Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, Joss Stone headline Malasimbo Music Festival 2013
Third time’s the charm!
On its third year, the annual Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival, happening in Puerto Galera, Mindoro from March 1-3, 2013, promises to draw the biggest crowds yet.
Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff top bills the second day of the Festival while blues siren Joss Stone closes the Festival. Filipino art-folkies Grace Nono-Bob Aves Group headline the opening day.
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Each day, new local acts will support the headliners. At the press briefing at the Sofitel Hotel on Jan. 16, the organizers announced that four relatively unheard of acts have already signed on to play at the Festival. They are punk-electronica outfit Similar Objects, Davao-based ethnic funkateers Jazlagiba, soul providers Yolanda Moon and lounge explorers Ivan Theory.
More new acts will be announced this month.
U.K. paper sings praises
Concurrent with the music fest will be the visual installations on show at the sprawling Malasimbo Sculpture Garden. Joining the growing family of Malasimbo visual artists this year are Indonesia’s Agus Kama Luedin, the duo Francis Sollano and Mona Alcudia from Cebu and sculptor Raphael David.
Last year’s event has already received strong interest from the foreign press. Writing for U.K.’s The Guardian newspaper, Paul MacIness expressed, “There (was) a real sense of celebration to every performance and to be exposed to such a range of new music in one place…”
He described the motley of sounds (at Malasimbo) to encompass “all strands of Filipino music, from soul to jazz, hip-hop to beat music, psych rock and as many permutations of dub reggae as you can imagine.”
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Also in 2012, German electronica group Jazzanova reworked Joe Bataan’s “Ordinary Guy” for Malasimbo Recordings. Of Filipino heritage, Joe Bataan, the King of Latin soul, headlined the 2012 edition of the Malasimbo Arts Festival. The recording is available on Sonar Recordings online.
Getting the formula
After two years of experimenting with formats, the organizers are upbeat that Malasimbo Festival 2013 will provide the template for the future.
Hubert D’Aboville, president of major Festival partner, D’Aboville Foundation, said, “We may have finally developed the formula for making the Malasimbo Arts Festival a truly unique life-changing experience. It has already been recognized for its musical and artistic sophistication. We would like to tell the world that the Festival also offers high level of adventure, environmental consciousness and eco-cultural concern.”
Part of last year’s proceeds went to a reforestation project in Puerto Galera and provided seed money for the installation of solar energy in an Iraya Mangyan village in Baclayan, Puerto Galera.
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A Mangyan Village Exhibit featuring seven indigenous home-styles has been a fixed feature on the festival grounds since Year 0. The exhibit is part of the Foundation’s long-term mission for the preservation and proliferation of the indigenous Mangyan written language.
Tapping the ‘synergy of mountain surroundings’
To ensure a high-quality musical experience, DJ and sound engineer Miro Grgic of Volume Unit Entertainment, the festival technical management partner, said, “(The sound and lighting systems) will not be the usual rock festival gear. We will be installing equipment that will tap the synergy of the mountain surroundings, the sonics of the natural amphitheater and the music that will be played.”
When the Festival debuted in 2011, it attracted 1,500 individuals. Festival attendance more than doubled the following year and it is expected that its 2013 edition will draw over 4,500 participants, including tourists from all over the world.
For more information, visit malasimbofestival.com.
