Philippine Aeropress Championship 2015

The continuous rise of specialty coffee in the Philippines have brought a lot of new exciting things for the coffee-loving population. In addition to having the best coffee in the country, the collective of shops and coffee purveyors continue to push the movement to higher levels. This is through putting up more shops, educating more people and creating a bustling community around what they are passionate about. One thing they just recently did is to host the Philippine leg of the World Aeropress Championship, where the winner will be going to Seattle, U.S. to represent the country. Watch the video above to see what happened in Yardstick on the night of the competition. Kaye Ong of Habitual Coffee took home the crown this year, while Toby's Estate's Larry Andrada and Craft Coffee Workshop's Mark Kenneth Santos took home second and third place, respectively.

Source: World Aeropress Championship

Single and Unattached 2015 Recap Video

The surf-lifestyle brand, Coast Thru Life, hosted Single and Unattached a month ago. It is a single-fin surfing competition that was held in San Juan, La Union. This year's event was sanctioned by the Asian Surfing Championships which made it the more prestigious for all local surfers and competitors. The competition lasted for two days with a music festival on the night of awarding. If you missed it, check out the video above to have a glimpse of what happened on that two-day event.

Cabu - In Your Room (Feat. Hana ACBD)

In this time of emergence of numerous young and talented producers, it's quite hard and easy to be heard of. Cabu, a producer with an R&B flair is worth the listen. His latest release features Hana ACBD to complement his smooth tunes for "In Your Room". It's something like a calm river flowing at night, with gusts of wind hitting the trees around momentarily. Cabu provides a silky flow with electronic essentials to keep it interesting, while Hana ACBD completes the experience with her sultry vocals. You can have a listen of the track below.


Source: Vandals On The Wall

#GirlsGoneYStyle: The Female Body Politic

In accordance with the Women’s International Month, these independent women parted their own experiences and understanding about different sectors of our society. They have conquered their respective fields amidst evident diversity. These nine professional women discuss on how they have achieved their statuses and everything they are now. Tackling how one can decipher his or her passion to overcoming hurdles throughout the process. Also, topics such as gender politics, female role models, empowerment of women, and female representation are discussed all the way through the article. Read more about these incredible and inspiring women here. Below are some of the women who will inspire us with their personal experiences.

Celine Escaler - Executive Chef at Stockton Place

Vanessa Maynard - Executive assistant to the Secretary for the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)

Cha Sancho - Pilot for Philippine Airlines

Natashya Gutierrez - Multimedia reporter for Rappler

Roberta Limjap and Anna Zavalla - Founders of furniture brand, Rawtura

Source: Philstar

Uncovering Battle Rap with Fliptop's Anygma by Red Bull

Red Bull has recently caught up with Alaric Riam Yuson, more known as Anygma, the co-founder of the prominent hiphop battle league, Fliptop. The sudden rise of hiphop in the Philippines through this league has been nothing short of compelling. Though, full of misconceptions, it has truly set the bars high for the culture. Giving birth to various new names in the industry, creating significant following for the scene and its artists, Anygma's passion project has made its point. However, he specifies that though it arrived to mainstream consciousness quickly, it is still not in its full potential, the hiphop scene in the country. This is heavily due to the ill-informed and unsupportive corporate entities and organizations that can help progress the culture, but does otherwise. 

“Believe it or not I’ve even had a motel chain and a condom company turn down our sponsorship proposals because we weren’t wholesome by their standards. In other words, unless the mainstream is willing to accept or at least be open-minded about hiphop in its entirety, it will not be easier to change the Philippine rap scene for the better by partnering with them.”

“FlipTop was able to achieve what none of these heavily funded, profit-oriented organizations would ever have the brains or balls of doing. We brought such a niche and frowned-upon culture to mainstream-like awareness with nothing more than a Facebook account, a YouTube account, and a lot of hard work," Anygma said. 

It is more than just growing the market and earning for the three-man team of Fliptop, it is about imparting the true essence of hiphop and educating people about it. It is very inspiring to see how Anygma is firm about his beliefs about hiphop, and how passionate he is about the art form. Read more about his thoughts about Fliptop and the local hiphop scene here.

Source: Red Bull
Photos by Nina Sandejas

Threedown Pre-Summer Release 2015

Threedown presents its Pre-Summer collection which should slowly get you in the mood for another hot summer. Drawing inspiration from Japanese culture and the foundation of staying true to yourself, this collection integrates these inspirations into simple and basic tees for your everyday get-up-and-go. Each alludes to either something close to Japanese ethics or embracing hate. Threedown continues its culture of rebellious subculture, while constantly taking cues form a wide range of sources. The release is consisted of three tees - namely, "Nippon" which comes in Blue Tiger and Red Snake, and "Embrace Hate". Each tee comes in White and exceeds negative space. Each purchased shirt comes together with a sticker pack, its quite the package. Check Threedown online.

Public School and Sacai arrive in Manila

The Philippine fashion scene is getting more and more interesting every year. From mainstream brands taking over the fast-fashion movement locally and local designers getting out in the market and receiving more awareness, we are seeing a very fast shift of trends, behavior and tastes. With these changes, the high-end fashion industry is also not letting up. Manila-based high-end fashion retailer, Univers, just recently acquired and housed New York menswear brand, Public School and progressive Japanese fashion brand, Sacai. Univers is known for housing fashion brands that are obscure from mainstream consciousness, but are well-respected by fashion enthusiasts worldwide. If you are looking to find yourself a high-quality piece of clothing, you can now check out the pieces from Public School and Sacai in the Univers boutique in Rockwell.

Source: Philstar

The Assembly Generals Self-Titled Album

Another hip-hop group has been working their way through the scene since last year, silently pushing their way through recording and producing their own material and then bursting into a hip-hop powerhouse with their uptempo syncopated beats led by strong, unadulterated lyrics. The group Assembly Generals has made a name for themselves in the hip-hop scene and has released their first original album named "The Assembly Generals" under Lockeddown Entertainment last March 6, 2015. The self-titled album features tracks like Kontrabida, Sa Kalawakan, Everyday Concept and more sure-fire tracks to kill conformity. The Assembly Generals album is now available at The Clothing in Cubao X and Crazy Katsu, Maginhawa St., Quezon City. Listen to their track Kontrabida below to familiarize yourself with their music.