MANILA, Philippines - Summer solstice it’s one of those terms I’ve never quite forgotten since my grade school days in CSA (kind of like the mystery of transubstantiation, you know, where water turns to wine, GMRC, or the Maria Cristina falls). It’s when daytime is longer than the nighttime, my science teacher explained, as opposed to winter solstice when the night is longer than the day. But if last Saturday’s 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. CloseUp Summer Solstice was any indication of a scientific reversal, not to mention the non-stop partying that happened, courtesy of the world’s top EDM acts, then chances are my science teacher had it all wrong and Manila’s music festival scene is well on its way to becoming the new experiential norm.
History lesson
April 27 was a date that was marked on our calendars since the launch of CloseUp Summer Solstice early this year. Brand manager John Imperial teased of “a new adventure†that would follow suit with CloseUp’s iconic musical heritage that it’s established via its timeless commercials and record-breaking events like Lovapalooza.
Drawing on the collective celebrity power of the likes of Enrique Gil, Rocco Nacino and Colleen Garcia, not to mention online support from bloggers Kryz Uy, Vern and Verniece Enciso and David Guison, and endorsement from social scene staples Mike Concepcion, Carla Humphries and Nicole Andersson, the festival lineup was duly announced, titillating Manila’s musical radar.
Cobra Starship who we all remember for their hit single Good Girls Go Bad, Grammy-winning music producer and DJ Afrojack, French DJ Cedric Gervais who is responsible for 2012’s runaway EDM hit Molly, Apster, and Italian DJ Alex Gaudino have confirmed to lend their star power to the CloseUp Summer Solstice stage. Other acts that were set to perform were Dev, the female voice behind Like a G6 and Bass Down Low, Jump Smokers, and local acts like Sandwich, Spongecola and Urbandub, the latter of which kicked off last Saturday’s proceedings.
Hot child in the City
Not even the bipolar weather could prevent Manila’s party animals and culture vultures from heading down to the Mall of Asia concert grounds last Saturday, a stone’s throw away from where last year’s Manila Music Festival was held, as the venue became a local simulation of Belgium’s Tomorrowland or Las Vegas’ Electric Daisy Carnival. The heat was palpable but so was the energy that vacillated from one sweaty person to the next.
Endorser Ava Daza, who was seen partying it up in the elevated VIP area, recalls, “Last Saturday was one of my best nights out in Manila. The music, the crowd, and the setup were amazing!†Meanwhile, stylist Sean Go who found himself in the middle of all the action, exclaims, “(Summer Solstice) is ironically the most memorable music festival I’ve been to in Manila, considering that I’ve forgotten most of what happened when I woke up the next day.â€
Expectations were high but these were met with respectable nods from Manila’s nocturnes and palpable excitement on social media, as exhibited by everyone’s Instagram feeds that literally became a gallery display of raised hands, floral headdresses, printed tanks, and laser green light à la J.Lo’s Waiting for Tonight. For those like Sean, perhaps this was all they needed to be reminded of the fun times and crazy proceedings that happened that evening.
Hard-hitting, high-octane, and drilling banger after banger as the night unfolded, the DJs made the silences in between sets reprehensible as audiences yearned for more and more of their intoxicating dark beat. It was impossible not to throw your hands up, toss your hair (and body) around, and get with the program (yes, even for not-so-regular club goers like myself). Young PR practitioner Gerick Ortiz chimes in, “It was an awesome event to educate Filipinos on how music festivals are done internationally. It showed how the Philippines is very much ready to be the next big destination for music festivals.â€
CloseUp Summer Solstice was a music celebration that cut across boundaries of age, musical preferences and demographics. It was a night of “fun personified†that you would have had to experience to render it precisely in words. As Ava mentioned, it was definitely one of the best nights that Manila has had for awhile. Now, off to Wanderland!
Rise of the Cobra
Young Star caught up with Ryland Blackinton and Alex Suarez of American dance-pop band Cobra Starship on Leighton Meester, gypsy jazz, and wait for it, Freddie Prinze Jr.
YOUNGSTAR: So how did the name Cobra Starship come about?
ALEX: Gabe (Saporta) had a couple of jackets. One said Starship Disco on the back, and the other one had cobras on it. And he just kind of mashed them together.
If there was an actual Cobra Starship, what would it look like?
RYLAND: It would be a space vessel, with scales all over it! Ha ha!
Besides the kind of music you’re already doing, what other genres do you like listening to?
A lot of disco music, old school disco, funk music…
ALEX: Disco house…
RYLAND: We’re also fans of gypsy jazz, French jazz from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s — a little bit of everything.
ALEX: Classic rock and roll.
How do you guys get inspiration for your songs?
RYLAND: I like to put a movie on, and I set up all my equipment. When I get inspired, I turn off the sound and the movie keeps playing.
What movie was Good Girls Go Bad inspired by?
RYLAND: That one would have to be, wait, what’s the one with Freddie Prinze Jr.?
ALEX: Oh yeah, She’s All That!
So how’d you guys hook up with Leighton Meester for Good Girls Go Bad?
RYLAND: We willed it to happen!
Which other artists do you guys want to work with?
RYLAND: Justin Timberlake.
ALEX: Rihanna would be awesome.