In the studio with folk rock band Pinkmen

Pinkmen is perhaps one of the most unique musical outfits in the local music scene today.

The young six-piece, folk rock, psychedelic band from UP Diliman counts The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Queen, Pinky Floyd and Tenacious D as among their major influences.

But as they would demonstrate to GMA News Online in Ely Buendia’s living room, playing their single “Hanggang sa Muli,” their sound is as Filipino as Filipino can get.

"Hanggang sa Muli," included in the recently released compilation Offshore Music Vol. 2, is among the first songs that guitarists Giro Alvarado and Matt Medrano wrote way back in high school when they first got together and explored the idea of being in a band.

Back then, Matt was a dedicated violinist who thought Giro was a prodigy. The latter would compete for the National Music Competition for Young Artists playing Filipino Kundiman and classical guitar pieces.

And as early as then, both knew they wanted to play their own songs. “We decided we wouldn’t want to become known for a cover. We wanted to be known for our own songs,” Matt said.

In 2017, Matt and Giro would be joined by their friends — Jed Zulaybar on keyboards, Mark Armas on bass, JR Recla on drums and Immanuel Baile on percussions — and in 2019, they would sign with Offshore Music.

“It’s so funny because their personalities are really in it. When you meet them in real life, they’re really those geeky guys who are hopeless romantics, boy-next-door down-to-earth people and that’s what make them unique. They’re not trying to be anyone else,” Pat Sarabia, Offshore’s A&R Director says of the band.

Watch Matt and Giro’s exclusive performance and see what we mean. — LA, GMA News