Stoking a passion for OPM

BOY BAND 1:43 were among the younger artists featured in the show held at Ayala Triangle Gardens.

SEEKING to reignite interest in OPM, established and new local music artists gathered for the first night of “Tunog Natin: An OPM Concert Series” on June 15 at the Ayala Triangle Garden in Makati City.

Singer-songwriter Jim Paredes, formerly of Apo Hiking Society, bared a fun and playful side as he kicked things off with two songs from his new album aptly titled “Laro.” Paredes, 59, danced to the novelty beats of his carrier single, “Butong Pakwan,” a song about dealing with the cravings of a pregnant wife. He surprised the crowd with his rapping skills in “OPM Rap.”

Paredes later revealed that most of the songs from “Laro” date back to the ‘80s, and that their sound is different from what people have grown accustomed to with Apo.

“I didn’t want to sound too much like Apo. I went for mellow and cutting edge, para may pampagulat sa audience. I want to show that I’m not just a continuation of what I’ve done before, that I’m breaking out into something new,” he told Inquirer.

Mixed bag

After Paredes’ set followed a mixed bag of past OPM hits and fresh material from some of the country’s best rock bands, boy groups, R&B artists, and acoustic acts— Callalily, 6cyclemind, Pedicab, True Faith, 1:43, Sitti, Princess Velasco, Sabrina, Aries Sales, Arnee Hidalgo and Myrus.

Aside from non-stop music, one of the concert’s highlights was the artists assembling onstage and lighting up candles as a symbol of burning passion for OPM. They hoisted their candles and chorused, “OPM muna bago ang iba!”

“We need people who will sustain OPM. ‘Tunog Natin’ gives local artists, especially the new ones, a chance to be heard and remind people of how good and beautiful our music is,” said Myrus, the concert series’ project head.

Taking risks

MEDWIN of True Faith performs in “Tunog Natin,” a free concert that seeks to generate support for Original Pilipino Music.

Paredes said it’s important to preserve OPM because, more than entertainment, it’s a catalyst to forge a national identity: “Ang isang simpleng kanta na maghi-hit mula Aparri hanggang Jolo, nation-building na ‘yun because we develop a commonality; it becomes a common language.”

One of the biggest challenges to keep OPM on its feet is encouraging the entire local music industry, specifically producers, to take risks. It’s unfortunate, Paredes noted, that lofty entertainment taxes have forced producers to be timid, and just play it safe when launching projects.

He explained: “Ang nangyayari, gugustuhin lang nilang mag-produce kung siguradong kikita. If you’re a new artist, the chance of making the cut is very slim. There’s always a risk to everything, and with risk come innovation and the next big thing. If we don’t allow our producers and composers to take risks, we won’t have anything new. Paulit-ulit na lang.”

He added that the swelling number of revivals on the local airwaves is also an offshoot of this complacency. “Revivals are symptomatic of safe thinking. In other words, ayaw mag-experiment ng mga producers, so they rely on revivals. Revivals are good, for as long as with every revival, you come up with three originals.”

All-out support

Another thing the industry sorely lacks is support, Paredes stressed. Filipinos could emulate South Korea’s recent success in music, he said, by patronizing our very own.

“I call upon the audience to support Filipino artists. Other countries support their own. The rest of the world took notice of Korean music because Koreans listened and bought their own artists’ albums.”

Paredes also said eliminating restricting radio formats that cater only to a particular genre of music could benefit OPM. “We should open up,” he said. “For example, dapat walang R&B station lang. Dapat lahat ng klase ng tugtog puwede. Only if we open radio like we did in the ‘70s will we see what people will really like.”

Be original

Asked for advice to the current generation of OPM artists, Paredes said, “Make your own music. Be original. Kasi, kung gagaya kayo, kung sasakay kayo sa wave na panandalian lang, mawawala rin kayo kapag nawala na ‘yung ginagaya niyo.”

It would be great if local artists found a distinctly Filipino sound that people in other countries could recognize, Paredes said. “But first it should be clear to us who we really are as a people.”