Imago + Salindiwa MotoMashup's Site

Imago started in 1998 with Zach Lucero (drummer) calling Tim Cacho (guitarist) and bringing up the idea of forming a band. The two were buddies back in college and used to play together in a band. Aia De Leon (vocalist/guitarist), who was recommended by a friend, soon joined them. They also used to have a different drummer and a violin player, but both soon left and paved the way for the entry of current bassist Myrene Academia.

A few years after Imago was formed, the band landed a recording contract with Viva records in 2001. They also released their debut album, Probably Not But Most Definitely, in the same year. Their second album, Take 2, was released independently in 2004. The band signed yet another recording contract, this time with Universal Records and released their third album, Blush, in 2006. In January 2008, the recently released special edition of Blush was awarded and certified a Gold Record. Imago has received awards and nominations from Katha Awards, NU 107 Rock Awards, MTV Pilipinas and MYX Music Awards.

The band has a string of hits: Rainsong (from Probably Not…), Akap and Anino (from Take 2), Taralets and Sundo (from Blush). The band has just recently finished recording songs for two upcoming compilation albums: Hopia Mani Popcorn 2 (The Best of Manila Sound) to be released under Viva Records, and for the second tribute album for the APO Hiking Society. In March 2008, Imago participated and represented the Philippines in the annual Mosaic Music Festival in The Esplanade, Singapore. Currently, Imago is busy working on their fourth album. Imago is unstoppable. According to Tim, their plan is “To keep on playing and making music as long as it's fun for everyone involved—ride it till the end.”

Tim doesn’t want to label the kind of music that they play and prefers to leave it to their audience to decide what they want to call it. “For convenience,” he concedes, “I guess you can classify Imago’s music as pop rock.” But he also admits that Imago always keeps changing the way they sound. This is, however, not a conscious decision. “We just do (it), that’s what naturally comes out; it’s not acting cool or jumping on any musical trends, it’s just the state the band is in at a particular moment when we write stuff,” he says.

Inspired by their experiences, friends, relationships and family, all the members of Imago usually come up with song ideas and bring them to the group. While lyrics and melody are usually Aia’s forte, “Everyone puts their own ideas to fit and when everybody’s satisfied, that’s it; it’s not an Imago song until everyone puts int heir own 2cents worth,” Tim says.

The band members enjoy listening to mashups, and consider them as a fun exercise in creativity. “It's always fun and interesting to listen to how other groups interact with each other,” Tim says, “surprising results usually follow.”

Salindiwa is a 5-man band with Maik Arce as frontman, Franz Magat as bassist, Kakoy Legaspi on guitars, Paolo Manuel on drums, and Nikko Rivera on keyboards. Salindiwa seamlessly fuses rock, jazz, blues, reggae, soul, pop and everything else in between. Their name comes from the Filipino words salin, which means “to transfer” and diwa, which means “essence”.

Maik describes Salindiwa’s music as “a mashup of Kakoy's blues, Paolo's progressive beats, Nikko's classical chops, Maik's soulful songs, and Franz's jazzy grooves.” This is why the band feels that they have always been trying to do mashup with their music. He explains this process quite loftily, “When elements of a diverse sonic palette are applied on the same canvas and the end result is a piece of music that, when people of different backgrounds hear it, they recognize it as foreign yet strangely familiar, therefore transcending genres and cultures, leading to tolerance which may eventually bring us to the path of understanding, if not peace.” However, he thinks a mashup is only good if it’s well produced and if it complements both artists and the song. If there’s no chemistry, he says, it could sound forced.
Maik believes that every time they play together, it’s already a mashup because they don't play by the rules. “We have different tastes and everybody has a strong personality, plus there’s creative freedom—so it’s a riot, but it’s fun.” Franz couldn’t agree more: “At the time Salindiwa started arranging and making songs, we “mashup" our ideas and combined different genres, musical elements and forms; it was quite fun to experience the music as we were molding it.” Franz sees mashups as an expression of freedom in music. “It’s an option,” he says, “it presents new possibilities.”

Imago started in 1998 with Zach Lucero (drummer) calling Tim Cacho (guitarist) and bringing up the idea of forming a band. The two were buddies back in college and used to play together in a band. Aia De Leon (vocalist/guitarist), who was recommended by a friend, soon joined them. They also used to have a different drummer and a violin player, but both soon left and paved the way for the entry of current bassist Myrene Academia.

A few years after Imago was formed, the band landed a recording contract with Viva records in 2001. They also released their debut album, Probably Not But Most Definitely, in the same year. Their second album, Take 2, was released independently in 2004. The band signed yet another recording contract, this time with Universal Records and released their third album, Blush, in 2006. In January 2008, the recently released special edition of Blush was awarded and certified a Gold Record. Imago has received awards and nominations from Katha Awards, NU 107 Rock Awards, MTV Pilipinas and MYX Music Awards.

The band has a string of hits: Rainsong (from Probably Not…), Akap and Anino (from Take 2), Taralets and Sundo (from Blush). The band has just recently finished recording songs for two upcoming compilation albums: Hopia Mani Popcorn 2 (The Best of Manila Sound) to be released under Viva Records, and for the second tribute album for the APO Hiking Society. In March 2008, Imago participated and represented the Philippines in the annual Mosaic Music Festival in The Esplanade, Singapore. Currently, Imago is busy working on their fourth album. Imago is unstoppable. According to Tim, their plan is “To keep on playing and making music as long as it's fun for everyone involved—ride it till the end.”

Tim doesn’t want to label the kind of music that they play and prefers to leave it to their audience to decide what they want to call it. “For convenience,” he concedes, “I guess you can classify Imago’s music as pop rock.” But he also admits that Imago always keeps changing the way they sound. This is, however, not a conscious decision. “We just do (it), that’s what naturally comes out; it’s not acting cool or jumping on any musical trends, it’s just the state the band is in at a particular moment when we write stuff,” he says.

Inspired by their experiences, friends, relationships and family, all the members of Imago usually come up with song ideas and bring them to the group. While lyrics and melody are usually Aia’s forte, “Everyone puts their own ideas to fit and when everybody’s satisfied, that’s it; it’s not an Imago song until everyone puts int heir own 2cents worth,” Tim says.

The band members enjoy listening to mashups, and consider them as a fun exercise in creativity. “It's always fun and interesting to listen to how other groups interact with each other,” Tim says, “surprising results usually follow.”

Salindiwa is a 5-man band with Maik Arce as frontman, Franz Magat as bassist, Kakoy Legaspi on guitars, Paolo Manuel on drums, and Nikko Rivera on keyboards. Salindiwa seamlessly fuses rock, jazz, blues, reggae, soul, pop and everything else in between. Their name comes from the Filipino words salin, which means “to transfer” and diwa, which means “essence”.

Maik describes Salindiwa’s music as “a mashup of Kakoy's blues, Paolo's progressive beats, Nikko's classical chops, Maik's soulful songs, and Franz's jazzy grooves.” This is why the band feels that they have always been trying to do mashup with their music. He explains this process quite loftily, “When elements of a diverse sonic palette are applied on the same canvas and the end result is a piece of music that, when people of different backgrounds hear it, they recognize it as foreign yet strangely familiar, therefore transcending genres and cultures, leading to tolerance which may eventually bring us to the path of understanding, if not peace.” However, he thinks a mashup is only good if it’s well produced and if it complements both artists and the song. If there’s no chemistry, he says, it could sound forced.
Maik believes that every time they play together, it’s already a mashup because they don't play by the rules. “We have different tastes and everybody has a strong personality, plus there’s creative freedom—so it’s a riot, but it’s fun.” Franz couldn’t agree more: “At the time Salindiwa started arranging and making songs, we “mashup" our ideas and combined different genres, musical elements and forms; it was quite fun to experience the music as we were molding it.” Franz sees mashups as an expression of freedom in music. “It’s an option,” he says, “it presents new possibilities.”