Indie spotlight: Filipino band SinoSikat? revives the Pinoy Soul Movement

She joined her first professional band at 16 years old and explored multiple genres, such as Pinoy hip-hop with Stick Figgas, rock with Passage and R&B with Juan de la Cruz Band, among many others. Having close ties with some of the greatest OPM bands of the era, Agarrado had plenty of encouragement and help to start SinoSikat?. She mentions that the band’s birth was because of Ira Cruz and Vic Mercado of the rock group Bamboo—who were also her bandmates in Passage.

“When they formed Bamboo, they encouraged me to do something… Mercado helped me finish the first album… Nathan Azarcon’s brother was my guitar player, and Nikki Cabardo jammed with us, and he fell in love with the crowd,” shares Agarrado.

From there, SinoSikat? would continue performing music that they loved at intimate gigs where they can get up close with a supportive crowd. The band’s name came from a random day while the members were hanging out at Cruz’s house. “Every time Nathan Azarcon would see me, he’d sing ‘Sino Sikat? Sino Sikat?’ Nathan’s a great songwriter and would often say, ‘I’ll write a song about you and the title will be SinoSikat?’ and I just said, ‘Why not have that as our name?’ and everyone agreed,” says Agarrado. A play on words, the band’s name asks audiences and herself who she is and how she got there.

See also: 7 rising indie OPM bands you should be listening to: Letters from June, 12th Street and more

SinoSikat?’s first album debuted in 2007 and was ahead of its time. Being described as an amalgamation of different genres, Agarrado was anxious about its release. “A lot of people say that you need to fill a specific niche—that I have to stay in my lane—but the first album worked. A lot of people approached me and they told me they realised that this format is feasible,” she shares.

The band would release their second album in 2009, which channels Arragado’s autobiographical heartbreaks. “First album, you’re so in love with life—you’re 23 or 25, funky, energetic. Then came the second album. You’ve gotten hurt, and the songs you’ll find are painful… I believe that albums are the diaries of the musicians,” she says. Unfortunately, SinoSikat?’s second album isn’t available on Spotify. However, those who want to give it a listen can find it on Soundcloud.

Interestingly, all of the band’s albums contain remakes of classic OPM songs. In the first one, we see a reimagined version of The Advisors’ Telepono, while fans can hear Sonny Nicholas’ Mr. Musikero. In anticipation of the release of SinoSikat?’s third album, they remade Celeste Legaspi’s Sabado in 2024. “I want to bridge the gap. I want today’s generations to know that we had these great songs before… It’s not just about me and my songs. These artists inspired me, and we want to give back,” she shares.

Looking ahead, Arragado shares that she’s working on reviving the Pinoy Soul Movement—a record label she started in the early 2000s. A platform for OPM bands who bear the shared love for funk and soul music, the Pinoy Soul Movement gathered bands such as Cosmic Love, PinoyStories and Radioactive Sago Project to jam every month. An album containing multiple songs across different groups has been created by Arragado, however, there is no projected date for its online release just yet—so stay tuned for that!

As for the band’s dream for the future, SinoSikat? hopes to continue performing at music festivals. In 2014, the band made its international debut during the 10th Java Jazz Festival in Indonesia. Most recently, they took the stage at Wanderland and showed the next generation of festival goers a taste of Filipino soul.

Being an artist in today’s world is not easy for Arragado, as her biggest challenge is keeping up with the various ways to market oneself. “I’m really passionate about my music, art and live performances, but when it comes to social media, I really have to figure it out… I came from the live scene—being known by word of mouth and handing out flyers. I guess I just have to be more active on social media and learn TikTok,” she says with a laugh.

As an accomplished musician on her own—winning multiple awards for best vocalist and jazz recording, among others—Arragado hopes to continue representing the Philippines on a bigger scale. Just as the Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto can sing enchanting melodies in a different language, she wishes to do the same with OPM. “I want the world to appreciate Filipino music. Our language is intelligent, and it has a chance to become world-class,” she says. 

While SinoSikat? currently has a modest following online, Arragado isn’t swayed by the slow crawl of followers. She constantly performs live and is steadfast in her commitment to creating inspiring songs in a genre that’s often overlooked in the Philippines.

And when her moment comes, she has this to say to her future self: “There were a lot of voices telling me to stop and stay where I am now. But I’m so proud of you. You helped and inspired so many artists and you represented our country and culture on the world stage because you kept going.”

One day, the whole world just might know kung (who’s) SinoSikat?.

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