As of January 1 this year, OPM has garnered nearly 10 billion streams on Spotify globally, cementing its place as an immensely popular genre, especially in the Philippines.
To show its support for Original Pilipino Music, Spotify rolls out a three-part video series that trains the spotlight on Pinoy Rock musicians of the past and present.
The series, available on Spotify Philippines’ Facebook page, brings together Sponge Cola, Hale, Callalily, This Band, December Avenue, and I Belong to the Zoo to talk about the OPM rock scene, their struggles as artists, and what they want to see in the local music scene in the next few years.
On Pinoy alt-rock
Sponge Cola attributes the rise of Filipino alternative rock to the groundwork laid by bands like Eraserheads, Rivermaya, and Parokya Ni Edgar, who performed in Manila’s iconic Club Dredd during the ‘90s. Callalily and December Avenue echo the sentiment.
Meanwhile, the members of This Band describe Pinoy alt-rock as “saktong lungkot na may galit (the right balance of sadness and anger).”
On the best song they’ve ever released
This Band considers “Kahit Ayaw Mo Na,” as the best song they’ve released so far. The track is their first single, which hit no. 1 on Spotify Philippines Top 50 and Viral Charts and has consistently trended on the Philippines Top 50 Charts since its release. It even entered the Global Viral 50 Charts in December 2018 and has more than 54 million streams to date.
For Sponge Cola, “The best song we released would have to be ‘Jeepney’,” says frontman Yael Yuzon, adding “It embodies who we are; we are very sentimental people.”
Callalily says 2006’s “Magbalik” is the best song because of how “life-changing” it was, while Hale jests that their 2005 hit “The Day You Said Goodnight” changed their lives so much that they “had to stop school.”
On the alt-rock music scene in the ‘00s and today
I Belong to the Zoo credits technology for changing the way fans listen to his music. “May resibo ka na. Dito pinapakinggan, ganito pinapakinggan, dito ako gusto ng mga tao (Now you can see who listens to you. I can see where they’re listening, how they’re listening, and where I’m most listened to).”
“Back then, it was very traditional. You really need to be signed by a big label because everything is expensive when produced,” relates Hale frontman Champ Lui Pio.
Callalily seconds, “Before, for you to be able to release something, it has to be part of an album. Pero ngayon, magsusulat ka ng kanta, ang layo ng mileage kaagad because of Spotify (But now, you can write and release a song, and the mileage gets so far because of Spotify).”
December Avenue also shared their experience as an independent band. “Wala kaming radio presence, wala kaming TV presence. Kailangan lang namin mag-resort sa mga tools na available sa amin, like the Internet. Sobrang laking tulong ng Spotify, actually. Parang ‘yon na yung naging form of distribution namin (We didn’t have radio or TV presence, so we resort to the tools available at our disposal, like the Internet. Spotify is a huge help, actually. It became like a form of distribution for us).”