Atunes Present: Aegis (The Philippine Band)

Aegis is a band in the Philippines. Their successful singles include "Luhà" ("Tears"), "Halík" ("Kiss"), and "Basáng-basâ sa Ulán" ("Drenched in the Rain").

Members

Juliet Sunot - vocals

Mercy Sunot - vocals

Ken Sunot - vocals

Stella Galindo - keyboard

Rey Abenoja - vocals/lead guitar

Rowena Pinpin - bass guitar

Vilma Goloviogo - drums

Aegis has released 10 albums over its career that have consistently made the Gold and Platinum marks beginning with Halik, Mahal na Mahal Kita, Awit at Pag-Ibig, Paskong-Pasko and Ating Balikan. They also released a mind-boggling remix collection of their hits entitled Ating Sayawin. The band is also responsible for hits such as "Luha" and "Halik".

Sisters Juliet and Mercy Sunot have been with the group since they started originally as AG's Soundtrippers (the letters A and G being their manager's initials). They later changed to Aegis in 1998 as agreed upon by the band manager & Alpha Records. Apart from the two sisters, keyboardist Stella Galindo is also the sister of the band's manager Lito, while his (Lito's) wife, Josie, is Rey's sister.

We're faced with all the 6 members of the Aegis Band, five girls and a man, whom the girls tease as already being like one of them. Of course, they're just kidding. It's nothing more than long years of close friendship and togetherness... close to eleven years to be exact. It's hard to believe that a musical group could last this long in the business of making music, traveling to foreign shores, sharing rooms, food, stories and lives. But that's the reality. The band has truly become a family after years of shared experiences. Furthermore, they are not merely a family. Due to the potpourri of native roots within the band, the AEGIS members also seem to represent the three major islands of the Philippines.

There are actually two reasons why the group has opted for the name AEGIS. First, the group was formerly known as AG’s Sound Trippers. AG’s was the name of their manager’s company coined from their last names Abenoja-Galindo. But, since the band name was too long, they opted to go for AG’s or in other words AEGIS. Second, the literary meaning of AEGIS is "Shield" or "Protection". The group decided to adapt this word as the name of their band, because it expresses what they want to share to their listeners, to feel when they listen to their songs, that of being "protected" and "shielded" from being lonely. Most of the songs they chose for their album are love songs. They are hoping that lovers will find their songs as a protection from being lonely and broken-hearted