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Saturday, September 03, 2005
Espina: Hardwood goes Havana
By Cattski Espina
Til the Cat lady sings
Cebu is known for the local bands and artists who made it big commercially in the national music scene. There’s Dice & K9, Junior Kilat, Urbandub and currently the all-male band Cueshe. If you notice, these artists come from different genres. With this in mind, I realized that our music scene is amazingly vibrant as evident in the variation of artists that we have, even as we are still considerably a small town.
To further prove my point, there are those artists who do not carry a commercial status, but are equally worth noting as they have contributed more to the vibrance of this music scene. Although I may not want to admit this, but I tend to give more respect to the artists who don’t go commercial. The best thing about artists who don’t take the masa route and relocate to Manila is that we can truly call them ours.
Our humble music scene indeed has a lot to offer. From the tribal sound of The Kadangyan, Acoustic R&B of Soulstring, activist reggae of Pasakanin to the Alt-jazz music of Zarah Smith. We even have our own chill-out digitized music via the experimental inclinations of Tekisoba and MIDIok. You name it, we got it!
Something tells me I’m probably getting old because I seem to be more inclined to the classic-sounding artists of our music scene these days. For example, the swing-ska jazzy music of Island Joe appeals to me. Maybe because their music sounds like the kind my dad would have on his record player back when I was a toddler.
What’s more appealing is the sound of Hardwood. Not only did my dad have a few Latin albums in his record collection but he also played a lot of what seemed to be a bit like Flamenco – a quality Hardwood displays during their live performances.
When you first listen to them, one figures it is Latin music, but it also carries little mix of Carribean, Hawaiian, Afro-cuban and Filipino tribal music. The end result is an eclectic mix of musical forms from different cultures. As the band would put it, their music can be best described as the passion and grace of Flamenco with the driving rhythms of African and Latin American percussion.
As a musical observer, I can say Latin music is not simple. It requires talent and skill. But with the profile of their band line-up, I’m not surprised why they can pull it off so beautifully. Hardwood is, after all, made up of veteran musicians of Cebu’s underground music scene spearheaded by Backyard Project Studios’ owner Junx Muana.
They started with informal jamming sessions at Backyard back in 2000, and it was a decision among the band members to turn away from the mainstream direction, surrendering their electric guitars and gadgets for the more intimate and natural acoustic guitars. With Backyard Studios as the fertile ground for experimentation and musical exploration of local artists, Hardwood came up with a sound that was part Flamenco and part Kundiman that comprised their first original composition entitled Esperanza.
Their sound continually evolved with the inevitable infusion of the band members’ diverse musical backgrounds and influences. Apart from that, they’ve also rediscovered new levels in musical expression with their acoustic instruments. However, this particular sound remained distinctly theirs.
A Hardwood performance is a great experience, but with only a handful of venues that accommodate local bands around the city, you simply can’t catch them on a regular basis. But thanks to Café Havana, they now have a venue to showcase their music as they play there on Tuesdays. (Café Havana is located in Ayala Center Cebu just between beside Laguna Garden and Table 7 Restaurant)
I was there last Tuesday with a few friends, including the daughter of Havana part owner Atty. Jun Muntuerto, Anne, who signed for the bill for a laid-back evening of Latin music and a few bottles of Corona. We were there solely to watch Hardwood and of course, hardcore chika chika. After everything, I left with a feeling of relief to find that finally Hardwood seems to have found a home in Café Havana.
(September 3, 2005 issue)
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