FILIPINO band Legarda will come out in a split record with The Saddest Landscape (TSL), a group from Boston, USA. Along with Legarda, the American band recorded their show at Mow’s while on a tour of the Philippines in December 2017.
The Pinoy crew impressed their US counterparts so much that they were invited to share a split release that came out just last March.
Legarda is a post-hardcore/spoken word band whose music also crosses over into shoegaze territory. Its members include guitarist-vocalist Keith Dador, drummer Gerald Grimaldo, bassist Ebong Linan and guitarist Sharen De Guzman.
“TSL playing in Manila is a dream come true for a lot of folks in the local hardcore scene,” intimated Dador. “The boys and girls in Sleeping Boy Collective put up an amazing show for them; the energy and positivity that our small community puts out impressed TSL and they took notice. We just played our assess off that night and had a great time.”
Dador continued, “I was in the back of Mow’s checking out the merchandise while TSL were playing and could barely make out what Andy (Maddox, the band’s vocalist-guitarist) was saying. All I could remember was that he mentioned our name, the community we have here, and something about recording.”
He went on, “A few weeks later, Saturnine Audio (the crew that recorded the show) informed us that TSL wanted to do a split-release with Legarda. After a few delays with communication because it has been a hectic month with work, lyrics, photos, and liner notes, we were shown the cover art. We are more than honored and very thankful for this gesture. I still cannot wrap my head around this.”
The 7-inch split record is available in limited release through TSL’s website, thesaddestlandscape.bigcartel.com. It is included in the “TSL Because You Love Us” bundle that contains the “War on Nostalgia” three-LP box set, a special edition t-shirt and other freebies. Copies of the split record will also be available from Legarda, but in limited numbers.
“This record is definitely inspiring for everyone in our band,” enthused Dador. “For an influential outfit like TSL to give recognition to our music—[it] is just insane,” Legarda’s frontman declared.
Unlike other underground bands, the Filipino group hardly does the club circuit.
“We rarely play live. Everyone is working. Two of us do photography, video and communications work full time. I also juggle my time teaching and that takes so much energy,” divulged Dador.
“The other half of the band run their own food businesses and that needs a lot of focus and care. It’s a struggle (to also have a band), but we love what we do. The band is a ‘release’ of sorts. We’re getting our stuff together though. We have plans of recording real soon and for the first time in years, we are able to write new material.”
The Filipino underground punk and hardcore scene has been very active, if not industrious. The end of March 2018 has seen the release of an EP vinyl Pilipinas Hardcore as well as cassette releases from Reyerta, Realidad and Curse/Gift, while there had been CD releases from Staid.
Laterally in other musical genres, electronic artist Pamcy Fernandez’s Piso Isa was released on cassette by Australian label Healthy Tapes while metal band Mass Hypnosia had their album Toxiferous Cyanide recently put out by Swedish label I Hate Records. Filipino punk band Bad Omen will also release their sixth album later this year, also on vinyl.