Various Artists: Squiggle Beware (Malabong Lababo Sessions #01)
Cassette
2023/7/26
Catalogue Number: CAR-33
Format: Cassette tape
Price: ¥1800+tax
SIDE A
She Sees Secret Cyphers - (formerly Maryknoll)
Past Life - (formerly Maryknoll)
Death Throes of a Struggling Romance - (formerly Maryknoll)
Spinal Crack - Ourselves The Elves
Self is Universe - Ourselves The Elves
The Change - Ourselves The Elves
More Than You Know - Bird Dens
Show Up - Bird Dens
Automatic - Bird Dens
Adolescent Assemblage - WAX
I'm Just - WAX
Beautiful Ostrich - WAX
SIDE B
Death by a Thousand Breakbeat Splices (Derrida Mia) - Ivy Hill
Eine Kleine Beng-beng Musik (or Alternatively, Hindi Naniniwala si Shirley sa mga Epekto ng Concerta) - Ivy Hill
Formaldehyde Heart (it goes poppoppoppop) - Ivy Hill
Übermensch - The Gory Orgies
How Not to Be Seen - The Gory Orgies
Max Headroom / Juan Gapang - The Gory Orgies
Grafted Scion - Soft Limit
Two Mountains - Soft Limit
Mock Sun - Soft Limit
Cabin Fever - Subsonic Eye
Matahari - Subsonic Eye
Heaven is a Long Exhale - The Buildings
Flesh and Code - The Buildings
Doghouse - The Buildings
ケソン・シティの伝説的なライブハウスMow’sがこの地域のハブ地点となっている一方で、ケヴィン・"キーン"・リフォルマドのスタジオMalabong Lababoは、地元バンドや海外からマニラ首都圏のシーンを訪れるバンドをレコーディングする上で重要なスポットとなっている。2022年の夏にMalabong Lababoで録音されたこのコンピレーションは、当初、The Buildingsの2023年日本ツアーのクラウドファウンディングのために、その年の冬にデジタル配信のみでリリースされた。バンドが日本のオーディエンスに温かく迎えられたおかげで、東京のレーベルCall And Response Recordsからフィジカル・エディションがリリースされることになった。
地元シーンとしてのマニラ、そしてアジア他地域との中継地点としてマニラ。それぞれの役割を含んだ『Squiggle Beware』には、8組のフィリピン人アーティストと1組のシンガポール人アーティストによる26曲が収録されている。このアルバムに収録されているアーティストの多くは、メンバーを共有していたり、一緒に演奏したり、サポートし合ったり、同じレーベルからリリースしたりしている。そのため、単なるドキュメントではなく、新しいサウンドと新しい友人で賑わうパーティーのイントロダクションのような印象だ。
The indie music scene in the Philippines isn’t well known in Japan. Individual acts have attracted attention and the occasional band has visited on tour, but there haven’t been many opportunities for Japanese audiences to get a bigger picture. Squiggle Beware provides part of that picture — energetic, melodic, sometimes rough, sometimes experimental, fizzing with creativity and the motivation, it provides a snapshot of this current moment in the Metro Manila area indie rock scene.
While legendary Quezon City venue Mow’s has become a live hub for the area, Kevin “Kean” Reformado’s studio Malabong Lababo has been an important spot in recording local bands, as well as those visiting from overseas and connecting with the Metro Manila scene. Recorded at Malabong Lababo over summer 2022, this compilation initially came out in the winter of that year as a digital only release to raise money for The Buildings’ 2023 Japan tour. Thanks to the warm reception the band received from Japanese audiences, it was decided that a physical edition would follow from Tokyo label Call And Response Records.
Reflecting both the local Manila area scene and its position as a connecting point to the rest of Asia, Squiggle Beware contains 26 songs from eight Filipino acts and one from Singapore. Many of the acts on this album share members, have played together, supported each other, or have released from the same labels. This gives it the feeling of not just a document but an introduction to a party buzzing with new sounds and new friends.
CREDITS
Bird Dens: Fries Bersales (drums), Nica Feliciano (bass), and Howard Luistro (guitar, vocals)
The Buildings: Kean Reformado (drums), Mariah Reodica (guitar, vocals), Wax Roldan (guitar), and Dominic Zinampan (bass)
(formerly Maryknoll): Joshua Evangelista (bass), Jason Fernandez (drums), Daniel Gruspe (guitar; vocals on “She Sees Secret Cyphers” and “Death Throes of a Struggling Romance”), Robert Kwan Laurel (keyboards), Miguel Loanzon (guitar; vocals on “She Sees Secret Cyphers” and “Death Throes of a Struggling Romance”), and Jillian Santiago (vocals)
The Gory Orgies: Kean Reformado (drums; guitar on “Übermensch”, synthesizer on “Max Headroom / Juan Gapang”, vocals on “Übermensch” and “How Not to Be Seen”) and Dominic Zinampan (bass, guitar, vocals; synthesizer on “Max Headroom / Juan Gapang”)
Ivy Hill: Kim Bernardino (vocals on “Death by a Thousand Breakbeat Splices (Derrida Mia)” and “Eine Kleine Beng-beng Musik (or Alternatively, Hindi Naniniwala si Shirley sa mga Epekto ng Concerta)”), Iñigo Lapuz (guitar; synthesizer on “Death by a Thousand Breakbeat Splices (Derrida Mia)”, vocals on "Death by a Thousand Breakbeat Splices (Derrida Mia)” and “Formaldehyde Heart (it goes poppoppoppop)”), Rollo Velarde (bass), and Ivan Villarico (drums; additional percussion on “Formaldehyde Heart (it goes poppoppoppop)”)
Ourselves the Elves: Alyana Cabral (guitar, vocals), Paula Castillo (bass), Akira Medina (guitar), and Ponch Salvador (drums)
Soft Limit: Itos Ledesma (guitar, vocals)
Subsonic Eye: Daniel Castro Borces (electric guitar), Jared Lim (acoustic guitar; programming on “Matahari”), Nur Wahidah (vocals), and Sam Venditti (bass)
WAX: Kyle De Guzman (guitar on “Adolescent Assemblage” and “I’m Just”), Ash Itaba (bass on “Adolescent Assemblage” and “I’m Just”), Kean Reformado (drums and bass on “Beautiful Ostrich”), Kiana Refuerzo (drums on “Adolescent Assemblage” and “I’m Just”), and Wax Roldan (guitar, vocals)
Mixed and mastered by Kean Reformado at Malabong Lababo Studios, Philippines
Produced by The Buildings
Album art by Ches Gatpayat
Cassette release by Call And Response Records with kind permission from Malabong Lababo and all participating artists.
