Filipino alternative rock band Sponge Cola is no stranger to writing musing inspired by their love for cinema and pop culture.
The outfit’s newly released song “Siguro Nga” is one of the product of their love for pop culture as it is a tribute to the blockbuster K-drama series “Start-Up.”
The K-drama series, that launched on streaming entertainment service Netflix last October 17, has recently heaped praises worldwide for its gripping story on young entrepreneurs aspiring to make it big in the competitive world of Korean high-tech industry.
The characters of Bae Suzy and Nam Joo-hyuk’s characters try to achieve their dreams at a place called Sand Box, a Silicon Valley-esque place with many start-up companies.
READ: 3 new K-Dramas on Netflix to look forward to in October
Meanwhile, the new acoustic song of Sponge Cola is born out of its vocalist and guitarist Yael Yuzon’s love for Han Ji-Pyeong, a prominent character whose unconventional upbringing and misfortunes in life enabled him to become a principled, self-made man with a tough exterior and unbeknownst to everyone—a tender heart.
“Immediately after the shock of episode 9, I literally picked up a guitar and began writing the song,” Yuzon said in a statement.
“I didn’t know how the story was going to unfold, but at that point, I felt like it wasn’t going to work out for Han Ji Pyeong’s character. And while heartbreak wouldn’t ravage him, it leaves him with an undulating kind of pain,” he added.
“Siguro Nga” builds on this nuanced character study of a man realizing that he’s lost the love of his life, after spending a great deal of time living a lie to protect the person he’s pining for, from emotional harm and trauma.
Yuzon said the process for creating this new song was a bit more theatrical that what the band is accustomed to. It arrived in the middle of recoding phase for their forthcoming album which will be released next year.
“As a singer, I had to be in character, which made the recording process a bit grueling.” In order to capture the very essence of the song, Yuzon had to experience some of Han Ji Pyeong’s crucial scenes in the series, including having to bask in the rain for minutes and reliving the memories of standing next to a corn dog stall. “I also had to face someone looking at me with ‘those eyes’ while pretending to be fine. Couple that with the idea of multiple takes, it was tiring but ultimately fulfilling,” the vocalist said.
Sponge Cola’s lead guitarist Armo Armovit also shared how the arrangements for the new songs were made.
“Like most of our songs from the previous albums, we started by recording a very basic acoustic guitar as a foundation. Yael himself played the rhythm to make it consistent with how he initially wrote the song and his melody. Everything else on top of that are layers of sound to decorate and enhance the song’s emotional content,” Armovit said.
The band’s bassist Gosh Dilay added that they experimented in terms of overall sound.
“We reserved a version specifically for future live performances of the song,” Dilay said.
“Siguro Nga,” now on all digital platforms worldwide via Sony Music Philippines was recorded at Love One Another studios, and was mixed and mastered by Joey Santos. —Rosette Adel
