MANILA, Philippines — If you have any doubts about the future looking bright and the stars somehow aligning amidst the current chaos, indie pop/rock band ASTER – a trio composed of guitarist/vocalist Andrew Bellosillo, bassist Calvin Hidalgo and drummer David Estupigan – is definite proof that the kids have got it all under-control, and that new music will always be king, despite the world’s messiness.
Displaying equal parts creative know-how, elbow grease, and most of all, fine musical taste at their early age, the band is already showing the natural ability of crafting disarmingly simple melodies, lush, atmospheric vibes and painfully honest lyricism that is proving to be a rare thing among young musicians these days. The band’s debut single “Destiny” is definitely fresh but will also strike more serious music fans as an homage to various great styles of music that came way before them, especially in an age where Hip-Hop and K-Pop seem to be the main focus of younger audiences: they are out to offer something uniquely infectious.
And as of July 2nd, one of the band’s landmark goals has come to fruition as the official music video for the single is released on Youtube and all other video streaming platforms, much to the excitement of both fans and the band itself.
The video – which is a colorful capturing of a simple boy-meets-girl love story interspersed in-between with performances of the band’s animated selves – is also testament to the creativity and resourcefulness of the band, who like everyone else, is also exploring the new normal way of doing things. Animated and directed by William Capistrano, the video precedes the band’s recent release of the single’s lyric video, which was a teaser of sorts for the band’s followers.
Starting-out as a band of childhood friends, Aster – whose band name was inspired by the members’ collective love for all things sci-fi – the members share that though they were not originally together as a unit, each member – at their seemingly young age – was seasoned with the experience of playing with other musicians in various other groups from school and church.
“The bond between the three of us has always existed,” begins Andrew, when asked about the band’s basic background. “I for one, played with a sort of praise and worship band before Aster, where I learned the dos and don’ts of playing in the studio and playing live with different musicians,” he continues, as David shares, “I was a session drummer for various bands before the pandemic hit, and I saw the intense hustle musicians had to go through just to land gigs in bars and wherever, just so their songs could be heard… so that mainly inspired me to forge a similar path.”
Needless to say, the boys would find each other in perfect timing and the idea to write and perform music as a group seemed only natural:
“As early as our first jam together, the chemistry seemed to be there; though the biggest challenge at the time seemed to be the fact that we never had an agenda – we just played anything and everything randomly, covers and all” Andrew reveals. “We were having so much fun, which was good – but soon, we also realized that we wanted a level of planning, and we wanted to write our own music to make things really exciting.”
“Destiny,” the band’s debut single, stemmed from bassist Calvin’s coast-to-coast journey on a date with an ex-girlfriend (spanning miles from city to province…), the three members giddily tease how the simple (mis)adventure led to the song’s creation.
“Though the arrangement took some time, we essentially finished that entire song in a night,” David smiles, and adds “though I would have preferred that we recorded it in a live studio, since we were under quarantine, it was also a learning experience for us – we used pretty bare-bones equipment, so we learned a LOT,” he shares, while Calvin adds: “but surprisingly, when we finished the track, it ended up way better than we could have hoped: we’re very excited and satisfied, and grateful how our producers Sir Francis Guevarra and Sir Ricky Ilacad guided us and made it sound as awesome as we could have hoped.”
Aster invites one and all to enjoy watching the video for “Destiny,” and to stream the single on all digital music platforms. Fans and followers of the band and its music can follow the group via their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AsterBandPH for updates and more information.
Watch the music video for “Destiny” below: