Music duos Ysanygo and Purplecat take on love and good vibes in ‘Sunny When I’m With You’

MANILA, Philippines – Ysanygo and Purplecat share several things in common.

They both enjoy the same music genres, they’re both musical duos in the Philippines and in Thailand, respectively, and they both just recently released the upbeat track “Sunny When I’m With You” together.

Its title already tells you all you need to know about what listening to the song will feel like – just pure good vibes, most especially when you’re with your special someone. 

In this interview, Ysanygo and Purplecat talk more about how “Sunny When I’m With You” came to be, how the collaboration happened, and what they each enjoy most about working with other artists.

Making ‘Sunny When I’m With You’

According to Filipino siblings Ysa and Ygo Ferraz of Ysanygo, “Sunny When I’m With You” describes the “bright energy” a person colors their surroundings with wherever they go.

“When Mon of Purplecat asked us if we had any topics in mind, we suggested something bright or happy to match the vibe of the track! Mon told us he imagined ‘love at first sight’ when he first listened to the demo we sent, and they presented that idea really well in their verse,” said Ysanygo.

It’s always been a dream of Ysanygo to collaborate with other music acts around Asia, so when they discovered that Purplecat had also been looking to work with other artists, it was a no-brainer for them to join forces with the Thai duo.

The two music acts had gotten to work right away, clicking almost instantly as creative partners.

“The whole process was smooth even though we were more than a thousand miles apart. Both duos listen to the same type of music such as K-R&B, which is why we had such an easy time communicating. In our group chat with Purplecat, all the responses were so positive because we loved each other’s input!” Ysanygo told Rappler.

It was the same experience for Purplecat’s Mon and Palm, who also said that it was their shared music taste with Ysanygo that made the songwriting process so easy for both duos.

“It was so fun and Ysanygo are so amazing to work with…. They [were] also open [whenever we] wanted to add something [to] the track,” the Thai artists said.

On May 3, the Filipino and Thai duos finally dropped the track on streaming platforms, and it’s arguably one of the perfect anthems for summer romance.

If you need more convincing, Ysa, Ygo, Mon, and Palm also shared with Rappler their favorite lines from the single:

Ysa: “My favorite line would have to be ”Cause with you, I don’t have to pretend,’ because it’s comforting when you’re able to be yourself around someone.”

Ygo: “My favorite line is ”Di ko naman maiwasan ang hanap-hanapin ka‘! It’s a certified kilig line that you can send to your crush!”

Purplecat: “It’s ‘Girl you hypnotized me with those eyes, got me paralyzed.’ It’s the line [where you] realize that you have already fallen in love with someone.”

On collaborations with other artists

Purplecat has been collaborating with artists since their debut in 2020, and for them, the best part of it all is getting to share their experiences with the artists they’re working with and vice versa.

“When we collaborate with other artists, we think it’s about exchanging experiences with them. It makes us know each other better and [helps us get an] idea of their background and what genres we like in common, and that makes the magic happen,” shared Purplecat.

These sentiments definitely ring true for “Sunny When I’m With You,” because just after spending time in the Philippines to perform the single in different guestings alongside Ysanygo, Purplecat headed back to Bangkok with the sibling duo to promote it at their home base.

For Ysanygo, though, their project with Purplecat was only their second collaboration with another artist – and their first with an international one – so it was nothing short of a milestone for them.

“High school Ysanygo would never believe us!” exclaimed Ysanygo when Rappler asked if this was something they would have expected to do throughout their music careers.

“We never would’ve imagined that we’d be given the opportunity to collaborate with an international act. We were just teenagers making music at home, and now we have new friends from Thailand who we get to work with. Everything is so surreal, and we’re extremely thankful for all the blessings and people who’ve been supporting us since the beginning,” they continued.

Their previous collaboration had been with Filipino singer-songwriter Paolo Sandejas, who produced the upbeat romantic track “Sunday Morning” alongside the sibling duo.

“We learned a lot from [Paolo] in terms of songwriting: [that] we shouldn’t overthink too much and just let the words and music flow. When it was time to work on ‘Sunny When I’m With You’ with Purplecat, we made sure to capture the kilig when we wrote our verse and chorus!” Ysanygo explained.

But “Sunny When I’m With You” won’t be Ysanygo’s last collaboration, as the sibling duo has promised that they’ll be dropping more songs with other artists soon, as well as solo releases.

“We’ll also be celebrating our seventh year as a duo in July, so please stay tuned for what’s to come!” Ysanygo said. – Rappler.com