If we come up with a list of artists truly deserving of the title they were christened with, Sitti will be ranked high for her distinctiveness. “Bossa Nova Queen” is right for her. In Tagalog, sakto.
That’s the title of her new single, too, dropped last August 25 by Icons Music, a division of Widescope Entertainment.
Sitti said, “The thing about singing a very niche genre is that it taught me not to have expectations, but to just be grateful that I still get to sing and perform my kind of bossa nova.”
“Sakto,” a song co-written by Itchyworms drummer and main songwriter Jazz Nicolas, and Wally Acalola, is something she found to be “so cute and beguiling and innocent” that she hopes it “grows on people and becomes a favorite,” perhaps in the same vein as her signature hit “Para sa Akin.”
Among the important Filipino acts to come out during the first decade of the 21st century, Sitti has always been thankful of how well her career has panned out. She tries her best to give back by staying true to her calling and image. “With every song I am blessed to perform,” she noted, “I try my best to approach and infuse it with my truth. Sometimes in the course of recording, I do depart from how it is usually sung in the demo, but with ‘Sakto,’ I think the vocal arrangement was super on point already there was no need for me to embellish. I just enjoyed the recording ride and the playfulness of the lyrics.”
That smooth path is partly due to a group of no-nonsense gentlemen backing her up, namely, Widescope executive producer Vic de Vera, producer Neil Gregorio, A&R Ebe Dancel, vocal recording supervisor Arnie Mendaros, and mixing engineer Dante Tanedo.
“Sakto” features the talents of instrumentalists Erskine Basilio (semi-hollow guitar) who also arranged the song, Gian Vergel (drums), Gerald Flores (bass), Francis Etorma (keyboard), Archie Lacorte (ax), and Diego Martinez (percussions).
Sitti expressed, “I am so grateful for the whole Widescope and creative team. I rely on their ears so much and I trust their judgments with my whole heart. That being said, in the course of recording I appreciate it when they allow me to re-record some parts I am not confident or satisfied with. I am thankful that the recording spirit shared by all in the booth is truly collaborative and friendly.”
Asked about her take on what era must be truly considered as OPM’s golden age, Sitti chose not to name one, which is saying she remains upbeat about the music scene, as always. “I think there is not one golden OPM era,” she said, then pointed out, “We had the Manila Sound before, the legends Mr. C, Rey Valera, George Canseco, the bands of the 90s, and now we have the likes of Zack Tabudlo, Moira and Dilaw holding their own in the charts alongside Taylor Swift and K-Pop groups. It just gives me so much hope for the Philippine music scene, that our creativity and courage to raise our flag will never die.
“I’m just here still singing bossa nova and it is amazing watching all of these mostly young Filipino artists just releasing original material here and there. What a time to be alive to witness it,” she added.
