The CompanY joins the bossa craze
The CompanY puts so much heart and soul in the music it creates that its audience can count on full helpings with everything it does. And that was just what happened when the country’s most enduring pop group decided to join the raging bossa nova phenomenon.
The album is titled Destination: Bossa. It was designed as a travelogue across wild tropical evenings and sensuous afternoon siestas. The group’s ability to think out of the box is once more at the forefront. I believe that this sense of daring and desire to always give listeners its fill is what took The CompanY out of the usual bossa trail to unlikely detours in its search for the materials and arrangements that went into the album.
As a result, you face the unknown with Destination: Bossa. You know you are going to bossa territory. But how you will get there and with whom is what makes the package interesting.
First surprise! Here is a bossa album with just one Brazilian tune, Tristeza, which is presented in English as Goodbye Sadness. No Waters of March here. The rest are pop standards, disco and Filipino pop songs. The latter amazingly lent itself easily to the Latin rhythms. All it took was just a few tweaks and these emerged as the album’s choicest cuts. Credit goes to the Latin gene that still resides in all of us.
Another surprise. Did you ever envision Parokya ni Edgar’s Harana as a bossa tune? Well, The CompanY did. The same thing happened to
Want another one? What about the disco hit Souvenirs? Forget the swing. It is now in bossa tempo and a cappella to boot. I’m sure that by this time you are already curious about what happened to Your Smiling Face, Every Little Thing He Does is Magic, Summer Breeze, Whispering Waves, La Isla Bonita and Here Comes the Sun.
The CompanY is made up of Annie Quintos, Cecile Bautista, Sweet Plantado, Jay Marquez and Moy Ortiz who is also the artistic director of the group and producer of the album. The group’s mall tour promoting Destination: Bossa is nearing its end. But fans can still catch The CompanY on June 3 at SM Bacolod and June 9, SM Cagayan.
Incidentally, Eileen Sison and Guarana and Aquarela, two of the foremost exponents of Brazilian music in the Philippines who lent their talents to Destination Bossa, have also released their own albums.
Eileen who with her group Guarana joined The CompanY in Here Comes the Sun as lyricist, arranger and singer, has Musica Brasileira. This features samba compositions by local artists like Samba Cancao, which was originally Bong Penera’s A Samba Song, 15 Minutos by Bo Razon, plus a few by Eileen herself like Ibrigada and Tayo’y Magsamba.
This is surely the closest that we Pinoys have come to producing an authentic samba album with Filipino melodies given Portuguese lyrics. Just in case you have forgotten, unlike the Philippines or Mexico, Brazil’s Latin roots come from Portugal, not Spain and the bossa is actually a slower variation of the samba which comes from Brazil.
As for Aquarela, the duo composed of Miguel and Evelyn Juteau, joined The CompanY in Whispering Waves, which they also arranged and provided with French lyrics. Miguel is French and Evelyn is from Cebu but they have been in love with Brazilian music for many years.
Aquarela’s first CD is Bossa Nova Affair which has the usual bossa stuff like Triste, Waters of March and Corcovado, plus originals by Miguel like Melena Loca. Miguel who was a recording artist in France before he relocated to the Philippines is also the featured guitarist in the album. Dix Lucero is on sax and flute while Michael Alba provides the drums and percussions.
Pinoy MYX’s Top 20 videos
Here now is the other side of the hit spectrum. That means the music for the listeners and in this case, viewers who do not go for the bossa.
From MYX, here are the Top 20 video titles in the Pinoy MYX Countdown for this week: Shooting Star by Hale; Upside Down by 6Cyclemind; Ikaw Lamang by Silent Sanctuary; Magbalik by Callalily; Tuliro by Sponge Cola; Bakit by Cueshé; Chicosci Vampire Social Club by Chicosci; Sundo by Imago; Sunburn by Sandwich; Lando by Gloc-9; Break It to Me Gently by Mark Bautista; Kisapmata by Yasmien Kurdi; Ngiti by Ronnie Liang; Cool Off by Yeng Constantino; Will You Ever Learn by Typecast; One Look by Kjwan; Tatsulok by Bamboo; Seksi Seksi by Kamikazee; Magpakailanman by Top Suzara; and Hiling by Jay-R Siaboc.
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