Sound Offering: The Innocent, The Veteran and the Goddess
For a groggy Raimund Marasigan, it has been a long day, beginning with an 8AM call time for another shoot. This otherwise animated figure of local rock is quietly amiable at the moment.
Cynthia Alexander, delightful in gold crushed velvet slacks and a black tee, comes in lugging a conspicuously brand new guitar case. She is apologetic, “I had a show last night.”
“Yeah,” Raimund answers. “I was there last night!”
Imago’s Aia de Leon’s diminutive frame, practically buried by her guitar case and backpack, hurries inside. While she takes the chair for makeup the others had already vacated, talk turns to normal conversation. ‘Normal,’ that is, for three people whose lives revolve around that thing called music.
“I wasn’t allowed to bring a guitar to Scotland,” Cynthia relates, referring to her three-week vacation. It explains the new guitar which she used at her first show back in Manila, playing with her band at the Alabang Town Center, for an audience best described as mesmerized and respectful and warmly accepting. Cynthia, after all, has been fondly revered as ‘the goddess.’ “Si Cynthia, dyosa yan,” is among the whisperings and proclamations said in connection with her name. Even the latest Katha Awards seem to agree, sending her home with nine awards including Album of the Year and Producer of the Year. This homage to her independent album Rippingyarns certainly eclipses the success of her breakthrough debut Insomnia and Other Lullabyes. One does not easily guess that she played most parts on her album: that’s her on acoustic guitar and percussion.
Cynthia, as organic as her music and lifestyle may insist (she’s a vegetarian), is actually comfortable with technology. She has her own set-up at home—a PC and an 8-track recorder. This is a topic that Raimund easily relates to, comparing compares notes on recording technique and equipment. Aside from being the Eraserheads’ drummer for almost 10 years, and playing frontman for rock band Sandwich, Raimund has an alter-ego as his Squid9 persona. What began as a home project tinkering with electronica turned into a respectable solo album, yielding a second one in progress.
“I did a remix for the Itchyworms’ ‘Bituwin’, which aired in a hiphop station,” he shares. “First time ko mapatugtog sa hiphop station. Astig.” A decade in the business has seen him evolve from music-creator to music-producer. To date, several albums now proudly designate him with producing credits, the latest being the fast-rising Chicosci.
Aia, after sitting half-asleep on the makeup chair, now joins the group. “Hindi ko pa nahahawakan yung gitara mo,” she cajoles Cynthia. Inconceivably, Aia only started playing the guitar a mere three years ago. At the time she was writing her first few songs, she was unaware of the intricacies of the different tunings; instead she wrote as her ear pleased and shared with her bandmates the seed for their first album, Probably Not But Most Definitely. It is her voice that creates a distinct impression, its strength belied by Aia’s small stature. Last year’s NU Rock Awards gave her a formal nod of approval with the award for Vocalist of the Year.
While writing has begun for a second album, the experience of being a newcomer in the scene remains fresh. There is discussion about the difficulty about playing originals. And yet, there is new hope and excitement in the listening youth today.
“Parang may golden age ngayon,” says Raimund. “Nung lumalaki kami, kelangan isang klase lang ng music ang pinapakinggan mo, otherwise hindi ka cool. Ngayon, cool lahat. Basta totoo.”
“Kids these days are brought up by the computer and TV and radio. [They] are more in touch with the events elsewhere in the world more than what’s going on in their barangay,” Cynthia points out.
“In time,” Aia opines, “they’ll be far better than we imagine. They’re insatiable and full of freaking energy!”
“‘Pag pinanood ko si Cynthia,” Aia, our innocent, adds, “gagawa ako ng akin. Kasi yun ang message n’ya: ‘Ito ako, ito ang boses ko, i-share ko sa iyo. Ikaw… anong boses mo?’”
for “THE CREATIVE IT LIST: movers and shakers of manila’s creative scene”
published in Preview, October 2002
