Musicians should remain their authentic selves to succeed in the music industry, two members of a chart-topping alternative rock band said.
Sophia Miranda, bassist for fitterkarma, said that using Tagalog in their songs helped them have a better expression and connection to their community.
“May mga salita kasi na hindi nabibigyan ng hustisya ng English, na parang Tagalog lang ‘yung may exact feeling, exact words to describe it,” she said in an interview with the Varsitarian.
Connecting the themes of horror and romance was the group’s way of standing out to their target audience.
Joao de Leon, guitarist and vocalist for fitterkarma, said musicians must allow themselves the freedom to be creators.
“What makes art good is ‘pag wala kang walls, ‘pag endless ‘yung possibilities sa creativity mo,” he explained.
“[Ipaglaban] mo lang yung art na gusto mong gawin. And ‘wag kayong pipigil sa mga sinasabi ng mga tao,” he said in an interview with the Varsitarian.
De Leon said the value of “pakikisama” allowed the band to network and build their community.
“Stick kayo sa community niyo. Enjoy it. Kasi nung 90 people nanood sa’min tsaka yung 0 people nanood sa’min, one common denominator nun is ini-enjoy namin,” he said.
Miranda recalled gigs where only friends and family attended, which did not hinder them from performing.
“[Surround] yourself sa mga taong sumusuporta sa’yo, sa mga, ‘yung willing magbigay ng oras sa’yo. Kasi ‘yun talaga ‘yung mga makikita mo din when you succeed, nandun pa rin sila,” she said.
fitterkarma is an alternative rock band best known for their single “Pag-Ibig ay Kanibalismo II,” which has garnered over 122 million streams on Spotify. The song ranked in the Top 50 on Spotify and was included in the Billboard Philippines Top 100.
Their latest song titled “Aswang sa Maynila” has over 974,000 streams.
Fitterkarma’s talk titled “Kantabi: Paghabi ng Awitin” marked the last episode of the author lecture series of the Department of Creative Writing on March 11. Charlize Anne D. Lavastida
