The pandemic has been a bittersweet experience for one of the Philippines' biggest pop acts.
Ben&Ben were on the cusp of international recognition in March 2020, with an appearance at the influential South by Southwest festival in the US scheduled. However, the event was cancelled owing to Covid-19, which in turn delayed the group’s global ambitions.
The virus once again wreaked havoc on the nine-piece's plans early this year, with Ben&Ben cancelling their initial Expo 2020 Dubai concert in January after members tested positive.
Ben&Ben will now make their UAE return at the Jubilee Stage on Wednesday and percussionist Andrew De Pano says they are more than ready.
"We were really sad when we got sick. We would see other people performing and we would feel 'when are we going to that again?'” he says.
"But I do feel that Expo is one of the best ways possible for us to return to live shows again. It certainly beats performing in front of a camera for the past two years."
Striking a chord
Despite the cancelled gigs, Ben&Ben's career never faltered throughout the pandemic.
Their series of well-produced online performances, coupled with the release of the excellent second album Pebble House Vol 1: Kuwaderno, resulted in the group becoming the most streamed Filipino act on Spotify in 2020 and 2021.
The fact they found such success during the pandemic, despite forming in 2015, is no coincidence.
The ethereal and cinematic sound conjured by the band's sheer size — members perform the guitars, drum, bass, keyboards, two sets of percussions and violin — and intimate lyrics sung by up to three lead singers and two backing vocalists have made Ben&Ben the soundtrack of the pandemic to fans.
"There is a phrase the band have been living by for a good number of years and that's the more personal something is, the more people relate to it," says singer Paolo Guico, who leads the group with his twin brother and co-lead vocalist and guitarist Miguel Guico.
"When we create songs in a way that is true to ourselves, it can also reach out to people because we could be saying the kind of things they, perhaps, were not able to voice before.
“This is why our music has been received in a way that many found personal and they became drawn to it."
Home away from home
Those feelings of nostalgia and reverie will be particularly acute in the UAE, Miguel says.
The group are keenly aware they are playing to a Filipino community, many of whom haven’t been home or seen their family since the pandemic began.
"Being away from your loved one is an emotionally heavy and challenging thing, even if you eventually get used to it, because there is that lingering emotion [that] you are away from something or someone," he says.
"When we were in Dubai in 2018, we were able to connect with the community there and what we found interesting is that many kids who listen to our music have never been to the Philippines — they are second-generation [Filipinos] who live in the UAE.
“So it's amazing to see how music gives you a sense of what home feels like even if you haven't been there."
Miguel says Ben&Ben will spend 2022 picking up where they left off: writing more songs and planning more shows abroad.
"We want our band to be more international and expansive, but at the same time, we want to do that by keeping [our sound] intimate," he says.
"We know the only way we will be able to achieve our dreams is to get better at telling our own story."
Ben&Ben will perform at Expo 2020 Dubai on Wednesday, March 9 at Jubilee Stage from 9pm. Tickets are free with an Expo Day Pass. More information is available on expo2020dubai.com
