Ely Buendia shares thoughts on Eraserheads' 'Cutterpillow' tribute album
MANILA, Philippines — "One of the most popular releases in OPM history."
That is how singer-songwriter Ely Buendia described his band the Eraserheads' third album, "Cutterpillow," which was released 30 years ago.
True enough, "Cutterpillow" remains one of the biggest-selling albums in Filipino music history, carrying singles like "Overdrive," "Torpedo," "Huwag Mo Nang Itanong," and "Ang Huling El Bimbo," as well as hits like "Poorman's Grave," "Fill Her," "Kamasupra," and "Superproxy" with Francis Magalona.
During the Eraserheads' 2022 "Huling El Bimbo" reunion concert, the band played the entire album for its first set, saving the show's titular song for the encore.
Last month, Ely's music label, Offshore Music, released a tribute album for the 30th anniversary of "Cutterpillow" performed by artists signed under Offshore.
Ely sat down for an exclusive interview with Philstar.com prior to his solo headliner set at the Fete de la Musique 2025 main stage last June 21 in Makati to talk about Offshore's latest project.
"Offshore always aims naman to give every release or music its due, whether it be a new release from our artists or a legacy release like of the Eraserheads," Ely said. "We want to give fans and listeners a bang for their buck."
For the "Cutterpillow" tribute album, Ely and his Offshore team concentrated on the label's artists, saying he "believes in them." For Ely, it was an opportunity to "flex their musical muscles."
Helping assign songs to a given artist were Offshore's General Manager Audrey Dionisio and Artists & Repertoire Pat Sarabia.
"Parang kilala naman namin 'yung capability ng each artists, so it was kind of easy to pair the song with an artist," Ely said.
From the original singles, Juicebox covered "Overdrive," Elton Clark did "Torpedo," Alyson performed "Huwag Mo Nang Itanong," and Pinkmen was tapped for "Ang Huling El Bimbo."
Ely was open to the idea of Offshore possibly attempting another expansive collaborative project, such as the "Cutterpillow" tribute album, given how successful it turned out.
"It was so much fun, it turned out better than we hoped. The artists talagang brought their A-game and it was nice to hear the covers," the singer-producer said.
The artist was surprised when Philstar.com informed him the original "Cutterpillow" was nearly as old as Fete de la Musique, which was staged for the very first time back in 1994.
"Ibig mong sabihin when 'Cutterpillow' came out in '95, may Fete na? No way!" Ely smiled. "It's been a long time, congrats din to Fete."
Ely has performed at Fete de la Musique before with his bands Pupil and Apartel, but 2025 marked the first time he headlined the music fest as a solo artist.
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