Mojofly

About

Like Barbie's Cradle and Moonstar 88, Mojofly offer a more radio-friendly, pop-leaning alternative to the Philippines' other modern rock bands. Formed in the late '90s by bassist Ricci Gurango to fulfill his side of the record contract of his earlier group, Hungry Young Poets, Mojofly reeled in both mainstream and alternative crowds with their 1999 debut LP, Birthday. The band toured malls in the Philippines, reaching out to the masses with an accessible sound that was harder than the country's overflow of MOR artists but not quite as cutting edge as their name would suggest. Sexy lead singer Kitchie Nadal became a pinup favorite, helping to propel subsequent singles such as "Another Day" and "Scooter Boy" to national recognition. After two albums, Nadal left the group in June 2003 to concentrate on her studies at De La Salle University in the Philippines. A year later, Nadal found even greater commercial success on her own than with her old group, releasing an immensely popular self-titled solo album that quickly went gold. Now having the freedom to write her own songs, Nadal developed a huge following among teenage girls with her personal, confessional lyrics, hitting number one with "Huwag Na Huwag Mong Sasabihin" (Don't Say It). Her cute face and slender frame developed a following among males as well, but her focus remained on writing music that emotionally connected with listeners. As for Mojofly, Nadal was replaced by Lougee Basabas and the group had a comeback hit with "Mata" (Eye) in 2004. After Nadal's departure, Gurango became Mojofly's only remaining original member, carrying on as a duo with Basabas backed by a revolving set of session guitarists and drummers. ~ Michael Sutton, Rovi