NOBITA releases debut album, BETTERFLY

The 8-track release shows their affinity for earnest songwriting and soul-baring production

Filipino alt-rock outfit NOBITA has finally released their highly anticipated debut album, BETTERFLY via Sony Music Entertainment.

The 8-track album finds the band expressing their introspective take on life, optimism, and companionship with an affinity for soul-baring production and vulnerable songwriting. The record is co-produced by constant collaborator Isagani Palabyab of Monostery Studio, and was written and co-arranged by NOBITA.

BETTERFLY is led by the track “Paruparo Na Walang Hanggan,” which captures the immediacy of romantic love, and the inescapable thrill that it brings to people. The soulful ballad reflects NOBITA’s core competencies as lyricists and musicians, delivering heartfelt sentiments with bluesy chops and ‘60s-style harmonies.

The much-awaited release also contains new songs such as “Hay Buhay,” which honors the beauty of being alive and in love, and “Bukang Liwayway,” a strings-laden ditty that confronts challenges with a hopeful, persevering tone. Both songs encapsulate NOBITA’s self-assured musical direction: never hurried and deceptively simple, but coming from a place of sincerity and warmth.

Track list: 

1. Kahit Sandali

2. Sa Ulan

3. Hau Buhay

4. Paruparo Na Walang Hanggan

5. Totoo

6. Paano Uusad

7. Bukang Liwayway

8. Kalangitan

 

The band’s rapid rise to mainstream acclaim is no stranger to the public. The Pinoy five-piece act hit it big with “Ikaw Lang” and “Unang Sayaw,” which currently rank as two of the most streamed OPM tracks in Spotify history. The pop-rock outfit has built an impressive portfolio by releasing songs that capture the beating heart of the young generation, and bringing light, love, and inspiration to as many people as possible.

NOBITA’s new album, BETTERFLY is out now on all digital music platforms worldwide via Sony Music Entertainment.

Source: Nyou

(G)I-DLE UNVEILS NEW VIDEO: I DO - A LOVE STORY IN BANGKOK-FEATURING THAI TALENTS TONTAWAN TANTIVEJAKUL AND JIRAWAT SUTIVANISAK

NEW SINGLE “I DO” OUT NOW. HEAT EP OUT SEPTEMBER 8

Credit: Cho Gi-Seok 88Rising

Following the phenomenal launch of their debut English language single “I DO”, chart-topping girl group (G)I-DLE has unveiled a poignant video love story starring adored Thai talents ‘Tu’ Tontawan Tantivejakul and ‘Dew’ Jirawat Sutivanisak, reuniting the co-stars of hit drama series Boys Over Flowers on-screen once more.

download video still here

WATCH THE VIDEO LOVE STORY HERE

The video love story adds an enchanting dimension to “I DO”, which serves as a captivating first taste of HEAT, (G)I-DLE’s inaugural EP entirely in English. Co-executive produced by 88rising through a new partnership with Cube Entertainment, the heartfelt single highlights emotional vocal prowess of Soyeon, Minnie, Miyeon, Yuqi and Shuhua. The official music video features a beautiful love story portrayed by the members and actor Lee Chaewon, enhancing the depth of the song’s narrative.

WATCH AND STREAM “I DO” HERE

PRE-ORDER HEAT HERE

About (G)I-DLE

(G)I-DLE (여자) 아이들, is one of the reigning K-Pop girl groups today, with over 1.4 billion streams. Since debuting in 2018, (G)I-DLE have set themselves apart by co-producing their own music and creative directing their campaigns. Their biggest hits -  including debut single "LATATA” and the US Top 40-charting "NXDE”, are penned and produced by leader So-yeon, alongside members Minnie, Yuqi, Miyeon, and Shuhua.  (G)I-DLE just released their first all-English single via 88rising, "I DO”, ahead of their HEAT EP this Fall. They will embark on a global tour this Summer including stops in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Paris, London, Berlin and Japan. 

About 88rising

88rising is a pioneering global music and media company representing the best of Asian talent. Since its inception, 88rising has paved the way for many music industry firsts: the first to have an Asian artist top the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop charts, Spotify’s Weekly Global Albums chart and enter the top 10 on Mediabase’s Top 40 chart, the first to launch an all-Asian radio channel in North America, and the first and only record label to have a main stage slot at Coachella. 88rising is also most notably the first company to launch an Asian-centric music festival in the United States, Head in the Clouds Music & Arts Festival, in partnership with powerhouse promoter Goldenvoice. The 5th annual flagship festival sold-out before a lineup was even announced and expanded globally to Jakarta and Manila in December 2022. In 2021, 88rising executive produced and curated the soundtrack to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - Marvel Studios’ first Asian-American superhero. 88rising continues its film endeavors with Jamojaya,  which stars multi-hyphenate Rich Brian and is executive produced by 88rising founder & CEO Sean Miyashiro. The film will premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Previously, in 2019, 88rising was awarded Label of the Year by NetEase, one of the largest music streaming platforms in China. With over 160 million followers across global social media platforms and over 40 billion total streams and views, 88rising’s global influence is undeniable.

CONNECT WITH (G)I-DLE

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | TikTok

Source: Blackstar

PhilPop Himig Handog Songwriting Festival announces top 12 finalists for main competition

The two music institutions have recently launched PhilPopHimig Handog Songwriting Festival, an initiative that champions the next wave of recording superstars and industry titans.

PhilPop Himig Handog Songwriting Festival continues its commitment to empowering the future generation of music industry professionals and hitmakers through its sustainable, world-class mentorship program.

The collaborative project, which was produced and presented by songwriting institutions PhilPop and HimigHandog, kicked off with a Digicamp series that is carefully designed to develop the skillset of aspiring participants in the fields of songwriting, music arrangement and recording, branding, marketing, career development, and intellectual property.

After organizing a two-month workshop-based training and songwriting class for some of the most promising industry hopefuls, the country’s top songwriting competition has finally selected 12 of the best entries that will advance to the main competition:

In alphabetical order, here are the finalists who made it to the PhilPop Himig Handog Songwriting Festival:

Luzon / Bulacan: Rinz Ruiz – “Papahiram”

Luzon / Laguna: Francis Contemplacion – “ATM”

Metro Manila: Tiara Cinco – “Wag Paglaruan”

Metro Manila: Kevin Yadao – “Ghostwriter”

Metro Manila: Rob Angeles – “MHWG”

Metro Manila: Geca Morales – “Langit Lupa”​

Metro Manila: Alvin Serrito – “Kurba”

Visayas / Bacolod: Shantel Lapatha – “Tulala”

Visayas / Cebu: Relden Campanilla – “Dili Nalang”

Visayas / Cebu: Jimmy Grajo – “Salamat (Nga Wala Na Ta)”

Visayas / Bohol: Keith Quito – “Buhi”

Mindanao / Davao: Maric Gavino – “Taliwala”

The entries went through multiple rounds of adjudication,headed by an esteemed panel of Board Members, producers, key leaders, prominent songwriters, and decision-makers affiliated with both PhilPop and Himig Handog.

According to ABS-CBN Music Creative Director Jonathan Manalo, one of the considerations for picking the top songs was based on quality in terms of songwriting and composition. He explains, “It was important to us that the songs were up to the standard that were set by both PhilPop and HimigHandog. We also wanted to see how effective the fellows were in applying the lessons and insights that they’ve learned from the PhilPop Himig Handog DigiCamp. We wanted to challenge the fellows to break borders and push the boundaries of Filipino pop music. Lastly, we also had to factor in the appeal and marketability of the entries since our goal was also for the top songs to appeal to a wide range of Filipino music listeners.”

This year’s PhilPop Himig Handog Songwriting Festival promises to be bigger and bolder as two of the most important songwriting organizations in the country team up to bring export-ready Pinoy Pop to the crux of global dominance. With combined resources and expertise to discover potential greats that could command cultural conversations beyond borders, the collaborative project aims to promote OPM on a scale that’s never been done before: break new territories and captivate the international audience with music that is distinctly global yet very Pinoy.

“We’re excited with this batch of finalists from the PhilPopHimig Handog Songwriting Festival because it’s going to showcase how talented and brilliant Filipino Songwriters are,” said PHILPOP Executive Director Dinah Remolacio. “Fans of both PhilPop and Himig Handog can expect a diverse set of songs, not just in style but also in terms of representation and languages, among others. We also believe that longtime listeners of both organizations can also expect fresh tracks that have the potential to really grow the fanbase of Filipino Pop music. The songs of the Top 12 Finalists are a great representation of the current feel and the latest trends in Filipino Pop Music.”

PhilPop Himig Handog Songwriting Festival is an initiative of Himig Handog and PhilPop Music Foundation. This year’s game-changing event remains unwavering in its obligation to come up with innovative approaches in music-making and songwriting that are at par with international standards. The event is co-presented by Maynilad, Smart Communications, Inc., and TuneCore.

Source: Nyou

BRUNO MAJOR-LONG-AWAITED ALBUM 'COLUMBO'OUT NOW

ACCOMPANIED BY
“THE SHOW MUST GO ON” MUSIC VIDEO

WATCH HERE

Photo Credit: Neil Krug

SET TO PERFORM IN 🇹🇭 BANGKOK, 🇵🇭 MANILA, 🇸🇬 SINGAPORE,
🇮🇩 JAKARTA AND 🇲🇾 KUALA LUMPUR IN AUGUST

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Bruno Major unveiled his latest single â€œThe Show Must Go On”. The song is the final offering from his upcoming album 'Columbo' via Harbour Artists & Music / AWAL Recording. Listen to the song here: brunomajor.ffm.to/tsmgo

“The Show Must Go On” sets the stage for 'Columbo'. A piano flourish giving way to a clean, snare-less drum pattern and guitar strum that conjures the cozy fireside intimacy of Neil Young’s â€œOut on the Weekend.” Bruno’s vocal riffs ebb and flow before the song blossoms into a crescendoing chorus that perfectly illuminates the path for the album ahead. 

The music video for â€œThe Show Must Go On” aligns with the song’s themes of anxiety and public image. The video follows a protagonist who portrays an enormous smile when out with his friends, but when alone, his sparkle diminishes. With a more-than-ever relatable theme, the music video for â€œThe Show Must Go On” brings Bruno’s innermost thoughts to the surface.

Bruno Major – "The Show Must Go On" (Official Video)

“The Show Must Go On” is the final single from 'Columbo', following â€œA Strange Kind Of Beautiful,” “Tell Her,” album title track “Columbo,” and his first new track in three years, â€œWe Were Never Really Friends.” RIFF Magazine heralds â€œA Strange Kind Of Beautiful” as â€œintrospective…an intimate song that’s as relaxed as Major has intended his music to be.” UPROXX raves, “‘Tell Her’ maintains the moody, jazz-influenced vibes from the pop tracks dropping lately. Major uses his words as wishes that he hopes an ex would hear, or as he notes, ‘taking the words from the sad songs instead.’” Clash praises “Columbo,” calling it “a soothing Spring-like hymn reminiscent of Paul Simon… a sun-drenched piece of melodic songwriting, while the video has a special guest star – Bruno’s 1978 Mercedes 380SL.” “We Were Never Really Friends” was released in May to critical acclaim. Billboard chronicles the track as “... a classic spoil-the-friendship jam that masquerades as a piano ballad before blooming into a lighters-up rock sing-along, complete with a stringy guitar solo.”

Bruno's newest album 'Columbo', the highly-anticipated follow-up to 2020’s 'To Let A Good Thing Die' is a 12-track body of work. It weaves the autobiographical with the observational and stretches Bruno’s palette into new forms, yielding the most accomplished and “honest” expression of his music to date. 

Marking a triumphant return to the stage after his 2020 tour was cancelled due to COVID, Bruno will kick off an expansive headlining tour in Tokyo on August 8th. He will make his way through major cities in Southeast Asia, including his top-10 streaming countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia, before heading to Denver, CO to start the North American leg of the tour on September 4th. Bruno Major's highly anticipated shows in Southeast Asia have generated overwhelming demand, resulting in some countries being sold out.

Upcoming Southeast Asia Tour Dates:

August 13 – Bangkok, Thailand – Voice Space
August 15 – Manila, Philippines – New Frontier Theater *VENUE UPGRADE
August 17 – Singapore, Singapore – Capitol Theatre *SOLD OUT
August 19 – Jakarta, Indonesia – GBK Basketball Hall *SOLD OUT
August 20 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Zepp Kuala Lumpur

Major's talent is undeniable, with an impressive 1.4 billion streams and a consistent monthly average of over 2.4 million streams across multiple music platforms, Bruno Major's music has captivated listeners worldwide and garnered recognition from international publications including Billboard, Rolling Stone, Hypebeast, and more.

About Bruno Major

Bruno Major had an idyllic upbringing in Northampton. In the early 2010s, while in his early twenties, he headed to London to further his music career. A prolific songwriter, he would capture performances on his phone and upload them to Soundcloud. These were recordings devoid of touch-ups and decoration: merely live renditions documented crudely. Even so, A&R folk came flocking. They would message asking, “Who is the singer?”. It was all Major. A jazz degree had played its part in providing a formidable schooling, honing his compositional know-how and impressive guitar chops, but his lilting croon was a surprise even to him. After all, he hadn’t sung until the age of 22. Little did he realise that he was sitting on a voice that evoked the warmth of Nick Drake and Chet Baker.

He was soon snapped up by Virgin Records and furnished with the funds to make an album. Hopes were high as he went into the studio with acclaimed producer Ethan Johns (Paul McCartney, Kings of Leon, Paolo Nutini) a heavy-hitting backing band, including esteemed bass player Pino Palladino, pianist Jason Rebello, and drummer Jeremy Stacey. The album was rejected outright and has never seen the light of day. Major looks back on the experience as being crucial to where he is now: â€œI learned how to make an album,” he says. â€œEven though I'd been dropped by my record label, the fact that Ethan had seen something in me, and Pino thought I was an amazing musician…what my peers thought of me was far more profound and instructive.”
 

Back to the drawing board, down but far from out, Major took to the opposite extreme, sitting in his kitchen with a mic, his guitar, and an 808 drum machine to lay the foundations for what would become his first released album, 2017’s 'A Song for Every Moon'. This was followed in 2020 by his second outing, 'To Let A Good Thing Die', featuring his hit romantic vignette, Nothing.

Whereas previous albums were written on the piano, Major armed himself with no more than a notepad, a pen, and an acoustic guitar for 'Columbo'. â€œI wrote pretty much all of the songs like that,” he says. Writing took place over six months and, aside from his LA memories, a musical diet of Arthur Shauf’s 2016 concept album, 'The Party', Bach and Billy Joel fuelled his process. Then there’s Paul Simon, whose influence courses through the title track’s intricate guitar pattern and aching vocal. Major declares Simon “a hero” and “the musician’s musician”, whose quixotic impulses and commitment to the songwriting cause is a blueprint for how he would like to approach his own career. In short: nothing is off limits. The door is open, the antennae are switched on. The possibilities are endless.

“I'm a songwriter at heart and the song is what carries my music through,” he explains. Lyrics must have substance and music must convey feeling. These are non-negotiables. â€œFor me, the magic of songwriting is the interplay between words and the music.” He continues: â€œI'm a perfectionist and I'm incredibly fastidious: everything's overthought, edited and fiddled with, and it takes a long long time.”

Major and his longstanding collaborator Finlay Robson AKA Phairo (“Meeting Finn really defined the sound of my music,” he says) produced the album over a year. The chaos that had fuelled the writing was offset by the steady comfort of recording in familiar surroundings: his converted bedroom that now functions as a studio. When they wrapped, Major decided he’d name the record after his written-off Mercedes. The reason is simple, and powerful too: “that car - more than any other song - is representative of the whole feeling and period of writing the album,” he shares.


'Columbo' raises its curtain with "The Show Must Go On", a piano flourish giving way to a clean, snare-less drum pattern and guitar strum that conjures the cosy fireside intimacy of Neil Young’s "Out on the Weekend". â€˜If you’re always putting on a show/You lose yourself before you know’ comes the pre-chorus cry. â€œIt is the only [song] that really focuses on my sort of personal viewpoint,” confides Major. It, therefore, felt like a natural opening gambit to “introduce” the album, he says.
 

Elsewhere, "Tell Her" is a slice of simmering R&B, while the heart-breaking "Tears in Rain" is dedicated to his late grandmother. The song posits questions – “the little details” – to his late loved one that he never asked while she was here, expressing regret and longing for the time they’ll meet again. "18" extrapolates his conflicting emotions regarding two family friends who committed suicide 16 years ago (‘I’m twice the age you’ll ever be’, he sings).


"We Were Never Really Friends"  is about a relationship gone wrong, while "You Take the High Road" summons the spirit of Elliott Smith in its haunting vocal and sparse guitar. "Trajectories" is the third instalment of a series that started with "Places We Don't Walk" on his debut and the title track from the second album. “'Trajectories' feels like the [final] trilogy [piece],” he says. "The End" rounds off the album, featuring a soaring solo that recalls the perennial influence, Queen, and more pertinently, Brian May.

“Something I've managed to do with Columbo more than any other album is find a way of saying exactly what I want to say,” reveals Major. â€œThe album investigates my personal relationships with people and other things. It is self-diagnosis on a grander scale.”

“All I focused on from the age of seven was my guitar; and whether it was learning jazz, or learning how to write songs, or learning how to produce, this album particularly feels like the reason I did all of that. I'm so proud of it. I feel peace in a way that I've never felt peace before because I feel I've done what I owed myself.” he says.“I've been dedicated to art my whole life,” Crucially, Major feels that all roads have led to 'Columbo'


'Columbo' is Bruno Major’s defining statement to date. A musician who wears his heart (and art) on his sleeve, this is the sound of an artist who risked it all and somehow made it back to shore.
 

'Columbo' Tracklist:

1. The Show Must Go On
2. Tell Her
3. Columbo
4. We Were Never Really Friends
5. When Can We Be
6. A Strange Kind Of Beautiful
7. You Take The High Road
8. 18
9. Tears In Rain (for Granny)
10. St. Mary’s Terrace
11. Trajectories
12. The End

Listen to â€œThe Show Must Go On” here: brunomajor.ffm.to/tsmgo 
Stream the album 'Columbo' here: brunomajor.ffm.to/columboalbum

Source: Blackstar