Cup of Joe

Baguio-based band Cup Of Joe’s time in the spotlight is fast approaching.

With a knack for fresh-sounding songs with themes that captivate, one doesn’t have to look further for exciting new music than this six-piece band that includes co-lead vocalists Raphaell Rida and Gian Bernardino, guitarists CJ and Gab Fernandez, bassist Sevii Severino and keyboardist Xen Gareza.

Since making their debut back in 2019, they have slowly but surely built a reputation for no-nonsense pop, with a solid following to boot.

Appreciative, Gian shared that “ever since we started, our biggest dream was just to share our love for music to the world.

The overwhelming praises and support we receive right now are beyond what we expected to achieve and we’re very grateful to every one for continuously giving us more reasons to produce more music.”

And speaking of said music, Cup Of Joe's is beyond typical pop music fare and have an undeniable knack for crafting catchy melodies and relatable lyrics.

From vocal harmony driven acoustic pop (“Sinderella” and “Nag-iisang Muli”), to retro-flavored pop (“Alas Dose”), to mid-tempo ballads that showcase their alt-pop leanings (“Sagada,” “Hayaan”), to teasing retro wave influences (in “Bukod Tangi”) to neo-folk tinged singles (“Ikaw Pa Rin Ang Pipiliin Ko”), their style is a sound that’s hard to resist.

Similarly COJ song themes range from the poignant that tugs at the heartstrings (Pinoys love a good love song this much is true) to feel-good, even cathartic, and done so with relatable lyrics and ear-tweaking choruses.

Back in 2022, Cup Of Joe released two singles that endeared them further to their growing fan base and have since broken through the million-a-month listener threshold. Their songs “Mananatili” and “Estranghero” highlighted a maturity in sound and style as they borrowed a page or two from the sonic pop book of the 80’s and 90’s.

Now, the band is poised to take things to the next level with their latest single “Tataya.”
The song was written “around 2021 during the pandemic, it started with me just playing with my guitar. Then I thought up of a melody, which was the chorus,” said Rapha (Ridao) who wrote the music with his brother Red, adding “that time we haven’t really made any happy songs so I thought it would be a great diversion from our usual topics.”

Rapha revealed that “Tataya” – a rousing song about holding onto love despite time and distance – was spurred on by a friend of the band who approached them and said, “tol, alam mo yung kahit malayo kayo parang siya pa rin yung home mo? Yung kahit ano mangyari pipiliin siya mo over and over again?”

Which got Rapha and the rest of COJ thinking, “what if we write a song about long-distance relationships? About the highs and lows of it and keeping to it and never giving up?” That thinking eventually led to the gist of the song: “tataya pa rin sa isa’t-isa kahit anong mangyari.”

And as per their usual, Cup Of Joe managed to wrap said theme with an infectious chorus with sonics that reminds, among others, catchy 80’s pop.

And fans have responded accordingly.

“The positive reception of ‘Tataya’ shows that our listeners are now ready for music beyond what people have come to know us for,” said COJ keyboardist Xen Gareza. “We aim to push the boundaries of the identity we have built to continue to captivate our listeners,” he added.
Ultimately, Cup Of Joe said that “Tataya” will add another block to the world that the band is building.

“We’re striving to establish our place in Pinoy pop,” the band collectively said. And Cup Of Joe seems well on its way to doing just that.

"Cup Of Joe's latest music video for "Tataya" directed by Jefferson Hao, premiered on March 24 on Cup Of Joe's official YouTube channel.