk. Guitar expert Johnny Alegre and multi-awarded bass player Cynthia Alexander are two very established world music talents. Forming a band with them as nucleus is simply qualified as a supergroup.

When Humanfolk launched its album last May, the result was a spell-binding live music that counted on technical precision and collaborative strength. In his own words, Alegre recalled that fateful day at Shinji Tanaka’s Sound Creation Studio when he and the rest of the band converged to interpret compositions collectively called Humanfolk.

Suddenly, he remembers, “the studio was littered with our instruments of all manner: Drums, cymbals, brass and wooden kulintang, bamboo buzzers and rain sticks, tambourine, grand piano, shakers, clappers, guiro and kalimba. It was possible for anyone among the five of us to pick up any instrument and play it credibly.”

Other members of Humanfolk, backed by MCA Music, are Susie Ibarra, Malek Lopez, Roberto Juan Rodriguez, and Abby Clutario. Their single Para Sa Tao provides, on top of pretty steady instrumental interplay, a tune with impressive recall.