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In the pandemic-ravaged past year, Pinoy band Coffee Break Island (CBI) pulled a major coup, releasing two albums that delved into two separate themes. The first one, their newest titled “Heart Attack, celebrates love and by extension, life that’s largely threatened by a viral killer epidemic. The second one titled Bumi after the Sanskrit word for “Earth” is a collaboration with Bobby Balingit of pioneering local punk band Wuds.
At first brush, “Heart Attack” takes a detour from the eclectic scope of Coffee Break Island’s debut :”No Hero” released in 2017. Where their first release blew hot and diverse with punk, rock and roll, ska and slow ballads jostling for attention, their latest sophomore effort mines classic rocksteady and lovers’ rock grooves seeking to spread the love vibe in a time of infections and lockdowns.
In an online meet, CBI frontman/guitarist Paul Puti-an with his wife Liza, who’s also the band manager, told Soundstrip, “We already had a concept for the latest album even before the pandemic hit. What we wanted was for the record to sound like you’re listening to influential rocksteady albums. We aimed to take the listener back to the time of lovers’ rock in Jamaican music.”
“Eventually, it dawned on us that “Heart Attack” has calming effect,” Paul added. “The tracks are all love songs, rocksteady all the way in contrast to our debut which was going in different musical directions from one cut to the next.”
Love is certainly all over the new album’s lyrical trajectory. The music may go bouncing (“Bring It Down”), funky (“Panaginip”) or pure pop for dreadlocks (“Every Step We Take Is Right”) but there’s no mistaking the bigger message from the song title “That Thing Called Love” to specific lines that go: “Larawan mo’y nakatatak sa aking mata/Tamis na yong halik ay di mabura” (“Alaala”) or “You’re the wonderful thing that happened to my life/Your love protecting me every day” (“Wonderful Thing”).
Liza shared, “We also thought that with the troubles and stress all around, the album exudes a positive vibe. It’s something comforting that we need today.”
Which brings up the question, how are they surviving in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic?
“We went farming and we’re doing okay, actually” was Liza’s quick response.
Paul talked about a retreat to a creative sanctuary. He explained, ”Before the lockdown in March last year, we have completed recording the new album. We also decided to go up at Alitatap, an artists’ community in Amadeo, Cavite, where we initially hoped to work on our future plans.
“We have stayed there since then. Who knew the pandemic would have a second season?”
They became neighbors with punk legend Bobby Balingit. At the same time, their music found a ready audience in the fine creative families that also sought refuge in Alitaptap and the occasional gigs posted online have attracted a following among stay at home netizens.
More than the illustrious neighbors, Liza felt that lockdown in a community of creative people help inspire others, including the band, to be more imaginative and resourceful and come up with better creations in their company.
Paul presented a more practical view. He reasoned, “Before the pandemic, we would be thinking about bar shows and corporate gigs. Now, we channel our energy to make music, to more creative pursuits and cooperation. Of course, we’re on this mindset while waiting for the pandemic to subside and fade away!”
He also mentioned that the new album is being promoted through social media. The sales is secondary. Right now, he just wants to spread the band’s music to a wider audience.
A new CBI line up recorded “Heart Attack” namely, Raffy (keyboards), Dennis (drums), Ron (bass) and Paul (guitars, vocals and Tanduay).
The conversation with the band was conducted in Filipino and the quotes in the article were translations in English done by the writer.