THE POP ROCK band The Juans has released their latest single, “Gupit,” a collaboration with the P-pop boy group Alamat.
The track follows the band’s previous emotion-stirring singles, each charting the path of a relationship: from “puwede ba kitang ligawan?”(Can I court you?)in February to “Napagod Na” (Tired Already)in April. This time, The Juans decided to team up with Alamat, to delve into the complexities of moving on.
For band members Carl Guevarra, Japs Mendoza, RJ Cruz, and Chael Adriano, “Gupit” is more than just a song of heartbreak — it’s an anthem of emotional courage.
“It’s different for us because it’s a melancholy story but an upbeat tune,” said Mr. Adriano, who penned the song, at the June 4 press launch in Quezon City.
“It talks about a part of our culture as Filipinos. Kapag galing sa heartbreak, nagpapagupit kasi may pinagdadaanan (Coming from heartbreak, we cut our hair to symbolize that we went through something). It’s a way of saying ‘new hair; new me’,” he explained.
The Juans frontman Mr. Guevarra added that “Gupit” talks about the “internal struggles and ways of coping and moving on after losing someone.”
“Sana maka-relate sa kanta ang mga taong may pinagdadaanan (Hopefully people who are going through something can relate to the song),” he said.
The members of Alamat, composed of Taneo, Mo, Jao, Tomas, R-Ji, and Alas, were invited to contribute to the track after they shared the stage with The Juans a year ago in a concert. For both groups, working on a song together was an opportunity to blend the dramatic original Pilipino music (OPM) band style and the rap-heavy P-Pop style.
“Sa music production, walang madamot sa kaalaman. Nagbabatuhan lang ng ideas (In music production, no one is stingy with knowledge. We would throw around ideas),” said Alamat’s rapper Alas.
On the process of writing the song, Alamat leader Mo added that contributing and working together came easy.
“Ang bilis namin nabuo. Ang sarap lang ng ang daming utak at ang bilis namin nagawa. Naramdaman namin iyung brotherhood (We finished it so quickly. It felt good to have so many brains working together, and we finished it so fast. We felt the brotherhood),” he said.
After the song’s release, a music video will be posted that conveys the themes of heartbreak and finding the strength to move on.
“Gupit” is out now on all digital music streaming platforms. — Brontë H. Lacsamana
