Out of all the songs you've written, what's your favorite?
My favorite is called "Toilet." It's one of the new songs in our album. I actually wrote it when I was 19. Every time I perform it, I remember that [period]. Plus siya talaga 'yung pinaka-natural kong kanta. 'Yun talaga ang boses ko. 'Yun talaga ang landi ko when I perform it on stage. I think it's the song that shows the very groove of Sinosikat.
You already collaborated with Urbandub on "Inside the Mind of a Killer," which other artists would you love to do a project with?
Radioactive Sago Project! Favorite ko sila. Every time I watch them perform, I'm amazed. Also Bamboo, because Vic and Nathan are my "brothers". I even did back-up in their first album.
What other local bands do you love watching perform live?
Yosha. I love seeing them. Sa sobrang galing nila, nakaka-frustrate. [Laughs] I get inspired by their music. Maganda rin ang samahan nila.
You describe your music as Pinoy Soul, what exactly is it?
Pinoy Soul is a little bit of everything. Ang mga Pinoy mahilig sa love songs, rock, funky and upbeat songs, ballads, and a little bit of jazz. Sila Julianne, Yosha, Up Dharma Down, at kahit Radioactive Sago Project, para sa akin, may soul sila. It's soul music but it's purely Pinoy, hindi tunog foreign. It's not Mo-Town. I really want to promote Filipino music. I want to promote our culture through music. It's one of my dreams to make OPM original. Hindi panay covers na lang or hindi palaging nanggagaya na lang. I want to make our motherland proud.
"Never Say I Didn't Love You Back" by Sinosikat?
What's your songwriting process?
I write most of our songs. Yung ibang tracks, si Nick, our guitarist. I can write songs if I'm forced to, pero iba pa rin ang mga kantang biglang darating na lang sa'yo. 'Yun siguro ang magic ng songwriting process. Mapapasabi ka lang ng, "Wow. Ako ba ang nagsulat nito?" Recently, kumakanta ako sa panaginip. Pinipilit ko agad gumising tapos naka-capture ko lang mga ilang verse at chorus. Kapag ganoon, kailangan kong tapusin agad kasi mawawala na agad siya.
Why did you take two years to come out with a new album?
Importante kasi sa akin ang growth. I don't want to rush the second album's release just because the first one was a success. Gusto ko mayroong time mag-tour, mag-promote, mag-sulat. In time, the band also evolves musically. Para kapag pinakinggan mo 'yung first and second album, hindi sila magkaparehas.
What's the difference between the first and second album?
Since most of my songs are autobiographical, these albums are like diaries. They show you where you are in life the moment you produce them. So the first album, I was more in love. On this second album I was hurt, but it's funkier because we have a new keyboardist and bassist.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
Five years from now, superstar na ako. Then ten years from now, superstar pa rin ako, but married with a family. [Laughs] I told you I liked to daydream! But five to ten years from now, I'd still be singing. Ang mga idol ko, sina Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone, mamatay na sila, tumutugtog pa rin. I see myself doing that. I'm really a musician, a performer, and an artist. Hopefully I'll be traveling the world and touring. Why not? [Laughs]
Check out Sinosikat.com for more information on Kat Agarrado and the band. Watch them for free on May 15, 9 p.m. at the Greenbelt 3 Park. The Kat Agarrado quartet performs every Friday night this month at Le Bar. Sinosikat's "2nd Album" is available in record stores nationwide.
Photos provided by Kat Agarrado.
Photographers: Erving Go, Luann Dionisio, Marvin Gonzales, and Roxanne Nebres.
