The Sunset rises: Meet Cebu’s musical supergroup 

Picked to characterize the nation on the prestigious Music Lane Okinawa Competition, The Sunset commits to placed on the perfect present that may champion Cebuano music on the worldwide stage

Go to any gig of The Sunset and also you’ll be met with a high-octane vitality buzz like none different.

Possibly you’ll see vocalist Aaron Domingo leap into the viewers as he rallies them alongside to sing “oh’s.” Or perhaps you’ll catch bassist Luigi Balazo and guitarist Vincent Eco operating and dancing round on stage. Even perhaps guitarist Gino Rosales and drummer Alden Panes enjoying off of one another.

The quintet are Cebu’s new-generation supergroup. You may have Rosales and Panes of Mandaue Nights, Balazo of Sepia Occasions, Vispop heavyweight Eco, and Domingo of Thcrss coming collectively to create anthemic pop-rock that simply soars.

Finest identified for his or her breakout hit, “UwU,” the band has made waves not simply in Cebu, however everywhere in the nation, even clinching the coveted Wanderbattle win in 2020. And just some months in the past, it was introduced that they’d be representing the Philippines alongside different rock band One Click on Straight at subsequent yr’s Music Lane Okinawa.

The Sunset could be the second-ever Cebuano band to ever carry out on the prestigious music showcase pageant. Final yr, Eco made historical past as the primary artist from the island province to carry out. Now, he’s coming again along with his different band to deliver Cebuano music to the remainder of the world. 

“Wa ko ka-ingon nila na nag-apply ko (I didn’t inform them that I utilized),” shares Eco, whereas laughing. As a music showcase pageant, Music Lane Okinawa accepts submissions from artists across the globe. The pageant attendees, except for common audiences, embrace members of the worldwide music business — from music label representatives, pageant organizers, artist managers, and plenty of extra. 

The remainder of the band revealed that they have been shocked to see the acceptance of their software of their shared electronic mail deal with. Eco had initially despatched in purposes for his solo venture and The Sunset for final yr’s fest, nonetheless Eco’s solo venture was chosen. This yr, he despatched in one other software for The Sunset, and luckily they have been chosen this time.

“Nindot gyud amongst expertise final yr (Our expertise final yr was actually good),” Eco continues, including that one of many targets of the band has at all times been to carry out internationally. He goes on to say that he didn’t inform the band simply in case they didn’t get in — however it didn’t harm to attempt.

As soon as the information got here in, actuality began to sink in for the quintet. “It was a ready recreation,” Eco says in a mixture of Bisaya and English. Through the first batch of lineup bulletins, The Sunset wasn’t on the roster. At that time, One Click on Straight had already been revealed as one of many Philippine representatives. 

When the announcement lastly got here out, the band was elated. Then, actuality began to sink in.

Worldwide music showcases perform like key networking and enterprise expos for the music business. A powerful efficiency from an artist at a showcase can result in unimaginable alternatives — whether or not it’s bookings for different worldwide music festivals, connections with different managers or media representatives, or file offers. In reality, it’s pure for different international locations’ governments to closely spend money on sending and supporting representatives from their international locations, as it may well result in rising their cultural presence on a world scale. 

Within the Philippines, nonetheless, music export is a reasonably new idea that the federal government has but to spend money on. Even when artists like Ena Mori, One Click on Straight, Muri, KRNA, and Tarsius at the moment are bringing Filipino music to new, worldwide audiences, the prices of getting to those locations within the first place are extraordinarily excessive.

The Sunset now formally joins the ranks of Filipino artists investing in music export. That is important particularly for acts from the Visayas and Mindanao, who already function at an obstacle as a result of Filipino music business being centric to Manila and Tagalog-speaking acts.

“The most important factor in the back of our minds is, ‘the chance is so nice, however how can we get there?’” Balazo says in Bisaya and English.

Regardless of this, The Sunset is able to face the problem head on. “Further stress siya (It’s further stress),” provides Domingo, when requested about how the band is making ready for its upcoming efficiency. “Mao na, nag-andam mi na makarelease mi’g one or two songs earlier than mi mu-larga. Mu-try mi’g tukar ug bag-o nga music [but still with the] signature Sunset sound.”

(That’s why we’re making ready to launch a minimum of one or two songs earlier than we go away. We need to attempt to play new music however nonetheless with the signature Sunset sound.)

As they look ahead to the approaching months, the band is dedicated to placing on the perfect present that may champion Cebuano music on the worldwide stage, and to hopefully proceed placing Cebu on the map for music.

“Ganahan mi na daghan mi’g makaila, na mabunga siya ultimately ug mga [artist collaborations], mga alternatives sa delegates nga [festival or show] organizers, ug mga lain nga alternative na makatukar internationally,” says Domingo, to shut.

(We need to meet lots of people, that ultimately it’ll result in artist collaborations, alternatives with the completely different delegates which are pageant or present organizers, or extra alternatives to carry out internationally.) – Rappler.com

The Sunset is presently elevating funds to have the ability to carry out at Music Lane Okinawa. For extra particulars, please attain out to them right here.