Poch Barretto lets his guitar do the singing
For Poch Barretto, lead guitarist of the folk pop band Ben&Ben, to be an instrumentalist is to understand that your role isn’t to claim a piece of the spotlight but to guide the music toward it.
“Alam ko na hindi ako ang bida,” he tells Lifestyle Inquirer. “You have to serve the song. And if by doing that the people are able to appreciate the song—its lyrics and its vocalists—better, then I know I did a good job.”
Not to diminish his contributions to the band, though; he takes pride in being part of the creative process, which allows him to feel that the songs “reflect my heart” as much as they do his eight other bandmates’.
Collaboration and concession
But as with any other group—especially one as big as Ben&Ben—making music is often built on collaboration, and with it, a fair amount of concession. If he were to liken it to painting a mural, it all starts with identifying the message and then deciding who paints which section. “Nine heads, one identity,” he says.
Stepping back once the mural is complete, it’s always heartening to see the full picture—and then to look closer to find that your piece fits and complements the rest. But although each part offers a glimpse of each member’s unique eye, it often only scratches the surface of their true talent—leaving one to wonder what the mural might look like if only one hand were to paint it all.
Barretto wonders that, too. “We all have different influences, styles, and tastes in music, but ultimately, we serve the songs of Ben&Ben. That doesn’t fully represent each member’s musicianship as an individual,” he points out.
It’s for this very reason that he has finally started to take composing original music more seriously than ever, with plans of releasing them in the future. He’s not doing this out of frustration nor for a taste of personal glory. As an artist—and, most importantly, as a human—he simply needs an outlet.
Left alone at home, it’s the melodies and grooves of R&B that naturally come out as he strums on his guitar. He also loves the music of the seminal neo-soul artist D’Angelo, whose recent passing deeply saddens him. And how could he explore and express all these proclivities if not on his own?
“Iba pa rin when you make something as a solo artist,” he says. “You control everything, from the message to the littlest of nuances that some people won’t even notice. You end up with something that reflects your journey as a person, as an artist, as a Filipino.”
Like the underdog
But he needed some reaffirmation. Sharing the stage with the Japanese guitar legend Hisato “Char” Takenaka last September gave him just that.
Barretto was discovered by Char’s management and invited to perform at the “Sound of History: Since 1923” show at the Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall—an iconic venue affectionately called by local fans as the “Holy Land of Rock.” There, he joined a formidable lineup of musicians, including Ichika Nito, Phum Viphurit, and two of his guitar heroes, Mateus Asato and Josh Smith.
He was given the choice of performing either an original song or jamming on Char’s compositions. But since he has yet to release his own music—and in deference to the legend—he opted for the latter. “It would have been nice, though, if I also had a song of my own to showcase on that stage,” he admits.
All the same, he was just happy and honored to be there. “Sino ba ‘ko?”—that’s his imposter syndrome speaking. The two-week rehearsal leading up to the event was filled with anticipation, excitement, and anxiety. And when finally he played with Char and stood shoulder to shoulder with his idols, he couldn’t help but feel like the underdog.
“I mean, just a few years ago, I saved up money and bought a signature series guitar named after Asato!” he shares.
Their rehearsal could have easily passed for the actual show. “I have never felt smaller as a guitarist. I felt like a beginner all over again,” Barretto says. “But it’s also encouraging and inspiring. It reminded me that there’s still so much room to grow as a guitarist.”
But as daunted as he was—faced with the diversity of playing styles and the gulf of talent he still feels he needs to bridge—Barretto held his own. And when the crowd erupted in applause, something occurred in him: He’s not exactly like them, and that’s okay.
Purely instrumental
On his return home, Barretto brought him, not only memories but also “a reinvigorated drive” to write his own music—maybe a guitar album that melds his love for R&B, ballad, folk, pop, and alternative rock. It will be purely instrumental, too. He’s not one to always rely on words to express himself anyway.
“For me, melodies alone are stories in themselves. They carry a lot of weight. You can say a lot with rhythms and beats,” says the guitarist, who started out writing songs with lyrics before joining Ben&Ben in the mid-2010s but stopped upon realizing that singing wasn’t exactly his strongest suit.
There’s also beauty, he says, in letting the listeners create their own stories out of the images and emotions that his music evokes—the same kind of effect the songs of Andy Timmons have on him. “It doesn’t dictate the story,” he says. “I know the exact story behind it and I injected my personality into it, but anyone can listen to it and interpret it according to what they’re feeling or thinking.”
What he has in mind is effectively a niche record. But again, that’s okay. There’s more to music than pop or what’s readily appealing to the mainstream. And if his music, his stories, find their way to ears eager to listen and hearts ready to feel, then he’s good—that’s all that matters.
“The world of music is vast, but I realized that I’m my own artist and person,” Barretto says. “Whatever you do, do your best, kasi ikaw lang ang nag-iisang ikaw.”
