Pantayo<\/a> – an experimental, all-women kulintang ensemble – is a sound evolution that began over meals and music in 2012. Founding members Michelle Cruz (vocals, agong), Katrina Estacio (vocals, kulintang, sarunay) and Kat Estacio (vocals, kulintang, dabakan, programming) met at an Anakbayan fundraiser at Kapisanan, a Filipino cultural centre in Toronto\u2019s Kensington Market. They all shared a desire to reclaim and re-imagine kulintang\u2014a traditional Southern Philippine form of instrumental music composed on gongs. That initial meeting, and shared vision, eventually gave birth to Pantayo.<\/p>\n\u201cWe accidentally became a band when we received an invitation to play at an event. We thought we had to introduce the thing that we were doing, and who we were, and the thing became Pantayo,\u201d shares Cruz. \u201cAs we continued to grow and learn as Pantayo, the group grew in members. Eirene and Jo came along, and this is when the next layer of magic began to manifest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Estacio says that Eirene Coloma\u2019s arrival in 2015 was significant to the Pantayo sound by \u201csynthesizing chords and progressions with our gong tunings.\u201d \u201cWe are blessed to have her ear and talent of piecing these together with the complex tones of each gong hit,\u201d she explains. \u201cShe [also] has some sick bass lines and synth moves, which make her a great fit. Her vocals also make us melt.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Joanna Delos Reyes (vocals and guitar), the ensemble became a part of her life just when she needed community the most. \u201cI [had] recently moved back to Toronto after living abroad for a bit. I became hyper-aware of who I was as a brown, Filipina woman navigating predominantly white spaces, institutions, and jobs. I wanted to intentionally reconnect with my Filipino-Canadian settler identity. Collective art and music making became that way for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name Pantayo reflects the multi-layered ethos and intentions that drive the ensemble. \u201cPantayo is an ongoing commitment to ourselves, and to each other,\u201d explains Kat E. \u201cThe word roughly translates to \u2018by us for us\u2019 [in Tagalog], so the conversations around what our sound is and why we play the way we do and what we stand for as a group is a constant navigation around that meaning. Much like the word does not really translate to one single English word, our initial intent is to make art and meaning that speaks to us and our experiences first. If that translates to something that resonates with other people, then great. If not, then we just accept that what we do is not for them. And we can\u2019t be bothered with that because life is short.\u201d<\/p>\n
Describing their sound as \u201cpercussive metallophones and drums from kulintang\u00a0traditions of Southern Philippines, with electronic and synth-based grooves,\u201d Pantayo is a sonic collage of influences that include genres as diverse as R&B to punk. Yet somehow these diverging sounds are both thrillingly challenging and masterfully cohesive. The members say that this is not by chance, but rather a thoughtful, collective approach deeply guided by producer alaska B.<\/p>\n
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