Over the last couple of years, P-pop has grown immensely in the Philippines, even gradually creeping up into the global scene. With so many talented groups, it's hard to stand out but ALAMAT does it by being authentically themselves.
Centred around a common dream of bridging modern music with traditional Filipino culture, the six-member act are embodying what it means to be uniquely Filipino in everything they do, from their multilingual music to the outfits they wear.
ALAMAT—which comprises Taneo, Mo, Tomas, R-Ji, Alas, and Jao—most recently released their first-ever EP. Titled Pasulong, the Filipino word for "moving forward", the sonically diverse record symbolises the mere beginnings of what the group has in store as they continue to push the boundaries of Filipino music today.
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Bandwagon caught up with Taneo, Mo, Tomas, R-Ji, Alas, and Jao to talk about what makes ALAMAT work, staying by each other's side, and the makings of Pasulong.
Hi ALAMAT, how’s life been treating you guys these days?
MO: Life has been the way it is. We always find a way to make our day special lalo’t di naman sa lahat ng oras ay magkakasama kami, may sari-sarili din kaming gawain kapag mag-isa na kami sa mga kwarto namin. Let’s say sa pag gising sa umaga pati pag tulog sa gabi. Ngayon siguro masasabi ko na mas nakadagdag sa motivation namin yung pag labas ng EP, mas napupush pa kaming gawin yung best namin at maging better version ng sarili namin bilang artists, bilang grupo at bilang individual .
[Life has been the way it is. We always find a way to make our day special especially since we're not always together, we have our own lives at the end of the day when we go to our rooms. But now, we have more motivation since we released our EP, we're pushing ourselves to be better as artists, as a group, and as individuals.]
JAO: It’s actually very wonderful cause we have a lot of activities and we’re grateful for that. Although, it's tiring, you know, we get to share what ALAMAT can deliver and that makes us happier.
TANEO: Same thing with Jao, we're so grateful for the opportunities that we have now and also the upcoming—especially now that we released our recent album, and so far life has been good.
Who are some of the artists in your playlists right now?
MO: I really love listening to different types of genres when it comes to music. Right now, I've been listening to Rauw Alejandro, Cnco, Jae K, Michael Jackson, dvsn, D’angelo, Dylan Sinclair, Vedo, Eric Bellinger, Because, Al James, and of course, Chris Brown.
JAO: Mine is Sarah Geronimo, especially since she released new music, she has a new music video and I’m excited for her new songs.
TANEO: Ako naman, automatic sa mga playlists ko—whatever genre or emotion—si Chris Brown andun since very diverse kasi yung genre niya.
[For me, an automatic addition to my playlists—whatever genre or emotion—is Chris Brown because he's very diverse in terms of genre.]
You most recently released your first EP Pasulong, tell us more about the album and what stories inspired the record.
MO: Our EP ‘Pasulong’ consists of 6 songs and each song has different flavors. The group and our team worked hard for this mini-album to showcase our talents and skills. Bawat song ay may iba’t ibang stories and as I said may iba’t-iba ding flavors na we made sure ma-appreciate at tatatak sa bawat makikinig especially to our magiliws and syempre sa lahat ng tao na makakarinig into.
[Our EP ‘Pasulong’ consists of 6 songs and each song has a different flavour. The group and our team worked hard for this mini-album to showcase our talents and skills. Each song has a different stories and different flavours that we made sure will leave an impact to everyone that listens to it, especially our fans, Magiliws.]
Each track takes on a different sound and energy, what was it like working on a sonically diverse EP? What were some challenges and highlights you guys faced while preparing for the release of ‘Pasulong’?
JAO: It can be overwhelming cause we had a short period of time and we’re exploring different genres and we’re experimenting so much and we’re always asking ourselves 'maganda kaya yung tunog na magagawa nito?' ['are the songs we're making sound good?'], but I can confidently say na walang tapon [each and every one is great, there is not one that you'd want to skip] and it has a lot of varieties in an album, so go listen to it.
TANEO: When it comes to the challenges naman, definitely yung mga hadlang during pandemic. Of course, minsan nagkakasakit yung isa sa amin so, hindi makakapunta sa practice. So, kulang kami in those times. Actually, there were times na five lang kami consecutively sa practice, and if one of us gets sick— nagkakahawaan na agad, Isa na yun.
[When it comes to the challenges, it was definitely the pandemic. There were times when we would get sick one by one so we couldn't go to practice, we weren't complete during those times. Actually, there were times when it was just five of us going to practices consecutively if someone got sick because we got each other sick sometimes.]
JAO: Also, it's reminding yourself to have a strong mental fortitude. Kasi, marami ka talagang trials ahead of you na kailangan i-beat. [There are a lot of trials ahead we have to beat.]
TOMAS: Yun po siguro yung hindi po kami sure gaano ka-open yung mga Pilipino sa ganitong sound, kasi hindi sila sanay na makarinig ng modern music na may halong katutubong musika. It was educational because we get to try different genres. We learned more by trying these [different genres], instead of doing the same sound over and over again. Ayaw namin magpaka-safe by doing kung ano yung trending ngayon, or kung ano yung patok— mas gusto namin magtake ng risk, yung hindi kami sigurado kung magugustuhan ng mga tao o ng masa, basta gagawin pa rin namin yung kung anong gusto naming tunog or bago sa pandinig namin kasi matapang ang ALAMAT. Gusto namin i-push yung boundaries ng OPM.
[Another one was that we weren't sure if Filipinos were going to be open to this kind of sound, cause they're not that used to hearing modern music mixed with indigenous music. It was educational because we get to try different genres. We learned more by trying these [different genres], instead of doing the same sound over and over again. We don't want to play safe by doing what's trending now, we'd rather take risks where we're not sure whether people would like it but we'll still do it because it is what we sound and stand for as ALAMAT. We want to push the boundaries of OPM.]
What message do you hope your listeners get from the EP?
ALAS: Let's love our culture and let's not be shy to show the whole world who we are and what we can do.
JAO: We want the listeners to learn that everything is unlimited, the boundaries are unlimited. Madami kang magagawa, madami ka pang madidiscover na sounds and madami ka pang malalaman on how rich our culture is. [There's so much we can do and so much we can discover with how rich our culture is.]
TANEO: We want them to really know na marami pang ganito yung music na madedeliver ng ALAMAT [We want them to know that we can deliver a variety of music as ALAMAT]. At the same time, as Jao said, we are exploring different genres and different takes.
With a whole EP and a collection of singles out now, how would you now describe the music that ALAMAT makes?
ALAS: Nag eevolve sya actually day by day kasi kami we are really more on experimenting kasi talaga sa music like gumagawa kami ng 2 or more genres sa isang song and thankful din kami kasi uunti unti ding nagustuhan ng mga tao yung pag eexperiment namin sa music. Hopefully soon makagawa pa kami ng iba pa or something na mas kakaiba sa mga nagawa namin na sana magustuhan din ng mga tagapakinig.
[We're evolving day by day because we're really experimenting with our music, like we would do two or more genres with one song and we're thankful cause everyone's seems to be liking what we're doing. Hopefully soon, we can do something more different from what we're doing now and people will like it.]
JAO: Siguro, Pinoy na Pinoy. Yun talaga yung unang pumapasok sa isip namin pag natatanong yung question na yan. Kasi, you know, with using Filipino instruments with our multilingualism— maririnig mo talaga siya na parang 'Oh, this unique. This is Filipino'.
From the start, we have been using Filipino elements, we’ve been using traditional elements and modern elements with our music, siguro yung change talaga is— it became better, since we are able to discover more in a way na kung paano siya mas magiging maganda.
[Filipino. That's the first thing that comes to mind when we're asked this question cause we're using Filipino instruments and singing in our own local dialects, so you can really hear that this is unique, this is Filipino.
From the start, we have been using Filipino elements, we’ve been using traditional elements and modern elements with our music but the change is that we got better since we're able to discover more and understand how to make it better.]
It’s been over a year since you guys debuted, what has been the most memorable moment so far?
R-JI: Actually, we haven't paid much attention to what's happening because things are escalating quickly. I feel overwhelmed whenever I realize that it's been years since we debuted. Things I won't forget are when I can't catch up with the choreography, reach a high note, just stuff like that which we now shrug off and laugh about. But at the same time, it's where we grab our inspiration from for us to grow as artists.
In the last year, the band has seen some changes in its lineup. How has it been adjusting to everything now as a six-member group?
R-JI: Our relationship just becomes stronger, like siblings who have inevitable conflicts. But at the end of the day, we always resolve our issues through a calm conversation where we all make each other feel heard and valid. I think that's the main reason why our relationship with each other grew much stronger now.
JAO: Siguro, I could say na mas sobrang soild na kami pero syempre namimiss namin yung bonding na meron especially with the ones na nakasama namin before since they’re like brothers to us [We're a lot closer now but of course, we do miss bonding with our former members because they were like brothers to us]. But it turns out that we all have different paths to walk and this is where we ended up, so I know we will keep fighting until the end as six.
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What are some of the goals you have for the group and your music?
R-JI: For me, I look forward to 2 things: first is that everyone sings along to our music and second is that our music can be heard in every part of the world.
JAO: Unang-una syempre, ang mapakinggan ng mga Pilipino ang aming musika [First and foremore, it's for Filipinos to listen to our music]. We want them to listen to our music happily, we want them to dance to our music. You know, since multilingual kami, we want them to realize that's not a challenge to appreciate songs because music is a universal language, right?
What’s the best part of being in ALAMAT?
R-JI: There are things that I discovered about myself. I didn't know that I could dance in front of a big crowd and sing songs of different genres. You don't realize that little by little, you're becoming the best version of yourself that you thought you can't be before. But now you want to do more & be more.
JAO: The best part of being in ALAMAT is; you get to discover more yourself— discover more about your roots, yung mga pinanggalingan mo. Kasi ako personally, pumunta ako dito sa ALAMAT not knowing about the history— yung history ng family ko, history ng Philippines, and I didn’t know that much about the Filipino culture kasi lalo na ngayon, more on technology na tayo so, we get to absorb the culture ng iba’t-ibang bansa, sa mga napapanuod natin, kaya I wasn’t very aware of what’s happening here. Pero, nung napunta ako sa ALAMAT, dun ko na realize na napakaganda pala ng kultura natin dito sa Philippines.
[The best part of being in ALAMAT is; you get to discover more yourself— discover more about your roots, where you come from. Personally, I came into ALAMAT not knowing history of my family and the Philippines and I didn't know that much about Filipino culture, especially now when we're so tied to technology and it's so easy to get absorbed into other cultures that we don't know what's happening here. When I came into ALAMAT, that's where I realised the beauty of Filipino culture.]
TANEO: Embracing the idea that you don’t really have to change yourself just to fit in to what's trending. I love that idea because I love just being myself and just being proud of who I am, my roots, and my culture. So, the fact that I get to do that here is very good.
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With 2023 fast approaching, what can we expect from ALAMAT?
R-JI: To perform on a bigger stage and in our hometowns, where we came from. Especially for me, in Borongan, Eastern Samar. I want to experience making Waray people happy through our music or performance.
JAO: In 2022, we already released our EP called Pasulong and the word ‘Pasulong’ means 'moving forward' so that may be just the beginning— so you will get to experience more of us, more of our crafts, so mas mage-evlove yan syempre and mas madami pa kayong maririnig samin [we're going to continue to evolve so you'll hear a lot more from us] so stay tuned.
Listen to ALAMAT's Pasulong here.
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