Otan Vargas
Northport, New York, United States | SELF
Music
Press
“Unreal talent this kid has.”
- Bob Blickwede (Jones Beach Events)
“I guarantee you he sang that tonight better than I do.”
- Aaron Lewis of Staind
“Whether a melancholy melody of nostalgia or the hopeful harmony of the present, either can be found in the notes that form his music.”
- Joshua Schrader - Rising Stars Magazine
“If you listen closely to his lyrics you may pick up that story as words flow through his mind they are scratched onto paper through these thought's come his powerful and meaningful lyrics that could have special meaning to each and everyone of us. ”
- Joshua Koloski - Mouth4Music.com
Discography
"Alone" Album
1. Insanity
2. Today
3. Gravel
4. Wear My Chains
5. Alone
6. Unclean
7. Contaminated
8. Blame
9. A Place
10. Cloudless Sky
11. Without You
Photos
Bio
Otan Vargas’ melancholic voice is often compared to Staind’s Aaron Lewis. In fact, Aaron Lewis admitted, “He sounds better than I do most of the time.” This statement was made just as Lewis called Vargas on stage to play Staind’s hit single, “It’s Been Awhile.” The song, performed at a Valentine’s Day concert in 2009, was praised with a standing ovation at The Music Box Borgata Hotel and Casinos. It has been Vargas’ career highlight thus far.
Coming from humble beginnings, the Filipino musician was born in 1984 in Tondo, one of the poorest areas of Manila. The son of a folk singer, Otan grew up in a community where nearly everyone around him knew how to sing.
His acoustic career began in 2006, shortly after he moved to New York. Vargas sings about enduring suffering, battling the voices within, and trying to find a constant peace for his soul. Though many of his lyrics speak of being “down and forsaken,” his music rises above bitterness. Vargas’ gratitude comes through in all his writing. Really, when have you ever opened a rock album, acoustic or otherwise, to be greeted with the words, God bless all of you?
Alone is Otan Vargas’ full length debut album, released December 2009. The raw emotions which beautifully pour out through Vargas’ rhythmic guitar and powerful vocals bring to mind grunge band slow songs such as “Indifference” by Pearl Jam and “Down in a Hole” by Alice in Chains. The title track has you feeling like you’re in the room with your confidant who is silently mourning. The curtains are drawn and all else loses importance while you focus on the emotion steadily dripping into a pool of sorrow. Otan sings, “Alone deep in the dark, I hide all my sorrows from you.” The sadness refuses to be suppressed however, as it seeps through the music, so beautifully sung.
“Without You” ends the journey of Alone, as Vargas finally finds someone with whom to share his life. This final track captures the transformative revelation brought through love when singing, “Without you, I can’t see myself. Without you, I can’t feel. Without you, my life would still be the same.” This album will assure you that no one is ever alone in feeling alone. And there is always a ray of light even in the darkest night.
~Myriah Christine, Contributor The Silvertongue
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