VIBEANT MUSIC ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Manila Flavor
Manila Flavor is a rock band from Hamilton, Ontario composed of Elly, Renz, Thov, Jose and Terran who have different backgrounds and musical styles. Their music will give a vibe of Hard Rock, Grunge, Alternative Rock and Nu Metal reminiscent of bands like Deftones, Rage Against The Machine and Incubus. I had the chance to ask them questions and understand them more and share their story. Here’s how it went:
Who is Manila Flavor? Where are you all from and who do you create music for?
Elly: I came from Bacolod City in the Philippines, and am currently residing in Toronto.
Manila Flavor is a device where we can project stories that are interesting to us. It’s a sacred sanctuary of self-expression. Personally, I create music to please myself as an artist, and by doing that i hope to connect with people on a personal level and trigger their imagination.
Renz: We were born and raised in Tondo Manila and then we moved to Cavite.
Manila Flavor is a force. It’s a positive force that connects people together. A genuine friendship built on a solid foundation of art and music.
Creating music is something that I really love doing since I was a kid. I love music. I like the concept of making people happy especially when they’re having hard times in life.
Thov: we create music to connect people together, give them the motivation, a meaningful experience and a love to share.
Jose: From Taytay Rizal, Philippines and been living in Hamilton since.
We’re a band of ordinary people who were brought together by the same music we grew up to – Ideological and conceptual perceptions in an individual person’s mind channelled through a medium called music.
We want our music listeners to relate to each and every line of our songs. We believe that great music will make you see yourself in the song.
Terran: I was born in Markham, Ontario, Canada. Music is a way for me to express my thoughts and feelings to myself and others, as well as a way for me to take my mind off of things that may be stressing me in my life.
How would you describe Manila Flavor music?
Elly: Expressive storytelling in the form of hard rock.
Renz: Interpretive, creative, and inspiring
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Thov: Expressive, entertaining, and flavorful
Jose: Factual, relatable and with life’s realistic point of view.
Terran: Manila Flavor’s music is thought-provoking, fun, and expressive. We want to make music that makes us move and feel something.
What is the song that would be an introduction to Manila Flavor?
Elly: Marka (Coming soon early 2021)
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Thov: Pass the light
Renz: Crown Piracy
Jose: Crown Piracy
Terran: Crown Piracy
If there would be a band that you would have an opportunity to collaborate, who would that be and why?
Elly: Definitely Audioslave, Incubus or Tool. They are bands that currently inspire me and it’s where I pull references from.
Renz: I’m a big fan of Red hot Chilli peppers, Pearl jam, Foo fighters and Audioslave so yea definitely them. I love their style of creating music, it’s fun.
Thov: Eraserheads, Red hot Chilli peppers, Greenday
Jose: System of A Down, Audioslave, Pearl Jam and RHCP. I feel like going back to my childhood days listening to them and makes me feel more inspired now that I’ve grown up and grasped a broader meaning behind their song lyrics.
Terran: Definitely Tom Morello! I love the way he turns the guitar into more than just an instrument and wants to create sounds that haven’t been heard before or weren’t meant to be created. I love music that is catchy, but also something that forces you to listen because of just how different it is.
Is there an end goal for Manila Flavor creating music?
Elly: There’s not really an end goal For me. The sky’s the limit. I just wanna keep creating music that resonates to us. Songs/stories that we feel good and enjoy playing in front of everyone.
Renz: I don’t see myself stopping from creating music so there’s no end goal, It’s a lifestyle. We all love doing it, we’re having so much fun expressing ourselves through it and we appreciate each other’s ideas.
Thov: We are blessed with the God-given talent. We will just continue to have fun and enjoy each other’s company and love what we do and hopefully, we can inspire more people and listen to what we can offer to the world of music. No stopping when music is forever, and forever has no end.
Jose: For me, a goal is where you stop pushing just because you already achieved something.
There’s nothing certain in this life and the goal could be anything. Just keep grinding and put one foot in front of the other, that for me is what’s the most important part. Keep your spirits up and hope it will spread to others (our listeners) like a pandemic.
Terran: I think it’s okay to set goals for yourself that you can hopefully one day achieve, but there is definitely no end goal for me in music. For me, my only real goal is being able to take the sounds that I hear in my head, and create them with my instrument. As long as my body and mind can make music, I will always be doing so in one way or another! Even if I’m not playing in a band or writing songs, just playing music, in general, is very relaxing and spiritual. There are very few things like it.
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