𝗟𝗨 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗦’ 𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝟯𝟰𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗪𝗜𝗧 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦

By: Joy Ann L. Gurtiza, GPC-LUPTO | Photos By: LUPTO | Date: January 20, 2022

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Distinct as being the only Iloko-Filipino song in the roster, Warner Music Philippines’ “Agsardeng” (Iloko. to stop) co-composed by rising musician and artist Aby Esteban with piano instrumentation by Jan Danielle Gurion- both native of La Union, had been nominated at 34th Awit Awards – one of Philippine music industry’s highest recognizing bodies.

Esteban, who was born in Bauang, La Union, and TJ Paeldon who met during one of PhilPop Bootcamp back in 2019, co-penned the emotional song about anti-domestic violence on women during the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Interpreted by Miss Ramonne, a native of Ilocos Norte, the song clinched the nomination for “Best Performance by a Female Recording Artist,” alongside with Star Music and Viva artists Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, Moira dela Torre, KZ Tandingan, Shaina Opsimar and the eventual winner Keiko Necesario, from an initial list of 300 entries.

“Agsardeng,” an empowering piece, spiced with rhyming witty lyrics in Filipino and Iloko, follows the story of a person who is stuck in recurring abuse, and finally decides to emancipate from its trappings to start anew. ”We wanted to write a socially relevant yet easily to understand pop song that could hopefully serve as a voice and inspiration to those who have survived and are still experiencing gender-based and domestic violence,” Esteban mentioned during an interview with La Union Provincial Tourism Office – Culture and the Arts Unit.

The composers used Iloko and Filipino lyrics in an attempt to convey both the regional and global appeal of their entry, while catering to contemporary listening standards. Paeldon added, “For us, it’s all about bridging the gap between Filipino and Ilocano [languages] so everyone can appreciate this song and also appreciate the beauty of Iloko which makes up a very large portion of the North Luzon cluster.”

On the other hand, record producer Shadiel Chan shared that they are very particular about melding northern native instruments with vintage-sounding synthesizers and electronic pop music elements to recreate their version of a modern lullaby for the overall sound of the song.

With the recognition, the collaborating team hopes to inspire new and young composers from North Luzon to continue improving and yielding their own creative and musical composition and production- be it with local language, Filipino or even English songs.

“Agsardeng” was officially released on November 6, 2020 on all digital and streaming platforms worldwide via PhilPop in partnership with Warner Music. Awit Awards is the Philippines' longest-running music award-giving body spearheaded by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry that recognizes Filipino performing artists and the people behind the making of Filipino recorded music. It is also considered Filipino pop music’s counterpart of the Grammy Awards.