Filipino Bands

Asin Awards

Awards

Best Folksong of the Year for “Orasyon” – AWIT Awards 1984
Best Album of the Year for “Himig ng Lahi” – AWIT Awards 1984
Album of the Year for “Himig ng Lahi – Jingle Magazine Awards 1984
Best Vocal Arrangement for Group in “Lupa” – Cecil Awards 1986
Department of Environment and Natural Resources Likas Yaman Award for “Masdan and Kapaligiran” 1991
For Lolita Carbon – Best Rock Recording for “Paraisong Liku-liko”, AWIT Awards 1990
For Pendong Aban, Jr. – Best World Music Album for “Ang Grupong Pendong – Dito Sa Lupa”
Album – Katha Music Awards 1995
Best Folksong for “Pagbabalik” – Aliw Awards 1979
Nominated as Best Rock Recording for “Usok” in the 1st Cecil Awards
Best Musical Arrangement for “Dalawang Dekada ng Asin (Overture)”, AWIT Awards 2002
Environmental Champions 2004- DENR/WORLD BANK Publication- Environmental Monitor 2004, given June 20, 2005

After fronting rock and roll bands during her teens, Lolita Carbon met Cesar "Saro" Bañares, Mike Pillora, and Pendong Aban in Kola House, a folk rock club, and then decided to form their own musical group, naming it Salt of the Earth.

They had signed a major record label and renamed their band to Asin after a record producer was searching for a "female" Freddie Aguilar, taking advantage of the Filipino folk rock boom during the late 1970s. Their eponymous 1976 debut album includes a cover of Freddie Aguilar's "Anak" and the rest are all original works.

Some of their popular songs include the environmental song "Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran" (Observe the Environment), "Ang Bayan Kong Sinilangan" (The Land Where I Was Born), "Pagbabalik" (Return) and "Balita" (News). According to Pendong Aban who grew up in Agusan del Norte, most of their songs were based on the experiences in Mindanao. Because of too much illegal logging and violence in their homeland, they wrote lyrics that hoped for peace and a better environment in Mindanao. They sometimes use kulintang and other traditional instruments of the southern Philippines to give their music a more indigenous spirit.

Asin's members joined other Filipino musicians and formed the group Lokal Brown in 1990, with Lolita Carbon performing independently beside Pendong Aban's Ang Grupong Pendong.

In March 18, 1993, Saro Bañares was murdered in a bar brawl in South Cotabato because he refused to sing for a lawyer, causing the group's members to part ways. Aban had his band Ang Grupong Pendong; Carbon went solo and then formed the group Nene in 1991.

One July evening in 1999, at a concert in Bahay ng Alumni at U.P. Diliman, while waiting for their respective turns to perform in a concert for press freedom, Pendong and Lolita sat together to share about their experiences as each carved a career of his/her own. One of the most common experiences they had in their concert tours is the audience’s reaction when they sing songs of ASIN as part of their repertoire. From children to teenagers to old folks, the same reaction would be observed. It is both of reminiscence and amazement at hearing the songs again and watching an ASIN member performing live.

Later in 2000, they decided to reunite but Pillora backed out later, although Pillora gave his blessings to the new album that Carbon and Aban would release. The record album Pag-ibig, Pagbabago, Pagpapatuloy, the first Asin album after 12 years, features unreleased materials of the late Bañares.

Pendong and Lolita both acknowledged the fact that their songs have transcended three decades and yet the message that each song carries (from the seven albums that ASIN recorded) is still as relevant and as meaningful to the present times. Both recognized the fact that there is hunger for the music that relates to the present situation that Filipinos are in, whether they are in the country of their birth or in some other adopted land across the seven seas; music that tells of every Filipino’s dream, aspiration, desires, even heartbreaks or social commentaries that reflect the true Filipino culture.

Asin Members

Members

Lolita "NENE" Carbon

Alfredo "PENDONG" Aban, Jr. (now based in the US and has formed "Ang Grupong Pendong")

Cesar "SARO" Bañares (deceased)

Mike "NONOY" Pillora

Asin

Asin (sometimes spelled ASIN, in all capital letters) is a Pinoy rock and folk rock band from the Philippines. They were formed during the 1970s and originally known as Salt of the Earth from the song of Joan Baez. They later changed their name to "ASIN", which means salt in theFilipino language.

Asin was the first group to incorporate Filipino indigenous instruments into pop/rock music. They also studied Filipino tribal music and did what they could to be true to the origins of the music. Instead of plagiarizing the indigenous music they set about educating people about respecting the origins of the music and representing it with agreement from the tribal sources.

Asin was also important in the political world and although they did not set out to be a political band they reflected the political message needed for the times. This should be seen against the backdrop of martial law during the time of President Ferdinand Marcos. Occasionally their recordings were confiscated as subversive, yet, on the other hand they were invited to play at the Presidential Palace.

After Image 2008 Comeback

After 10 years of being disbanded, the group returned with a new album, "Our Place Under The Sun" with the carrier single "Musikero", released under Viva Records.

What do ten years mean to you?

For a band like After Image, it could mean roughly the time they were on top of their game—a successful run in the recording business, producing such enduring hits as "Next In Line," "Habang May Buhay," and "Mangarap Ka." They amassed a fan base that has turned their affinity to the band into impressive sales figures. Formed roughly in 1987, the band enjoyed a status not many of their colleagues are fortunate enough to reach. But then, they decided to take a break—a long one, if you ask their fans.

It's almost another ten years, then, since they last officially recorded the albumTouch The Sun. Now the local music scene is filled with emo music while rock ballads were popular during their heyday. Faced with this scenario, the main members of the After Image curiously find that their schedules have finally allowed them to do what they have been toying around in their heads for a few years now: they want to re-form the group and possibly go on tour.

When they received an offer to tour the States early last year (thanks to other local acts that have successfully staged their own tours catering to Filipino crowds mixed with a good number of curious Westerners), the band decided that it would be best to come out with an album first. After all, would you go to a battle unprepared?

Midway last year, the band spent some time in the studio to finally write—or should we say, fine-tune—new songs. Almost everyone from the original line-up was accounted for. Now with a full album finally recorded under Viva Records, titled Our Place in the Sun, we find new revisions in personnel: The producing tandem of Wency Cornejo (vocals) and Arnold Cabalza (keyboards) and Nino Messina (bass) are still there. But there are two new members: Gereon Arcay (guitars) and Gibby Viduya (drums).

And now, they have produced a new album, a 12-track collection of new songs that are a mix of rock, heavy ballads and everything in between. On paper, it sounds as if it's the same surefire formula behind the band's past successes, but there's a certain deliberateness about their songwriting now. Some fans may even catch the subtle nuances that truly mark the changes in the band's music.

In "Musikero," the band salutes their brothers and sisters whose gift of song helps make the world a truly good place to live. Fans and new listeners can now look forward to the title track (penned by Arnold), whose dynamic rhythm and memorable melody play up solidly to Wency's U2 influences.

Wency also penned "Finding It Hard to Believe," a classic big rock ballad with an updated feel, whose soft keyboard intro gives way to rocking verses and an infectious chorus. In this song, Wency employs a rougher vocal style, the grit that the song needs and that allows it to transcend the "power ballad" classification. The album also holds a trump card—a hidden track that promises to be one of the most interesting collaborations this year, bringing together two iconic voices of Pinoy rock together.

Wency puts all the band's new efforts now into perspective: "We're not necessarily aiming to be the hottest thing out there, but we'd like to still be relevant, respected and still making good music...kuntento na ako sa ganun," says Wency.

After Image is all about forging connections, then and now. The relevance Wency is looking for lies in the songs—through these, their listeners will realize that although almost a decade has gone by, when the music speaks to the soul, time doesn't really matter.

Our Place Under the Sun hits retail outlets this month under Viva Records. You may download After Image's latest album Our Place Under The Sun at www.fliptunes.net. As a special treat to fans, a special version of their single "Standing By Your Side" is available to online buyers.

After Image Albums And Singles

Studio Albums

Touch the Sun (1992)
Tag-Araw, Tag-Ulan (1994)
Lites (1995)
Bagong Araw (1996)
Our Place Under the Sun (2008)
PUke mo...

Compilation Album

Greatest Hits

Singles

Bai
Believe
Brightest Day
Castaway
Defenseless
Extro
Finding It Hard To Breath
Forevermore
Habang Ako Ay Narito (While I Am Here)
Habang May Buhay (While There's Life)
Lakas (Strength)
Mangarap Ka (Dream For Yourself)
More Than Life
Musikero (Musician)
Next In Line
Only You
Our Place Under The Sun
Pagkat Ika'y Narito (If You're Here)
Pagtawid (Crossing)
Panahon (Time)
Patalim (Blade)
Standing By Your Side
Tag-Araw (Summer season)
Tag-Ulan (Rainy season)
Without You
You Made Me Believe

After Image

Afterimage was a Filipino Alternative Rock / pop rock band who was active in the 1990s. The group disbanded after 11 years and made three studio albums. After disbanding, Wency Cornejo, the band vocalist, pursued a solo career. Afterimage was the band behind the commercially popular songs "Habang May Buhay ['While There's Life']," "Next in Line", and "Mangarap Ka [Dream)."

The band's first album, entitled Touch the Sun, was released in 1992 on Dyna Records (now Dyna Music). Among the eight songs that the album contained, four were released as singles: ("[Bai] Sa Langit ang Ating Tagpuan," "Only You," "Next in Line," and "Pagtawid"). The title of the album, which was the concluding part of the lyric to "Next in Line," was said to have just been a spontaneous utter of phrase which Cornejo made during the recording session for the said song. The band's having thought that the phrase--"touch the sun"--had captured the essence and concept of the entire album prompted them to use it as the album's title. The recurrent theme of the songs in the album was a personal expression of hopes, frustrations, and self-renewal—which the band hoped to touch not only their own lives but also the lives of other people.

The album is also said to be a celebration of about 4 years of musical experimentation. According to them, "It is quite difficult to put all the songs in the album in one perspective, considering they encompass so many growths the band has undergone."

The band was composed of five members: Bobit Uson on Bass Guitar, Chuck Isidro on Lead Guitar, Rogie Callejo on Drums, Arnold Cabalza on keyboards and Wency Cornejo on vocals. Francis Reyes (The Dawn) was the former guitarist of this band before Chuck Isidro (6cyclemind).

In 1994 at the height of the first band craze in the Philippine music scene, Afterimage released their second album titled Tag-araw, Tag-ulan. The album's name was taken from two singles from the album, the album's carrier single "Tag-ulan" topped many charts in the Philippines and was awarded a Gold Recorda Award, later the follow-up single "Mangarap Ka" became a great hit for the band & at the 1995 Awit Awards it was named Album of the year, A Few months after winning the awards Niño Mesina became the band's newest bassist making Bobbit Uson hold the guitar for the band together with Chuck Isidro.

In 2001, After Image was disbanded due to manager conflict.

But in 2008, after 7 years of disbanded, the band returned and reunited again for their new album, "One Place Under The Sun." from Viva Records since their last album in 1995 from Dyna Records when Wency Cornejo went solo and moved to Viva Records the following year..