SOUNDCHECK: Random Local Artists you wouldn’t think were homegrown the first time you hear them

When I heard Urbandub’s single “Come” for the first time on the radio, (which was a very long time ago) I never imagined they were local artists. The shock came to me when the song ended, when the DJ then had the usual spiel: “That song was brought to you by (Whatever beer) and that was the song Come from the band from Cebu, Urbandub”. Well up unto this day, five albums and a lot of hit singles after, Urbandub has never since failed to impress me and make me proud to know that they’re from the same country where I come from.

Since then I’ve come to experience the same with a lot of new artists that have emerged in the local music scene through the years. Only proves to show that OPM is in itself world-class. In this post I wouldn’t want to talk about Arnel Pineda and Charice Pempengco or Christian Bautista who’s probably more popular in Indonesia than here in the Philippines; you probably already had much of that from your entertainment news and your boring YouTube afternoons. Rather I would like to share with you some of today’s Pinoy artists that could give you similar experiences of amazement in realizing that they’re actually homegrown. And if some on this list are artists you’ve never heard before – I suggest that you start listening to them now.

The Out of Body Special – The band which can give you almost everything from its fusion of rock, deep funk, soul, R&B, jazz and latin will make you wonder how the hell they’ve managed to actually pull it off not mentioning adding to the formula the band’s front man Carlos Magno’s boastful and legit rhymes. Believe me, I’ve already tried making other people (those who’ve never heard of them before) listen to a few tracks from their 2007 release “Love Is” and then after revealing that they’re from around here: “Talaga??”

The Ambassadors- The punk rock outfit from Cebu could easily be mistaken for an American punk band. I really believe when they say Cebuanos speak better English than people from other parts of the Philippines. And they make some of the best Filipino punk music too!

The Camerawalls – If Orange and Lemons were The Beatles, then Clementine Castro was Lennon. I dunno, I just had to say that. Even though everybody knew who Clem was already even before the formation of The Camerawalls (after Orange and Lemons disbanded), when they released their first single “Clinically Dead for Sixteen Hours”, the reception was not “Oh It is Clem with his new band” but it was like “Oh this is Clem?! I knew he could do way better on his own.” But we need to admit, we all still miss Orange and Lemons.

Outerhope –I found out about Outerhope on facebook, after clicking the “Become a fan” button and then started listening to their songs, which I ultimately enjoyed. The band’s set-up (composed of siblings Mike and Micaela Benedicto) reminded me of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová in the movie Once, minus the love story and plus more enthusiasm because they’re a breath of fresh air for OPM.

December Avenue- I remember a friend who made me listen to one song of the band on his iPod and remember asking if the band was foreign or not. Listen to the band’s song “Time to Go” and see for yourself. Catchy piece of music, that song is.

Sinosikat?- I think it was the song “Turning My Safety Off” that was the first that I’ve heard from the band a couple of years ago. It reminded me of Jeff Buckley but with a female voice, and that made it more interesting. Sinosikat’s site describes their music as an orgy of jazz, soul, funk, rock, & sexy groovy beats matched with unparalleled skill. I could only copy paste it here, and say that I totally agree.

Urbandub- I don’t think I have to say anything more about the band, since y’all probably heard of them already and could not agree more. Anyway here’s their video for “Come” their first single off their first album release “Birth.”

Franco- If you weren’t born yesterday, then you’ve also probably already heard of Franco and his “superband” (composed of Gabby Alipe, 8 Toleran, Buhawi Meneses and Janjan Mendoza) and their hit single “Castaway”. Franco Reyes actually first wrote and performed this song (along with other songs from their recently locally released debut album) with his Florida based band “Inyo”. After Franco came to the Philippines and having the “superband” to session for some gigs in the metro, it eventually became for keeps. Thank Jah for that.

Up Dharma Down- not only was I amazed to realize that UDD’s a local band the first time I heard “Maybe” from Fragmented, but also felt the same for every release that followed. I hear they’re recording a single to be included in their third release!! But for the meantime.. enjoy this video I took from one of their gigs.. and let’s all patiently wait for their third album. (which is going to rock I tell you)

Drip- Some may think that Electronica music is relatively new in the Philippines, but Drip has been active since 2003. And they could definitely kick some international electronic act arses with their collections of songs courtesy of Arvin "Caliph8" Nogueras on turntables, Ian "Morse" Magbanua on beats and samples and Beng Calma-Alcazaren on vocals.

SPECIAL MENTIONS: Ciudad, Faspitch, Sleepwalk Circus, Daydream Cycle, Tonight We Sleep, Typecast, Taken By Cars, IMBUE NO KUDOS, April Morning Sky, Turbo Goth

Any more suggestions? Hit the Comments! :)

I swear I’m in it for the music: A fangirl confession part 1 of 3478347829

I love listening to Japanese and Korean pop songs. That statement (should I happen to declare it out loud, not that I make it a point of randomly blurting out my music preferences in public) is almost always met with the expected reaction of “Haaaaa, bakit?” from people. My older sister, particularly, thinks I’m cuckoo for actually liking those songs that, as she puts it, “you don’t even understand what the lyrics actually mean.”

Which is why I’m glad for the sudden influx of Korean boy bands infiltrating the Philippines: while I don’t really listen to U-Kiss or BEAST (I’m more of a J-pop fan than a K-pop one), their presence in our country makes it easier for me to explain now one of the rather shallow reasons why I listen to Asian pop that isn’t Filipino:

Korean boy band U-KISS

Korean boy band BEAST/B2ST/however their band name is spelled

They’re incredibly good-looking.

Okay, maybe I exaggerate when I say incredibly. (Especially when referring to that member of U-Kiss with his hair in braids. Apparently he’s only fifteen.) Maybe they do look like lesbians as Mo Twister claims in his Twitter. Maybe I just have a penchant for feminine-looking men. Maybe I should have chosen another picture of BEAST to put up here. Maybe it’s a matter of personal taste and opinion. Heck, maybe it’s all of the above. But for me, they look good as a group, and that’s a huge factor thats got me hooked on their music. And I know I speak not only for myself, but for the millions of fangirls out there. (Yes, there are more of us. Muhaha. Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.)

Oh, I know, I might hear some wisecrack comment about not seeing them when I actually listen to their music anyway. But allow me to rephrase. When I say they’re good-looking, I don’t only mean that they look good; the catch is, they also surprisingly sound good and dance good, to boot. Again, maybe I exaggerate; maybe it’s a matter of preference. But in a music scene where the Philippine definition of ‘boy band’ is either a collection of dancers (i.e The Maneouvers) or a group of men pretending to be boys while singing in deep voices and doing the occasional hip thrust which is supposed to look sexy but the sexiness is lost on me (yes, I am referring to the Masculados-- or Masculados Dos, whatever they’re apparently called now) for the Japanese and Korean boy bands to actually manage to combine everything into a package is a plus. (I know, we have XLR8 now--but that’s for another article. )

So yes, one of my reasons for listening to Japanese and Korean pop so much is because I find them attractive. I did say it was shallow, didn’t I? But remember, I also said it’s just one of the reasons. What are the others? You’ll have to stay tuned to find out.


[ images used taken from Google.com and are not owned by Carbonatedpinoy. ]

The Set List: ROCK N' ROGUE - A Different Concert Experience

Rock N’ Rogue is a concert series held in Encore (formerly known as Embassy) and is produced by JB Music, Encore and J2nes in cooperation with Rogue Magazine and Channel [V]. According to Jerico Fernando, VP-Sales and Marketing of JB Music store chain and co-founder of J2nes, Rock N’ Rogue aims to promote the local music industry into new heights and provide the bands with the best audio equipment.

Having attended the first two concerts myself, I could really say that the concert experience in Encore is incomparable. You can’t go wrong with sound equipment when the concert you’re attending to is produced by one of the biggest retailer and distributor of musical instruments and audio equipment in the country.

You just have to be there to believe it.

“I just want to give people a nice time, like watching rock bands in a big club with superb sound system,” says Fernando. “Many clubs around town fail to offer a really good musical experience because they lower their costs, including the sound system”.



Rock N’ Rogue had its successful launch last April 29 featuring Urbandub, with the band also celebrating its 10th year in the music industry. The Encore Main Room was jam-packed with Dubistas in perfect attendance. Gabby Alipe (Urbandub vocalist) even confessed that it was their longest set ever, with the band performing almost 20 songs from their five album releases. The band also did not expect the number of people that actually showed up for the event.



Two months after the launch, Bamboo took the Encore stage to give their fans a “musical beating” through their wide array of hit singles and also a few well-known Rivermaya songs. Nathan Azarcon (Bamboo bassist) even jokingly thanked Rico Blanco for writing the songs that they played that night. The second installment of the concert series was another success, and I am glad to have been part of it, in a way, by taking photographs and occasionally singing along to the songs I was familiar with.



Still in the lineup to perform this year are The Dawn, Wolfgang and Razorback.

Interested? See you at Encore!

Click here for more Rock N' Rogue Photos!