Disclaimer: I do not claim to be an expert on Kadazandusun music since I was overseas in 1987-92 and is not really an avid follower of Sabah music except for Evaristus' case.
Sabahan music is not all traditional with the gongs, feathers, bamboos and all that. In particular, the Sumazau beat has been commercialized and while keeping to the beat, the musical instruments used are no different than what the rest of the world uses. Kadazandusun pop music has its own qualities that separates it from the rest. Just like Malay slow rock or Reggae, it has that certain quality that makes you identify with it. Other styles have also been embraced, including 16 beat, joget, rock n roll and even hard rock. Guitar solos, while might not be technically accomplised by Western standards, is simple, unobtrusive and pleasant to the ears.
After the death of the legendary John Gaisah in a road accident in 1981 and the great songwriter Justin Lusah's "retirement" in the early 80's the local music scene was in a state of stagnation, until the arrival of Evaristus. To be fair, there were quite a few good singers but to me, none approached the technical ability of Evaristus.
He is arguably Sabah's best male singer ever, who shot to fame in 1992 when his self-penned ballad "Kada tilombuso sinduol nu" became a sensation overnight. Backed ably by Laserbeam, he stole the hearts of Sabahans. Since Sabah artists do not release singles, the popularity of a song is gauged by how many times it's aired on the radio or how many times people sing it during parties, functions and such like. Other "hits" spawned by the first LP included the tongue-in-cheek "Isteri Kahwin Lagi" (Malay-Kadazandusun language merged in sumazau beat), "Joget Mandalipai" and "Songulunan id Piginawaan" (another ballad).
Since then, he has released, to the best of my knowledge 2 more LPs in 1994 and last year. In his 3rd album, Evaristus adopted a back-to-basics approach where he used normal instruments used for Kadazandusun pop music (guitars, bass, keyboards and drums) instead of his usual heavy use of drum machines and keyboards.
The first and only time I heard him sing live was in May 1994 at KK Town Hall singing "Unduk Ngadau" from his 2nd LP. His voice sounds as good live as on record.