As part of BusinessMirror’s campaign to promote everyone’s safety and well-being during the global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have invited established and independent artists to perform at least one song in their own homes while urging everyone to stay indoors.
Ryan Madrid is a singer-songwriter who considers himself “a lifelong student of the raw, Filipino life.” A big fan of Original Pilipino Music, he was a fellow in last year’s PhiliPop Songwriting Camp. Ryan said he turned to songwriting because he wanted to express “the Filipino life as he has felt it: through joy and pain, love and despair, closeness and distance” through what he calls, “Saktong Musik” which is also the name of his Facebook page.
Ryan describes his musical partner, Mherreil Quiano as a church-trained singer with “a firm alto voice that is perfect for songs of strength and inspiration.”
“Mherreil does not simply impose vocal style but rather sublimates her own raw experiences into emotions for the song,” he added.
Gracing SoundStrip Live & in Quarantine, the duo performs their uplifting original song, “Dito” from their 2020 six-track EP, Magsibalik. In the context of the song, the word “Dito” refers to the place called home.
“Although one may venture out and away, the place ‘Dito’ stays ever the same and is filled with friends and loved ones who await his or her return,” he further explains.
Dubbed as “Mga Awitin ng mga Taga-Rito, all original, all local,” Magsibalik also features several other emerging artists and is now available on Spotify and other digital/streaming music platforms.