What is up with Sugarfree's return?

Last February 25 at 8 p.m., local radio station Jam 88.3 debut a song from an old-new band.

The old-new band was Sugarfree and their new song was called “Nagkita Muli.” 

Shortly after it premiered on radio, Sugarfree took to social media, and introduced themselves:

Sugarfree is Carlo 'Kaka' Quisumbing & Jal Taguibao. In 2020, we decided to resurrect the band and relaunch it because we miss making music. Sobrang na-miss namin! Peace and love to all.

Exactly nine years ago today, March 1, Sugarfree played their final show as a three-piece band in Eastwood. By then, they were already end-of-contract with Polyeast Records.

Ebe Dancel went on to pursue a solo career, Kaka became the drummer of OPM band True Faith, while Jal decided he was done with music. “I really didn’t want to play. I didn’t want anything to do with music,” he said, adding he decided to pour all his time and energy in the academe.

“Naga-alala ako kasi bigla na lang siya nawala,” Kaka said. So in 2018, he began to look for Jal. It wasn’t until a year later, in February 2019 when their paths crossed again.

Kaka and his wife went to UP Diliman, where Jal taught Political Science and “in-ambush nila ako,” Jal recalled. The meeting was soon followed by coffee hangs, Facebook chats, until Jal agreed to play music again several months after that.

Before Jal’s mother passed away last year, he made her listen to the demo of “Nagkita Muli” and told her of his plans to playing music again. She gave her blessings, which Jal took as affirmation. “Walang dahilan that could convince me to do otherwise,” Jal said.

They recorded their first single “Nagkita Muli” at Groovy Garden in Quezon City and submitted to Jam 88.3.

Shortly after it was played on the radio, lawyer and Peryodiko frontman Vin Dancel — Ebe’s brother — took to social media to say the duo “might want to check with Polyeast because the label has exclusive rights to the band name under the 2002 artist agreement.”

He also noted the timing of the release. Ebe was to hold his first solo show that weekend. 

Speaking to GMA News Online, Jal said they decided to resurrect the name “because we missed it.”  

He continued, “Eight years of doing other stuff made us realize how valuable it was. It ended abruptly, so it’s like unfinished business also.”

Besides, Jal counters, it was his mom that christened the band Sugarfree back then.

Using the name and releasing the song had something to do with honoring his mom and honoring the band’s breakup. It's been nine long years, after all.

According to the two, “Nagkita Muli” is about an any experience that’s being rekindled; that even if the past was filled with sad moments, we have to be reminded of the good times and appreciate them more. Jal sang, played the bass and keyboards, while Kaka played drums and the guitar.

They don’t really have any plans of releasing a full album or signing with a label, or even going back to the gig scene. “It’s not an objective to get signed. With this single, we just want everyone to know that we’re back and we missed it. We missed being in the studio,” Jal said.

When asked for a reaction, Polyeast executives declined to comment for now. — LA, GMA News