Pinikpikan and Filipino World Music at Ayala Center Cebu

With its uniquely Filipino brand of world-fusion music in the country, the Pinikpikan, which started out from jamming session among musicians and visual artists, has spawned its own cult following in the different parts of the country, including here in Cebu. Ayala Center Cebu will bring in and feature the group’s diverse, indigenous-flavored musical styles this April 11, 2008 (Friday) to fittingly launch the mall’s Summer Solstice campaign.

Pinikpikan is a music group that draws inspiration from the diverse indigenous beats and melodies of the Philippine archipelago. It concocts a mysterious brew of Indigenous, modern and classical instruments and voices… Pinikpikan fuses Philippine indigenous sounds with that of the Asian, Arab, African, Latin American and other regions to create a unique sound and visual experience that is truly world-class Filipino world music.

Metronomad, the first Pinikpikan recorded music collaboration is Filipino mood music at its finest. Very ethereal in sound, guitar and other electric instruments were played low and easy to highlight the drone, the chants and the light playful percussions. Serene and peaceful, it takes the urban dweller back to the great mountains of the Cordillera. Atas (Mission) is danceable percussive music. It is a showcase of diverse music instruments from the Philippines… rhythm islands come alive if you listen loud enough.

In 2001, it was awarded in five categories, including best album of the year, by KATHA, the award-giving body made up of original Filipino music composers. Atas is distributed outside the Philippines by Tropical-Music (Germany) and Amazon.com. Obra Encantada (Enchanted Work) is a rich brew of rhythmic and melodic patterns and vocal sounds inspired by Filipino indigenous chants and beats.

Pinikpikan musicality takes on a different level through intricate string instrumentations that defy boundaries and categorizations. It highlights the Pinikpikan soul through melodies sung in various Filipino languages…. Communicating themes  of peace, unity, diversity, perseverance and connection with the environment.

KAAMULAN was released in November 2003. It enjoys admiration not only from regular followers of world music but also audiences who prefer mainstream/pop music. The album title was inspired by the Kaamulan (Gathering) festival in Bukidnon, Philippines.

In this album, Pinikpikan experiments with neo-ethnic and funk grooves. Melodies and chants are a mix of Asian, Latin, Arab and African feel. Percussions diversify beats—sometimes in powerful unison, at other times in ‘disharmonic’ harmony. Words are sung in Filipino, English, Spanish and French languages.

The classic Filipino folk song “Sarung banggi’ (One Night) is reinterpreted Pinikpikan rhythmic style. Other songs talk about love, hope, happiness, the endangered ‘Butanding’ (Whaleshark) and other themes.

Pinikpikan uses an amazing range of instruments: Agong: Mindanaoan, large brass gongs; Angklung: bamboo rattles; Bird flute: modulated bamboo wind instrument; Ceramic drums: goat skin ceramic drums; Devil’s water chime: goat horns strung together as chimes; Djembe: African, goblet shaped wooden drums; Doumbek: Middle eastern, wood drums; Derbouka: metal drums; Gabbang, Gaklab: wooden block; Gangsa: Cordilleran, flat brass or silver gongs; Kubing (Mindanao)/Ullibaw (Cordilleran): bamboo jew’s harp; Kulintang: Mindanaoan, set of eight brass gongs; Seed shakers: seed pods; T’boli bells:  small round bronze bells; Tungatong: Bamboo segments; Standard drum set; Electric and Acoustic guitars; Bass Guitar; Higalong: long steel or nylon lute; Kuglong: short version of the higalong; and Faglong: medium length steel-stringed lute.

Its members include Butch Aldana, Sammy Asuncion, Gerry Baguio, Maria Carolina Rodriguez Bello, Billy Bonnevie, BoYu, Dante Bosch, Budeths Casinto, Dr. Stix, Boy Garrovillo, Louie Talan and Tito Martinez.

Since its creation in 1989, Pinikpikan has played in various music venues and events in the Philippines—provincial festivals, earth day jams, cultural shows, community and school events, concert bars, world music festivals. The band has been a favorite in conducting music and drum–playing workshops for students of primary and secondary schools in the urban centers.

Pinikpikan has also been an artistic collaborator of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in various national cultural events.

Outside the country, Pinikpikan represented the Philippines at the Association of Southeast Asian Nation’s (ASEAN) Cultural Summit in September 2002 at the historic site of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. In November 2002 and 2004, the band played for the World Rhythm Series and the Singapore Music Festival, respectively, organized by the Singapore National Arts Council.

For more information on Pinikpikan, visit: //www.pinikpikan.com