Key Points
- The Coconut Nut is Ryan Cayabyab's most popular song.
- In 2018 he became National Artist for Music.
- Ryan Cayabyab and the Ryan Cayabyab Singers will be performing in Melbourne, September 1 in Melbourne and September 7 in Queensland.
The Coconut Nut
In the late 80s, Ryan Cayabyab formed the group Smokey Mountain. A group of young teenagers with incredible voices gave life to Mr C’s music and brought attention to the deteriorating environment and the need to take action.
While completing Smokey Mountain’s album in the nineties, Mr C wanted to produce a novelty song that would be fun yet have an impact.
‘I noticed the coconut tree, while there are many coconut trees planted there were hardly any new trees being planted. It is our tree of life. In the Middle East, the olive is their tree of life, Filipinos have the coconut tree.’ It is Mr C’s most popular song outside of the Philippines.
‘Choirs in America sing it and as far as New Zealand’ he adds ‘it also reflects the Filipino attitude of walang nasasayang, every single part of the three has a use, from the coconut to the leaves, trunk, and even the husk.’
OPM from disco to K-Pop to P-Pop
Mr C is known as one of the pillars of Original Pilipino Music (OPM), he says that while many OPM songs have Western influence we still manage to create songs with distinct Filipino sound.
‘In the 80s our songs were largely influenced by the disco era, we had the VST & Co put a distinct Pinoy sound, that Filipino inflection to disco music. While the Western world has the Bee Gees, the Filipinos have the Boyfriends.’
Recently, as the K Pop captures the world, the Filipinos have P-Pop ‘While we follow trends, we always add something distinctly Filipino to the sound.’ Mr C happily shares how his song The Coconut Nut had its rebirth in the world of P-Pop as covered by the popular group Bini.
Good vibes and a stress-free life
The National Artist recently celebrated his 70th birthday, and a star-studded birthday concert was a testament to his contribution to the industry. ‘It is very heart-warming; many artists have volunteered their time and talent for the event.’
Ryan Cayabyab is known to always have a smile on his face and a very heart-warming and loving demeanor.
Asked if he intentionally creates music that sends off a happy and positive vibe, ‘My wife always tells me I’m allergic to stress and problems. We all have to deal with life’s challenges and curve balls thrown our way. We must take it in stride.’
He recalls telling his friends who have faced major stress in their lives ‘that stress will kill them. We only have one life to live, we need to live it well. Do not allow your problems to consume your life.’
This September, after more than four years of planning Mr C will return to Australia and continue to spread his good vibes, ‘I was given a gift, it is a privilege to be given the gift of music and it is my responsibility to share that gift to others.’
