The precise punk of Ligaya Escueta
At 15, perhaps like many teenagers, Ligaya Escueta was cooking up worlds in her bedroom. She released Laughing in Milk in 2022, her entirely self-written, seven-track debut album about stumbling into one’s place in the world.
Now, three years later, she brought some of these songs to the South by Southwest music festival—in the same stage that the likes of Billie Eilish and Amy Winehouse previously performed in, and our own Ben&Ben and Ena Mori.
“One of their values and goals as a festival is to help new, young, or indie artists make connections and give a jumpstart to their careers,” Ligaya says. We sit among the kitschy, homey furniture of Cafe Siriusdan in Mandaluyong. “They were accepting applications for artists, so my label applied (for) me, and they formally invited us to perform.”
She flew to Sydney, Australia, with her bandmates and her family. It was her first time traveling overseas with friends. “It was like a field trip,” she recalls.
Before music, she had been training and competing in ballet, which perhaps explains the precision and polish so apparent even in her first record. Even while speaking to me, Ligaya is deliberate with her words; before I take her pictures with a disposable camera, she practices the poses in a mirror. The grace is obvious, even when we agree that her indie rock music “is not very ballet.”
“It’s funny, because when I was younger, there were some songs I really liked that had ‘yung pagka-indie rock already, but I didn’t know it yet,” she says. “One of the things that drew me towards indie rock, aside from the sound, is that it’s very freeing compared to ballet, which is very structured and strict.”
The indie rock prodigy went from writing songs in her bedroom to being signed to Ely Buendia’s label and representing the Philippines in SXSW Sydney.
“(With) indie rock, I felt like I could be myself. I realized this (recently): music made me feel less alone, even if music isn’t like a concrete thing or a person.”
Still, she never thought she would pursue music until the COVID-19 pandemic, when she could no longer do ballet. After discovering new artists and being inspired, she joined a songwriting workshop coached by Moonstar88’s Acel Bisa van Ommen.
It was Acel who connected Ligaya to Ciudad’s Mikey Amistoso, who produced the original song that became her workshop final project, as well as the rest of “Laughing in Milk.” They released it under Tenzi Records, Acel’s indie record label. “(Mikey and I) really clicked together as a musician and producer. We realized that I had enough to make an album,” Ligaya adds.
I ask if she found the process intimidating, especially being so young. “I was very excited, actually,” she says. “It was really nice working with Mikey because we really understood each other musically. It was a fun, new learning experience.”
Her hesitation lies more in the prospect of vulnerability, which, when she was starting, didn’t previously concern her. She explains, “It’s not just about letting other people hear what you’re thinking about, but also admitting things to yourself.” Among the themes she often revisits in her songwriting is things coming to an end: the first song she ever made is called The End. “I guess I think about how things will end when something really matters to me. Parang, ‘Oh, I’m really happy now, pero what’s gonna happen?’”
After Laughing in Milk, Ligaya continued to do things independently, writing her own music and performing at gigs. A year later, she was signed by Offshore Music, the independent label founded by Ely Buendia. “I couldn’t believe I was experiencing all of that; everything was so official,” she reveals. She’s hard to miss at the label’s live shows, with her signature dark lipstick, fishnet tights, and spiky jewelry.
Being homeschooled then made it easier to transition to being a signed artist. We recall the first time we met: the Offshore press conference introducing their new batch of artists, including Ligaya. It was on a weekday, “and I wasn’t absent (in class) or anything,” she says.
But now that she’s in senior high school, she transferred to an in-person school to study music business management. She knew, even before signing with Offshore, that she wanted to pursue music. “Not only (because) there were stories I wanted to tell, but because I just really loved the process of making music.” One of her dreams is to learn to produce her own music, even trying her hand at scoring a friend’s video game.
Performing is another part of music that she fell in love with. “I’ve always loved it, ever since I was younger, because of ballet. Usually, people don’t like performing at family events growing up, but I always did,” she remembers with a laugh. “When I perform, it’s so simple: I’m just enjoying what I’m doing with my friends onstage and connecting with the crowd.”
It was an honor, she says, to take that to SXSW Sydney last October. She was joined by fellow Filipino artists Maki, Angela Ken, and August Wahh. “I think all of us (in my band) were nervous, but it was fun, and I felt very calm onstage. I really felt like myself, even when I was playing somewhere that’s not my home court.”
“I felt so privileged the entire time, not only to represent the Philippines, but to do it with something I love, that’s really special to me.”
Right now, perhaps like many teenagers, Ligaya is focusing on college applications. She wants to study communication arts and maybe become a music journalist.
But she looks forward to releasing more singles this year, revealing she has more demos up her sleeve. As for her listeners, she says, “I hope that if anyone relates to anything I talk about in the album (Dollweb), they feel comforted. And I hope they enjoy the music, especially live. I hope they have a good time.”
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Ligaya Escueta’s latest album Dollweb is available on all major music streaming platforms via Offshore Music. Follow the artist at @dollshoesnicesocks.