Ysanygo and Purplecat on transcending boundaries and speaking the same language in music

"We never thought we would be collaborating with a duo from another country," Ysanygo tell Bandwagon in an exclusive interview.

With the help of their label, Underdog Music, the Filipino sibling duo linked up with Thai R&B act Purplecat for a brand new song. Titled 'Sunny When I'm With You,' the laidback tune describes the warm and fuzzy feeling of being with someone you vibe with. It feels reminiscent of how the two duos created their collaborative song, clicking together instantly, despite the boundaries of distance and language. 

In this interview, Ysabel and Yñigo Ferraz of Ysanygo and Purplecat's Mon Napasin Chaisri and Palm Pholrutt talk about working together, the best things they learned from each other, music recommendations, and more. 

This is your first international collaboration. How did this come about?

Ysanygo: We’ve always wanted to collaborate with artists from Asia! Our label helped us connect with Purplecat and we instantly clicked, duo to duo!

Purplecat: Our record label told us there’s a collaboration project with Ysanygo, an artist from the Philippines. We checked out their sons, and said yes to collaborate! We wanted to get to know them more.

What was it like working with each other? Have you heard of each other's music before this project?

Ysanygo: We had a fun time working with Purplecat on the song, probably because we both share the same love for cats and Korean R&B! We learned more about their music when we met virtually, and now we have favourites from their discography like ‘Don’t wanna know that’ and ‘Last Ride’. 

Take us through the collaboration process. 

Ysanygo: We sent over four demos for Purplecat to listen to, and they enjoyed one of the files; a one-minute sample called “Rainbow”. We sent in the stems and they immediately got back to us with their verse! Mon and Palm also recorded a few instruments and layers which complemented the track really well. We were so inspired by their work so we rushed to our studio to work on our part of the track.

The song didn’t have a title for a while so we messaged our Instagram group chat if they had any ideas—Mon mentioned “When I’m With You”, and we asked for their thoughts if we added “Sunny” in the beginning, to which Mon replied, “Yeah that’s it!!”. 

The chorus was initially just scatting, but after we finalized the title, we decided to write lyrics because of how rhythmic the phrase “Sunny When I’m With You” sounds when you say it. We let Purplecat listen to what we made and thankfully they loved it!

Purplecat: Ysanygo gave us the instrumental that they produced with a melody in the chorus first. So we started to write down lyrics to that melody – based on situations about how you feel if you're falling in someone at first sight and what it would be like if you went on dates. There are a lot of things I wanna do when I’m with you. For the musical part, they let us freely add or change things in the song but what they made is so good ! So we just added a little cause we don’t want to change anything. We loved what they created.

What's the best thing you learned from Purplecat? Working on this collab?

Ysanygo: We learned that artists can have a different approach to things in terms of production or songwriting. Purplecat definitely knows what works for them and it’s great to hear what they’ve contributed to the track.

It’s also just amazing how people are able to connect through music. We never would’ve imagined collaborating with a duo from another country. To whoever’s reading this, keep your dreams alive and never stop creating! 

Purplecat: The best part of this collaboration is our friendship and joy because Ysanygo and Underdog Music are friendly and kind to us. They are nice and took good care of us. Working on this collab gave us more courage to work with international artists and taught us to be more professional, as well as to work better as a team.

Any Thai artists you've discovered since working with Purplecat?

Ysanygo: We’ve been listening to HYBS ever since we witnessed them live at Wanderland 2023! Another artist we’ve been listening to is a band called YONLAPA.

Any Filipino artists you've discovered since working with Ysanygo?

Purplecat: We just discovered Lucas Miguel! His song has a good vibe and a smooth groove that makes us dive into his music.

How are you preparing for your first overseas performance?

Ysanygo: We mentioned in a previous Bandwagon article that one of our dreams is to perform outside of the country and it’s quite surreal to us that this is happening. We've been studying the language and culture of Thailand so we could connect with the audience respectfully, and we’ve also been testing out new dance moves which we’re excited to share on a stage away from home!

What do you hope to share with the Thai audience as Filipino artists?

Ysanygo: We hope to share our friendly Filipino demeanour onstage and offstage! We’re also excited to share Filipino music to a new audience and proudly represent our home country. 

Any new music recommendations for us?

Ysanygo: Purplecat - ‘Don’t wanna know that’

Funky Wah Wah, Purplecat - ‘Potato Tomato’

YONLAPA - ‘I’m Just Like That’

Purplecat: We just released a brand new single called 'Sunny When I’m with You' with Ysanygo. We think that this song is gonna help your day brighter and make you think of someone you love. Send this to them and let them know how you feel.