The Steve Lillywhite magic propels Ben&Ben’s Limasawa Street album to levels of magnificence

The Steve Lillywhite magic propels Ben&Ben’s Limasawa Street album to levels of magnificence

by rick olivares

It is those unexpected pairings in music that can produce magic. To name but a few, there was “Mr. Wall of Sound” himself, Phil Spector working with the granddaddy of punk, the Ramones on their End of the Century album.

Rancid front man Tim Armstrong producing reggae star Jimmy Cliff’s comeback album, Rebirth to a retro sound and universal acclaim. And there’s Robert John “Mutt” Lange’s work on AC/DC’s Back in Black that changed the sound of muscular hard rock and heavy metal forever. 

Filipino neo-folk pop band, Ben&Ben had some of that stardust sprinkled on them when they got to work with noted English producer Steve Lillywhite -- who famously worked with U2 and the Dave Matthews Band to name very select number of acclaimed artists – on their new album, Limasawa Street.

Although Lillywhite worked on only one song on the album, the title track, its influence was felt throughout the recording of Limasawa Street.

We spoke with Paolo Guico, one half of the Guico twin who are the face of this much-lauded and beloved band on how this collaboration came about and it is quite a story.

“We had the pleasure of meeting Steve Lillywhite in a music camp last year,” related Guico. “Working with him though was something we never thought would be possible. On the first night of the recording, we were doing ‘Limasawa Street’ -- an otherwise rock-influenced track -- I dared Migs (his brother) to message Steve and ask if he would be open to putting his genius on the track.”

Paolo held his breath. 

And much to his surprise, the Englishman agreed. 

“We were floored when he responded positively to our invite. And what happened afterwards was magical.”

The title track has that feel of a live track with all the instruments given a sheen and energy; and the guitars a chiming and shimmering sound like U2’s the Edge.

“We never imagined our music would ever receive the classic Steve Lillywhite sound,” gushed Guico. “He has a signature way of mixing such that the bass guitar carpets the whole sound spectrum, but the drums and electric guitars deliver a sonic punch. But he still kept our signature textures of acoustic guitars, violins, and world percussion. All of that combined into a powerful energy in the track that reminded us of his work with U2 and the Dave Matthews Band. It is such a blessing to work with a living legend.”

Guico admitted that though only one track, the Lillywhite-produced track influenced the production and mixing of the albums other tracks. “Our team definitely learned a lot from the genius that Steve put into the track.”

As a result, Limasawa Street, the album, and all 13 tracks, are pop gems. The album itself is a shining example of Philippine pop and should go on to dominate any Philippine end-of-the-year music list

“I’d say that rather than taking an entirely new direction, Limasawa Street branches out into different evolutions of our home sound. The album is an exploration of how the thick and organic Ben&Ben textures would fare pout when combined with Motown and Soul (on ‘Hummingbird’ and ‘Roots’), rock (“Limasawa Street’, ‘Lucena’, and ‘Talaarawan’) and a diaspora of new influences. We’re very happy with what we’ve accomplished and we’re glad that people have embraced the album.”