“He came to help us take the song to the next level, with his own additions in both the arrangement and post-production of the song,” recalls the nine-member collective. “The band may have released about 90% of the song, but it was Petra's 10% that really helped make the song what it is today.” say the Ben&Ben members.
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BEN&BEN
Filipino and multi-award-winning indie folk-pop band Ben&Ben once again takes listeners on a journey of self-introspection with the release of their new 2024 single “Comets,” which was released on Friday, May 10, 2024. A collaborative single from two countries and also the beginning of Ben&Ben's music career in the Indonesian music industry, because on this single Comets Ben&Ben collaborated with Indonesian musician and producer Petra Sihombing.
Single
COMETS
Release Year
2024
Ben&Ben was formed by twin brothers Paolo and Miguel Benjamin Guico (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), who called themselves the Benjamins. They later expanded into an ensemble and added Poch Barretto (electric guitar), Keifer Cabugao (violin), Patricia Lasaten (keyboards), Toni Muñoz (percussion), Andrew de Pano (percussion), Agnes Reoma (bass guitar), and Jam Villanueva (drums). Petra Sihombing is an Indonesian singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is also known for his work as a music producer, working with many international musicians from Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
“Comets” is an emotional song that conveys the fleeting nature of breakups and disconnections. Although the song recalls memories with mixed feelings of loss and pensiveness, the experiences it brings up offer bright hope and acceptance, no matter the end result. “Although it mostly revolves around feelings of loss, the song ends with a hopeful realization of gratitude-gratitude for having experienced it all,” the Ben&Ben members said about the song Comets.
According to Paolo Benjamin and Miguel Benjamin, the songwriters behind “Comets,” the pop-rock song was inspired by the many losses of people they've encountered in different parts of their lives over the past four years: breakups, the end of friendships, parting ways with professional relationships.
“With every loss comes the painful process of asking why the nature of life is the way it is,” says Ben&Ben. “The answer is almost never clear, but unfolds over a long period of time. Comets is an expression of that journey, and hopes to help listeners through this reality in their lives too.”
The song “Comets” has gone through several iterations since the band started jamming together in late 2021. Ben&Ben admit that this is one of the songs that they have been trying to harmonize and play with the longest, in terms of arrangement and song structure. Eventually, Ben&Ben found the right musical direction and vision for the song, based on their own experience of loss to choose the version they were most comfortable working with. Ben&Ben eventually recruited Indonesian producer Petra Sihombing to be part of the project, adding a final but important touch to the song.