Good music comes in threes

MANILA, Philippines - Success, they say, comes in threes.

Such is expected of Tres Marias — a group composed of three lady voices, each with established background.

Led by Lolita Carbon of Asin fame, the troika is now making noise (or should we say beautiful music) in the gig scene, especially with the release of its self-titled debut album featuring mostly covers of songs people actually don’t expect them to sing.

“Talagang I usually explore to be with some people who are nice to play with and sing,” Lolita recently told The STAR while being interviewed at a dressing room prior to taping a MYX Live performance.

The two other Marias, Cooky Chua and Bayang Barrios, sang sweet back-ups when Lolita stepped on stage to sound check; her husky, sincere voice filling up the studio and warming everyone up for a stretch of calming, vocally-driven live numbers.

It’s injustice not to call the trio a super group.

“At gigs, we often sing our separate individual repertoires then we merge as Tres Marias. Yun na yon, masaya na,” the voice behind some of the finest Pinoy folk songs heard meaningfully stated.

The group’s six-song album, distributed by rising management group Curve Entertainment, features Lolita’s version of Dina Bonnevie’s Bakit Ba Ganyan? Her rendition, by her own estimation, is that of a woman “who already went through a lot” but still asking the same question.

Being the eldest, she is perceived as leader of the pack, with Bayang nodding in connection, “Alam namin ni Cooky na si Lolita ang may legend status sa grupo namin.”

The acknowledged caretaker of Asin’s legacy chose to downplay the matter, arguing, “Seniority ay wala sa amin. May magic lang talaga when we sing together. Alam na namin who will sing alto, the melody or yung mataas. At times, nagpapalitan kami ng mga boses nang hindi namin alam. It comes naturally for us.”

Seeing them harmonize presents that view in surround-sound.

The first Tres Marias sang together for MYX Live (airing on MYX) is the first single Wika, an original melodically written by veteran guitarist Mike Villegas, followed by its rendition of Florante’s Sana.

Proof of their closeness is the fact that Cooky, better known as vocalist for Color It Red, has given Lolita and Bayang the monikers Mariang Idol and Mariang Diwa, respectively.

Tres Marias was formed in 2012 — the result of them “bumping into each other at rallies.” The name is a nod to femininity and their shared advocacy on political, social and environmental issues.

“We’re still learning as singers and this is one good way of experimenting. This will last hanggang nag-e-enjoy kami,” Lolita hinted.

Tres Marias takes pride in telling that the famed Gary Granada helped them score an album. Well, their act is a bomb long-set to explode three generations back, with Lolita emerging as key figure of Pinoy folk, Bayang as lead promoter of world music, and Cooky the charming princess of alternative rock.

Mr. Granada just needed to pull the pin off once they came together.