While purely seasonal, Christmas songs are bound to never get outdated as long as they possess universal appeal. Or in the case of tunes with Filipino words, relatable at least to those who understand our poetry.
To name a collection Kahit Indie Pasko Ay Magbigayan is quick Pinoy wit with a little dig on that seasonal nature of the holidays. Even a grader can agree that the spirit of giving should be exercised all-year round.
But music being a powerful medium to set moods, Christmas ditties, by popular acceptance, come back to life when -Ber months, or “the cool breeze of December” come around.
Described as a recompilation of previously released original Christmas songs made by select independent Filipino artists, the 15-track package is comprised of songs gathered from several indie albums released over the past decade and produced by Indiepinoy, a company championing Filipino indies that record originals and happily go around the clubs and music festivals, arguably whether paid or not.
“It is an effort to bring music from the indie scene and into the limelight,” says Indiepinoy head Nolit Abanilla.
This compilation is now digitally available in 240 territories and music webstores including iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon Music.
According to Abanilla, Kahit Indie Pasko Ay Magbigayan boasts the mobile download-favorite “December Parade” by indiepop group Date with Fate and The Boxers’ quite-familiar piece “Sana ay Laging Pasko”. Thanks in part for the latter’s amusingly cool music video.
“A lot of songs tackle the topic of hope in times of turmoil, with Dream Kitchen’s ‘Disintunado’ and Syato’s ‘Regalo’ being perfect examples of this,” he noted.
I happened to have written “Regalo” myself and I couldn’t less agree. There is so much to look forward to and hope about when opening a gift. Arranging the track, we felt a simple acoustic setup could properly push its message, with Nolit, the pro that he is, appropriately putting keyboard embellishments.
To achieve a kind of balance, Nolit’s wife DJ Angela added her female voice to our recording that was originally a lone singing guy.
Also in the album are (apart from DJ Angela) singer-songwriters Leo Fantone and AnthonyO, as well as progressive folk-rock NuKLuS Band, The Play Fountains, Squeezers, Sensitivo, Sigwada Experiment, Muffin, Pitchfork, and Kinetic Daze.
Abanilla added, “Proceeds of this album will go to charitable institutions for projects helping less-fortunate children in their educational needs.”
If only to keep that spirit of sharing sonically alive all year, it’s fine to listen to a Christmas song every once in a while. Besides, music is more accessible than ever and a real good song remains one regardless if it is played timely, already a hit, or yet unheard. There’s more to having the right reason to play a song than just merely joining the bandwagon.
For more information about the album and other projects by Indiepinoy, check www.indiepinoy.com and
