MANILA, Philippines - While many bands in recent years have strived to “update” the sound of Pinoy rock by allowing themselves to be heavily influenced by their Western counterparts almost to the point of being derivative, the music of Sony Music’s latest acquisition, Kaligta, harkens to a time when its kind had solid identity and would have outsold even today’s chart-topping acts.
Comprised by drummer John Michael Dino, vocalist Michael Artita, bass guitarist Sherman Tupas and lead guitarist Arnold Artita, Kaligta has no pretensions when it comes to making music: No overwhelming studio technology, no ambiguous messages and no dubious British accents, please.
With Kaligta, what you see is what you get — and do they have a lot to offer.
This is one of the reasons they were signed up by major label despite not winning at the most recent Nescafé Soundskool tilt where they were discovered, emerging as one of the Top 5. Come to think of it, it’s probably the same reason they made it to the contest in the first place, despite submitting their demo a day late and, even more surprisingly, officially becoming a group mere days before the end of the contest’s deadline.
The song that did it for Kaligta is Awitin Mula Sa’Yo, a power ballad reminiscent of ye-ole arena bands. Yet before anyone paints them into a corner based on that song, there is Aking Ka-ibigan, an upbeat number that proves the quartet also knows how to have fun.
The first talks about using the song in your heart to turn things around, while the second is a love song. Both are part of the album X3M featuring fellow Soundskool finalists Kilos and Soundvent. And Kaligta has several more songs under its belt that sound completely different from the two.
The buzz surrounding Kaligta has been burgeoning. Aside from getting invited to radio programs either for interview or for performance, the video for Awitin Mula Sa’Yo has entered the MYX charts. Needless to say, the airplay of the song is on the upswing; bound for the charts with a bullet at this very moment.
Yet through these exciting times, the band remains grounded, never losing sight of why it entered the music scene. “We hope to make music that touches people’s hearts. We want to inspire them with the messages of our songs,” said members of the band, reflecting their Christian upbringing.
Asked how they came up with their name, the band revealed it was abridged from the word kaligtasan.
“We thought of shortening it to kaligta so it comes across as if the last part of the word was forgotten. They say in psychology that the more you want to forget something, the more it sticks to your head. We hope it works here,” they explained.
It probably will in their case, considering their history for making it against the odds. And look at where they are now.