Lets not let Cafellas down

Any serious singer would know how difficult it is to sing a cappella (without any backup instrument). You have to hit the notes right all throughout the song, without any guide but your own sense of pitch. For a big majority of us ordinary adults (some studies have shown that babies, regardless of race, are endowed with perfect pitch but that this congenital trait is lost as one matures), to sing a cappella involves starting at the right note and ending at the wrong one, either flat or sharp — simply because there is no instrument to rely on. All the more is the challenge of good a cappella singing difficult to pull off because each member must have the talent to stay at the right key by himself and the ear to listen to and blend with his co-performers. And, for an a cappella group not to sound boring in a full-length concert, it must be able to inject sounds of instruments like drums, guitars, trumpet, piano, and so on, by using only their voices. 

This is what The Akafellas is all about — an outstanding Filipino group composed of extremely talented male singers who could do the seemingly impossible. This is the Filipino group that deserves all our support in its quest to participate and reap honors in the National A Cappella Championships in Singapore this August.

Last March at the Tropezz in Greenbelt 3, I had the privilege of experiencing how The Akafellas could knock out a most discriminating audience of about a hundred and fifty top lawyers from all over Asia attending the Closing Ceremonies of the 2008 Annual Conference of the Asian Intellectual Property Association, the organizing committee of which was headed by my husband Paul. The international lawyers were astounded by the great talent displayed by The Akafellas as they sang standard tunes rearranged by the singers themselves into vibrant harmonies fused with vocally synthesized instruments. They were so good that during the last part of their show, when they sang their fast retro songs incredibly sounding like they were backed up by a full live band, the crowd just had to get on its  feet and move to the beat. I myself could not believe we were dancing to music provided by mere human voices. As the group ended its set, the usually-serious-now-turned-wild lawyers kept begging for more and three encore numbers were obliged by The Akafellas before they could be pacified. It was such an amazing performance that the organizers were endlessly congratulated by their international guests. We, Filipinos, felt very proud. Indeed, we were able to show our visitors Philippine entertainment at its  best.

The Akafellas is world-class in every sense of the word. Aside from having beautiful voices, they speak fluently and intelligently (what with all those fast, hilarious and witty ad-libs) and have the confident demeanor honed from the best schools in the country. Three of them, Ian Millare, who was part of Out of the Box when the group won first runner-up at the Voices Competition in 2003; Carlo David, the beat boxer-cum-arranger, also known as DJ Dubious, and Karl Viluga, who finished college cum laude, are graduates of the Ateneo de Manila University; Myke Salomon, a.k.a. DJ Myke, a commercial model and winner of Gold’s Gym Physique Award, and Paulo Navarra, a professional photographer and the group’s girl magnet, are, on the other hand, alumni of Ateneo’s perpetual rival, De La Salle University; Ikey Canoy, who was part of the University of Asia and the Pacific Chorale when it won triple gold in the 23rd International Choral Festival in Greece, is a proud product of the UA&P; bass Roger Sigwa Jr., who, like yours truly, used to be a soloist of the locally and internationally renowned University of the Philippines Concert Chorus and had been part of three of the UPCC’s 18 (so far) world concert tours, is an A.B. Political Science graduate of the UP; and my friend Jhett Baroma, a commercial jingle singer who was the grand champion of the 2002 MTV and JVC Sound Education and represented the Philippines in the Asian Showcase in Singapore, carries the banner for the University of Santo Tomas. As you can see, the eight members possess sterling backgrounds in the field of music.

The other day I got a call from Jhett asking for help in looking for sponsors so that the group could participate in the National A Capella Championships in Singapore on Aug. 13, with other participants coming from other countries like Taiwan, Malaysia and Korea. It turns out that the organizers of the festival were already familiar with The Akafellas and even had a copy of its debut CD. The group members  were truly enthusiastic about the prospect of having The Akafellas join the competition this year, even telling them that they need not join the quarter finals and just to be there for the grand finals by virtue of its  CD and various performances viewed on YouTube. Sadly, Jhett relates, in spite of all the organizers’ efforts, The Akafellas might not be able to join for lack of sponsors to help finance their participation.

Upon hearing this, my heart almost broke. I could not believe that due to lack of financing, the country might be deprived of a much deserving representative to the prestigious National A Cappella Festival in Singapore. To my mind, if there is any group that the government, private companies and individuals with money to spare should support in our yearning to be recognized internationally for excellence, it should be The Akafellas. The awards they have garnered speak for themselves: Winner, Best Performance in a Concert (Group), Aliw Awards; winner, No. 1 Acoustic Group for the ARAP Awards; winner, Best Recording Artist for Help Me Forget, Awit Awards; winner, People’s Choice Award, Voices Popcappella Competition, among others. Its musical brilliance has led them to be chosen to do the front act for international artists, including Mariah Carey, Mandy Moore and Ashanti.

As of this writing, The Akafellas is still in need of inspired benefactors who would help its members fulfill their dream. Even in this time of economic deprivation, it behooves of us to extend them our support in our own little way. To deprive The Akafellas of the opportunity would be another sad note in our Philippine musical history. Still, I have not lost hope and I pray that their wish will come true, not only because I want the best for this outstanding musical group but also because I’m sure their participation in Singapore will reap more honors and distinction for our beloved country.

(Interested donors and supporters may reach The Akafellas through George at 0917-5007010 or 0920-9032320. E-mail me at [email protected] or text 0927-5000833.)