ALYSON On Bringing New Life To The City Pop Genre: “It’s all about bringing out the excitement, enthusiasm, and authenticity that people feel.”

Music is inherently timeless, with its impression lasting well beyond what our physical age can handle.

Over the years, we’ve had several great Filipino music acts come on and serve their timeless influence — whether it be the Eraserheads, Rivermaya, or even the disbanded IV Of Spades. With what all these groups have been able to accomplish, their craft speaks to a universal audience — reaching corners all around the world with their music. 

Yet despite being relatively new to the scene, ALYSON has managed to accomplish a similar effect with their debut album, DEFINITELY LOVE! In just over a year since the record’s release, the city-pop quintet comprised of Pio Ligot (vocals), Luis Uy (lead guitar), Marcus Mababangloob (drums), Miguel Erfe (bass), and Easel Manes (keyboard) have managed to cultivate a loyal fanbase across both the local and international sectors. 

The band’s ability to bridge a variety of sounds such as their beloved city-pop influences with a rejuvenated form of the classic Manila sound has managed to make waves not only here — but even all the way to Japan and France because it’s just that good. Though for them, this overwhelming amount of positive reception comes as a massive surprise to the band, given that the album’s inception was merely a form of creative catharsis for the group.

“This album is what we consider to be one of the biggest creative and artistic expressions that we’ve been able to pull off. It’s a whole new direction for the band, so seeing people enjoy it as much as they do –– it’s really at the heart of why we do this,” says Marcus. “The fact that there are people from other countries who have caught on to our music is a testament to one of the goals that we really have for our music — which is to be part of the broader scale of the global city pop movement.”

Pio further adds, “With the small circles that we’re starting to get some recognition internationally –– it’s amazing to see how these people don’t even understand most of the songs we’ve made. But the fact that we’re able to make them feel something, that’s really difficult to do when you write songs. Yet that’s also proof that what we’re doing is working and we just have to keep going at it.”

Beyond the reality of their album selling out abroad, there lies a broader fascination with their music within the local scene. Several listeners have integrated ALYSON and their music as a part of indie culture, to the point that the band has become a kind-of meme (and therefore, cultural subject) of its own. “Some people call our songs guardhouse music — because it’s for gatekeepers,” Marcus jokes.

“Bago ako sumama sa ALYSON, parang may joke kami ng mga friends ko na may checklist kami ng mga OPM bands na gusto namin i-gatekeep. Pero ngayon, kami mismo yung nagagatekeep!” Easel humorously points out. 

[“Before I joined ALYSON, I had a joke with my friends that we had a checklist of bands that we wanted to gatekeep. But these days, it’s us who are being gatekept!”]

Though there are fans who try to keep them as a niche interest, (as Easel puts it, it’s “niche domination”) Luis notes how it’s still nice that the band has attained their meme status. “It means that the band is relatable, not just from a creative standpoint but also as people. So it’s fun that people can relate because it means that they actually care about where the band is going and also about the genre of city-pop.”

The incorporation of Japanese influences into the group’s sound stems from Miguel’s own music taste, of which the band eventually absorbed as part of their musical preferences. While the group notes that there is a strong influence from acts like Tatsuro Yamashita into their craft, they pride themselves on knowing that what they’re putting out is still quite different from their influences. 

“It’s because we can’t erase our own context. Even if we’re trying to do city pop, you can’t erase the fact that we grew up listening to the genres of indie, jazz, and such. We acknowledge that our music is never going to sound like the music that we look up to, and that’s actually the great part,” says Marcus.

“The key part that makes music special is that you’ll never sound like your influences. You’re always going to sound like you, especially when you’re trying to follow the music naturally,” he adds.

When comparing their eponymous EP to the album the group notes that the shift in sound is one that ultimately feels earned in their musical journey. “What really led us to make that change was the drive to really get good. Kasi parang we noticed, that first EP was honestly just a scrapbook of everything that we were learning and parang there was nothing to iconically get out of it,” Pio states.

“But looking back at it, approaching DEFINITELY LOVE! was really this pushing mechanism to put our best foot forward. It’s time to establish ourselves a bit out there, because after the first EP, we had a few people following us yet were like, is that it? So coming from that kind of mindset, we just really wanted to do good and this was what came out of that –– and the end result of the album today was really far from that of the EP.”

Beyond the music, another thing that sticks out for ALYSON to their fans is that of their now-iconic uniformed suits. Just as how The Beatles, DEVO, and Kraftwerk have been able to to strike an impression with their listeners, both their beige and burgundy tailor-made outfits echo this same iconography –– becoming the distinct visual identity of the group. 

“On top of making really good music, parang na-gets din namin yung concept of having a visual identity. Bands like IV Of Spades proved that even your visual identities are very much as important as the music you make these days. And the easiest idea na naisip namin nung time na yun [that we thought of at the time] was like suits na lang [instead.] It worked for the Beatles, and it worked for other acts during that era, so we wanted not just any suit that you get off the rack,” Pio mentions.

Though one would assume it only makes an impact with its listeners, Easel notes how there is a special effect that each member feels upon wearing the suits, stating: “Grabe rin yung dagdag niya sa confidence. Kasi kapag hindi ako naka-suit, parang, I’m just some guy. Pero pag-suit mo na, parang may ibang persona na bigla eh.”  [“It really adds a lot to our confidence. When I don’t wear the suit, it’s like I feel that I’m just some guy. But when we wear the suit, it’s like there’s a new persona all of a sudden.”]

From what both the audiences and the band have expressed, the suit symbolizes more than just a costume given what it has been able to do with DEFINITELY LOVE!’s album cover. It’s popularity and memorable nature comes as a result of how the cover echoes the group’s playful nature integrated with a nostalgic twist, their manager Andy Pavia notes how they didn’t expect such a response to the album artwork. 

“When it came to this album, we had a meeting to talk about branding and I really sat them down and told them, ‘iconic album covers don’t get designed.’ You have to let the music speak for itself, and the album cover is what becomes iconic because of that,” she notes.

Though the suit has now evolved from the solid beige to the burgundy pin-striped colorway, the band notes how it represents more than a change in style. “Switching to this new color means that we’re actively promoting [the album] to an end. Parang we’ve bled all of our life into this album, like we’ve literally changed into this color,” Pio explains. “Going red these days was like its the end of an era. But, ultimately, it also signals to all of our fans there’s more to come and there’s more than just the iconic suit that you just saw.”

Marcus further adds, “It’s like, DEFINTELY LOVE! at its final form. Maganda yung sabi ni Pio na, the burgundy kind of bleeds into the background of the album. Kasi, you could, like, make a case that the album is like part of our lives for us na. It’s just here [with us] and we’re living in it.”

With what lies ahead for their music, the members of ALYSON remain secretive to what they’re working on –– yet they subtly tease what fans can expect for their sophomore effort. “We’ve set the bar na eh with our first one –– and this is the highest we’ve ever been. So, the next album should be even better,” says Pio. 

“One thing that all of our fans can really expect is that, kung ano man yung narinig nila from DEFINITELY LOVE!, dodoble pa namin yung effort and everything. Like, to the maximum point.”

Easel shares that several people have already questioned whether or not the project will remain within the veins of city pop, but he always answers that there are so many related sub-genres can be explored on their next record. But as Marcus notes, “The ambiguity of the entire thing is where you find the grace of being able to explore talaga.”

Pio states; “While we’re making all these waves as a city pop group, what we’re really doing is just making music we enjoy. It’s all about bringing ourselves and bringing out the excitement, enthusiasm, and authenticity that is a testament to what people feel, and it actually goes beyond lyricism and being a Filipino artist. So, as long as we’re performing this with all the authenticity and the heart that we have, it’s something that everyone can expect for the next one.”

As their legacy unravels in front of our very eyes, the band notes that it’s still too early to look ahead at what they hope to leave behind on the scene. “Ultimately, it’s still very, very early into our careers naman. But I wanna go back to something na we were talking about ni Marcus, about how when it comes to city pop, you get this sort of excitement, just discovering the music again and again. And that’s the legacy I want to bring about,” he continues. “Even long after we’re gone, parang, the moment somebody picks up this record, we hope that there’s always this excitement and timelessness to the feelings and sounds that they are gonna experience.”

“I really want our music to be to play our role in the key moments of anyone’s lives, and people’s musical discoveries. Hopefully it can get them to really enjoy the genre, and to get them to enjoy music in general. Just to leave a lasting impression,“ Marcus adds.

Yet whatever happens in the future, Miguel points out a personal aspect to what they’ve managed to accomplish with both ALYSON and their album. “It’s also our story saying that this is our journey of self-discovery because music itself is a journey. So with what we’ve done, this is our way of telling our own stories and where we’ve come from. This is what we did, and it’s a special way of leaving our own marks on whoever it reaches.”

So as the years pass by, the music of ALYSON will remain timeless –– awaiting discovery within a hidden vinyl crate in the next fifty years. But as whoever stumbles upon it will discover, the joy, energy, and catchy tunes of DEFINITELY LOVE! will continue to remain fresh as it sparks life with every playthrough that the record will undergo as time goes on. 

Listen to ALYSON’s DEFINITELY LOVE! below: