The wonder band

MANILA, Philippines - Who would think that the group of friends hanging out at the table next to yours at the coffee shop would actually be this year’s Wanderband? The Ransom Collective is a band turned barkada that will have you feeling infinite with their flavorful folk tunes. Their single, Fools, is something you’d listen to during long road trips with your own barkada. And they do everything together, from jamming sessions to mountain climbing.

Vocalist and guitarist, Kian Ransom, fresh off from his studies in LA just happened to be in Manila. And as the stars aligned in favor of these kids, a band was formed, with Leah Halili on bass, Jerms Peck on percussions, Redd Claudio on drums, Muriel Gonzales on violin, and Lily Gonzalez on keyboard. What makes the Ransom Collective different is their edge, getting it right even when they experiment, pulling out a violin and an eggshaker in the same song.

Currently, the band is representing the Philippines in the Deezer Young Guns challenge. They bested over 25 international bands and rank second worldwide. Supreme sat down with them to ask about their beginnings, finding chemistry with each other, and what they can say about today’s local sound.

SUPREME: How did you guys start out?

Kian Ransom: I started off writing songs in my dorm. I wasn’t pursuing music, but our former drummer told me, “Hey there are some guys from UP who are pretty decent,” and I thought, “Maybe we could start something.”

Leah Halili: Kian talked to me on Soundcloud about starting a band. Then all of us just happened to have this mutual web of friends who were quick to oblige when we asked them to jam with us.

Kian: We weren’t going in any direction at first but felt like indie folk was the place we wanted to go. We played around with a couple of other things like electronic hip-hop, but it was Fools that turned us from an experimental band into a collective. It was the first song we polished together.

Why do you think you guys have such great chemistry?

Jerms Peck: We don’t really know, it was just there from the beginning. Our first practice as a band just went so well. We started hanging out almost every day after that. We’re a barkada. We have pizza nights — no, pizza weeks, every so often.

Kian: We also have random swim nights.

Leah: Don’t forget Spam nights.

What can you say about today’s local sound?

Leah: When we hear feedback, we’re surprised when people say we don’t sound local. It’s flattering but at the same time, disappointing.

Kian: Does that mean that the local bands sound bad? I definitely think there are a lot of talented bands out there in the local scene.

What can we look forward to from The Ransom Collective this year?

Muriel Gonzales: The audience for indie music is really growing. We joined the indie scene at just the right time because there’s such a demand for it.

Kian: Hopefully, more features and an EP that might be released in two months. We’re still finding out who we are as a band, our identity has really grown in the last few months. Right now, we’re just a bunch of youths trying to get through.