Playback: MilesExperience – Down

03/03/2016 04:08:41 PM

Hearing MilesExperience as a novice-leveled listener and only having music channels and radio stations as your only resorts would only give you an impression of these: the bunch of gwapitos who can woo every kolehiyala with their music; and the band who made two melodramatic jazz-soul-alternative tracks whom sounded either sultry, taboo-defying, or sexy at will (Love Supreme and Silakbo).

But their newly-published Down is a different story. Though not as perfectly poetic as it gets, their words seemingly conveying a bunch of tornado-like twist and turns. Like a rocky-road manner of storytelling in a concrete planned emotional plot.

However, the execution in musical form is somewhat another thing. It's like a bold defiant to their previously-released singles: not exactly the sad lyrical work, but close to the exact “happy” song one can think about.

Though not as upbeat as Home, Down executes a different vibrancy that could hype up the crowd once you heard it... well, especially the live version; Imagine hearing shades of Beatles or those choir-like tunes for a stretch, thanks to the keyboard work of Guido Hizon; while Justin Teano's riff goes on another signature ride, yet retaining the sexy gestures he made from Love Supreme and Silakbo.

It looked like more of a classy mixture of jazz and funk, that sometimes I would even think of a gradual rising tension of climax somewhere out there and down by the later on.

And that being said, will suit better with a bottle of beer on one hand, while you're about cap the evening on a high note. Who knows? You might end up doing a little bit of head dance on its near-ending.

Author: slickmaster | (c) 2016 september twenty-eight productions

The Scene Around: Silakbo MV Launch

1/17/2016 1:14:10 PM

There are so many gigs during Saturday, 16 January 2015. You have the rescheduled Rakrakan Festival at Circuit Makati, Terno Inferno at the famous SaGuijo, and a cover night that served as a prelude for an upcoming concert by the trio of Bullet Dumas, Ebe Dancel, and Johnoy Danao.

And also, there’s a music video launch for the upriser called MilesExperience, and it was held at Mow’s bar in Quezon City.

The show started quite on time with Maude being the first act. Then, December Avenue also came to join the party, instant fire-hazard place in the process. Well, if we're talking about the crowd and the atmosphere inside.

Things got even rowdy wild as fuck when popular names also hit the stage to perform: Tanya Markova, Autotelic, Ourselves the Elves, and Jensen and the Flips. It was actually the first time I watched Tanya Markova live, though it was kinda short-lived since they will also be performing for Rakrakan Festival later that evening. But hey, the moment was worth it after years of hearing the likes of Picture Picture, Disney and Linda Blair on the airwaves. 

Plus, they are back with an album and two music videos directed by Jiggy Gregorio.

Then, came another highlight moment of the game: the music video itself, which depicted the UST-laden band into some sorts of outburst and extremities. Perhaps, you better check their music video on video channels like MYX very soon!

I can’t prejudge the other happenings, but if we're talking about indie scene here, I can tell that Silakbo topped the evening either. It’s not just about having heavyweight shits on the night’s roster of musicians; but witnessing the ocean of people inside and outside Kowloon House’s underground bar gave me one thing in mind: that’s the support for the music. Imagine having 350-450 people in attendance. Guido (their keyboardist) even told me all the 400 printed tickets they have during the gathering was totally sold out. Tim (their drummer) noted it exceeded the bar guarantees way more than expected (I suspected that’s somewhere between 300-400%).

While the air conditioning unit was a downisde (taking photos on a low light can be another, but that’s what makes Mow’s bar an intimate place on live music), it can never outnumbered a lot of good stuff that happened during the night.

With that being said, congratulations to MilesExperience for a very successful event. Hope the success will paved an even longer way for you guys in the independent music scene.

Also, shoutouts to the creative director of 9Roots and the man behind Love Supreme and Sikalbo music videos Mr. Jiggy Gregorio. Nice meeting you during the evening.

(Photos from Mr. Boco Jones)

Author: slickmaster | (c) 2016 september twenty-eight productions

The Scene Around: DOCDEFY III

1/10/2016 8:26:54 PM

Docdef Productions celebrated their 3rd anniversary with a gig that is quite a fitting one to cap 2015. Most of the best and up-and-coming musicians performed at Docdefy III happened 29 December 2015 at Route 196 in Quezon City.

Alasmedya kicked off the party; while others in the ten-band lineup followed suit. Namely, Austin, Banna Harbera, SUD, Jensen and the Flips, Autotelic, MilesExperience and Maya’s Anklet. And UBE was the last band to cap Docdefy III, while also claiming that it will also be their last outing before they go on hiatus.

With that being said, it was a heck-of-a-year for the Jack Daniel’s Prod of the Year awardee. Since its inception on December 2012, Docdef Productions produced more than 100 gigs in total; with this year includes a variety of happenings such as the following:

• EDGES (18 February, Route 196 with Fringe MNL)
• Farewell Fair Weather’s anniversary and home-returning gig (29 January and 18 June, respectively at Route 196) 
• Days 1-4 of the Satchmi Record Store Week (13-16 April, SM Megamall)
• Magnify (23 May, UP Town Center)
• #FeteIndie2015 (20 June, 12 Monkeys Music Hall and Pub with Vandals on the Wall and NDFY.ME)
• Light Settling (18 August, Route 196 with UP Underground Music Society; previous title: When The Light Settles)
• Tagaytay Art Beat (19 September, Museo Orlina)
• In D’ Flow (28 November, Flow House Manila)

So here’s to more good music and happenings, Docdef Productions!

Author: slickmaster | © 2016 september twenty-eight productions

Weeknights to Remember: SlickMaster's Memorable Gigs of 2015 (Part 2)

12/31/2015 3:00:36 PM

The post was supposed to be named Fridays and Saturday Nights to Remember only to realized a few things: first, gigs are happening every single weeknight; second, most of them aren’t even planned by yours truly to attend; and third, I have been to almost 70 gigs for 2015.

2015 has been a heck of a good year for me as I discovered Philippine music anew -- and it broods at the place where minority of people knows -- the independent scene. Over the course of time, I attended about 50 events starting from a random night out that happened 24 January 2015 at Route 196. I was then supposed to watch my college friend whose already a musician.

And since then, the Philippine independent music scene became another world conquered by yours truly. I became part of a production group; I was posting anything about gigs for most of the time; and indie music also served as a venue for me to grow as opportunities came from out of nowhere -- be it writing or anything else like photography and videography.

Fast-forward to the year-end, despite attending the last one or two music events of this year from small-time gigs to the big or concert-level ones, I can say I had a lot of memorable evenings. 

Farewell Fair Weather: Beyond gig poster by Angelo Manalo. Photo credit: Docdef Productions

Farewell Fair Weather: Beyond (18 June 2015 / Route 196 / Docdef Productions)

Just three years young in the industry, Farewell Fair Weather seemed they had a comeback gig like a veteran. Well, fresh from winning the Jack Daniel’s Chosen One and being part of Music Matters in Singapore, FFW was indeed back with emphasis!

The crowd inside during the set of The Ransom Collective

Kaleidoscope (12 September 2015 / Mow’s Bar / Mika Ordonez)

Held a week before Art Beat, and just in time after having a great Saturday afternoon (I watched Heneral Luna before heading to Mow’s). Hearing the likes of Anj Florendo, Jensen and the Flips, The Ransom Collective and Cheats are somewhat good enough to make my evening. Plus I also heard Kombo Kombo for the first time right there; and I heard Kaleidoscope was the highest grossing gig set at the bar located just at the basement floor of Kowloon House. With its proceeds went to the operation of a certain kid named Jillian.

Damn nice!

Oh, Flamingo

Oh, Flamingo! EP launch (14 October 2015 / Route 196 / Oh, Flamingo)

Barely joining the “Sa Tamang Panahon” bandwagon, Oh, Flamingo! first launched their event on Facebook page. And it appeared like almost half-a-thousand clicked GOING with barely a month left.

It may not reached the exact number, but certainly it topped the gate attendance at Route 196. Plus the stage was elevated, with a kiddie birthday theme as the peg. All that with Sandwich’s Raimund Marasigan doing a crowd surf doing their set.

Kinda impressive, considering this band was-then poised to win the Wanderband contest two weeks later!

Maya's Anklet

Light Settling [Prev. Title: When The Light Settles] (18 August 2015 / Route 196 / Docdef Productions, UP Underground Music Society)

An evening where subtle music ruled Route 196 as Maya’s Anklet, TheSunManager, and Autotelic launched their music videos as part of a Ballet Philippines’ short film project. 

Not just that, the last band who performed during that evening shed light as they turned their set into a wild, crazy moshpit session.

MilesExperience

MilesExperience Thanksgiving Gig (19 August 2015 / Mow’s Bar / MilesExperience)

Fresh from a successful music video launch a month ago, the boys from MilesExperience gave thanks to everyone by setting up a thanksgiving gig, with more louder bands performing right beforehand; a bit of shying away from the slow and sexy drive.

Ebe Dancel

Amplifiied (11 July 2015 / Route 196 / Amplify.PH)

Amplify.PH’s second anniversary as a start-up, with executives baring their new motives of going beyond; more than just a sound which tackles news, interviews and features about the local music scene. An evening where different genres of music converged. It was the first time I heard Cog, and A Problem Like Maria.

Anj Florendo

You Are Here: Anj Florendo Album Launch (31 July 2015 / Route 196 / Anj Florendo)

Two months after encountering her and her music, Anj Florendo launched another record after three years -- this time, an album with more #hugot tracks. It was a Friday evening where it was all slow flow with the likes of Conscious and the Goodness, Matteo Escueta and MilesExperience sharing the stage.

Pastilan, Dong!

Seismos: A Post-Rock and Math Rock Appreciation Night (2 May 2015 / SaGuijo / Seismos)

Very first event for Imee Malabonga’s crew who advocates post-rock and math-rock tracks. Also, a very successful crowd-funded gig as Glen Macadaeg reiterates; with spoken word artists from Words Anonymous taking the stage in-between setup and soundcheck spots.

PART 1 | PART 3  

Author: slickmaster | © 2015, 2016 september twenty-eight productions

Weeknights to Remember: SlickMaster's Memorable Gigs of 2015 (Part 1)

12/31/2015 3:00:36 PM

The post was supposed to be named Fridays and Saturday Nights to Remember only to realized a few things: first, gigs are happening every single weeknight; second, most of them aren’t even planned by yours truly to attend; and third, I have been to almost 70 gigs for 2015.

2015 has been a heck of a good year for me as I discovered Philippine music anew -- and it broods at the place where minority of people knows -- the independent scene. Over the course of time, I attended about 50 events starting from a random night out that happened 24 January 2015 at Route 196. I was then supposed to watch my college friend whose already a musician.

And since then, the Philippine independent music scene became another world conquered by yours truly. I became part of a production group; I was posting anything about gigs for most of the time; and indie music also served as a venue for me to grow as opportunities came from out of nowhere -- be it writing or anything else like photography and videography.

Fast-forward to the year-end, despite attending the last one or two music events of this year from small-time gigs to the big or concert-level ones, I can say I had a lot of memorable evenings. 

Jensen and the Flips from the far-away angle

Tagaytay Art Beat (19 September 2015 / Museo Orlina / Docdef Productions)

Tagaytay Art Beat was perhaps the first of two lifestyle events I’ve been with. With all the preparation hype (plus I was also the contributing videographer), Art Beat turned out to be very successful as 1,200+ people occupied the garden/amphitheater of Ramon Orlina’s prized masterpiece venue for almost 11 hours of musical extravaganza. Plus the art exhibition galleries were worth the ticket, too!

What makes it more memorable is that it also became part of the Philippine trends on Twitter the following morning. Perhaps that makes it up for not-so-good signal around the area as most people arrived in Manila witnessing a Woodstock-like gathering. 

And you’re part of the hardworking men and women who made Tagaytay Art Beat possible. Now, isn’t that worth reminiscing?

Tandems 91

Dusk Til Dawn (17 July 2015 / Route 196 / Vandals on the Wall)

Music web portal Vandals on the Wall celebrated their second year of existence by putting up a special evening that seemed more than just one with the combined effort of Gabi Na Naman Productions and VOTW’s very own The Rest is Noise.

Giniling Festival

SaGuijo’s 11th Anniversary (3 October 2015 / Saguijo / Saguijo)

I rarely go to SaGuijo. But then, I have to be familiarized with the place considering the fact that SaGujo was the place-to-be at the South. And true enough for few reasons.

First, when I arrived by 5:30 in the afternoon, the place was already jam-packed.

Second, 16 bands performed during the evening, with Up Dharma Down billed at the middle of the event? It’s like a main event at the primetime hours.

And third: because SaGuijo will not be 11 years stronger if not for the strong fanbase.

Autotelic

Autotelic Birthday Bash (15 October 2015 / Route 196 / Otelik, Docdef Productions)

I admit: I have been a huge fan of this band since hearing them for the first time. Watching them live for like 1321464178461 times was never a tiring experience.

And celebrating their birthday with Docdef Productions, as well as hearing the duo of Gabby Alipe and John Dinopol on acoustics? Totally refreshing for me.

The Purplechickens

#FeteIndie2015 a.k.a. The 2015 Fete de la Musique Independent Music Stage (21 June 2015 / 12 Monkeys Music Pub and Hall / Docdef Productions, NDFY.me, Vandals on the Wall)

What makes it memorable? Simple answer: First time. 

Yes, it was the first time for me to attend a Fete De La Musique Philippines event (after a decade of dying to do so). Plus, it’s more memorable to think I got a break in music photography. 

And to think there are 19 musicians that rocked the indie stage for FDLM from 3:15 PM ‘til 2:45 AM of Sunday? Total package!

Farewell Fair Weather

JD On Stage Indie Music Awards (17 April 2015 / Whitespace Makati / Jack Daniel’s Philippines, Teamworks)

First time to hear the likes of Cynthia Alexander, Urbandub, and Flying Ipis on Stage. Plus seeing your favorite band Autotelic make it to the Top 3, and your friends Farewell Fair Weather winning the most-coveted distinction of being “The Chosen One.”

MilesExperience

MilesExperience Love Supreme Music Video Launch (16 July 2015 / Route 196 / Docdef Productions, 9 Roots)

MilesExperience, a boy-band from UST whom their music and sex appeal seemed to rock those kolehiyalas out there, launched their music video for their single Love Supreme in a holiday Thursday at Route 196.

And it’s no surprise this band were a bunch of badass mutherfuckers as the crowd reached its fire hazard level during their set; prompting yours truly to secure a breather by doing a back-door exit (laughs).

But seriously, MSex (as they call themselves) was one of the bands out there who can make sexy music and have a massive cult of followers in the process.

Mr. Bones and the Boneyard Circus

Docdef 100: In D’ Flow (28 November 2015 / Flow House Manila / Docdef Productions, Flow House Manila)

In D’ Flow is not just an ordinary concert as Flow House Manila also had a series of events on the side: DJ sets, live art painting, skateboard painting contest, and even offered their specialty called Flow Rider to VIP ticketholders.

I think it’s this time when Docdef goes all out, not just offering their signature of all-feel good music lineup. Yes, how about going a bit higher with Mr. Bones and the Boneyard Circus and Mayonnaise at the lineup?

PART 2

Author: slickmaster | ©2015, 2016 september twenty-eight productions

Playback: MilesExperience – Silakbo

12/12/2015 5:06:12 PM

A few months after reaching success in their Love Supreme music video launch, the boys of MilesExperience came up with another big thing, and it’s called Silakbo.

The single was formally launched 18 September 2015 at a Docdef Productions gig in Route 196, barely on target with the gig firm’s big thing of its own Tagaytay Art Beat. A few weeks later, they garnered a spot on Jam 88.3’s playlist after winning the Fresh Filter Chooseday poll and reached the eighth spot at Jam 88.3's yearend countdown called 88 Top Tracks of 2015.

Also, Vandals on the Wall recognized Silakbo as the 51st track of their 100 Essential Tracks of 2015.

And by 16 January 2015 at Mow’s bar, Silakbo (Outburst) will have a launch of their music video directed by Jiggy Gregorio. Also, Autotelic, December Avenue, Ourselves the Elves, Jensen and the Flips, Maude, and Tanya Markova will be performing.

Perhaps another packed night ahead to jumpstart the new year.

From MilesExperience Facebook page. Poster by Paulo Manalo

Four minutes and forty seconds of outburst, perhaps, is one thing I could say the most about this track. The heavy drubbing of drums serving as accompaniment to that sexual guitar and lyrical work (though not that perfectly poetic but still eargasmic) makes it a literal kink with a powerful kick to the head; something that has been penetrating beneath your buds and skin with intense passion.

Perhaps we could only hope the visual part will do their part well, just like Love Supreme.

Download the latest hit track from MilesExperience called Silakbo on AMPLIFY.PH

Official music video.

Author: slickmaster | ©2015 september twenty-eight productions