Brave the Weather with Converse Counter Climate

Weather in the Philippines has always been unpredictable, and so we have found ways to battle it head on – whether it's hot and sunny or cold and rainy, we're always prepared to go out and about. How timely is it that Converse launched their new Counter Climate Collection prior to the stormy season, so we can all gear up and tackle the monsoon. The collection uses materials that shield (your feet) against the rain; materials such as water repellent canvas, rubber and leather, and waterproof neoprene. The technology is used in three Converse silhouettes: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star II, Converse Cons One Star and Converse Jack Purcell Signature. With this, the Counter Climate Collection follows both form and function. Featured here is our favorite of them all, the Converse Jack Purcell Collection. View all the other models and more info about the collection at the Converse Philippines page.

Quality Barbershop and Café resides in a Container Van in Pampanga

I think by now you know how the men's grooming industry has grown in the past couple of years. With numerous new barbershops, pomade brands, and men's grooming products around, it's not surprising that the culture and community around it is thriving. And because of this, there is now a bigger number of men who value grooming more, while some even find opportunities in the growing trend. The exact reason for the establishment of Noble Pomades, the idea that spurred from the growing market that's spilling over to other places in the Philippines like Pampanga, where the owners are located. The humble success in bazaars and online selling led to the container barbershop concept they have today. From homemade pomades, the Noble team has extended their services to haircuts, grooming and drinks. Quite a big step up, for sure. That's why we're intrigued to know more about this progressive brand, so we've talked to Carlo Castillo, one of the founders and owners, about the idea behind Noble Barbershop & Café.

"we think that if there's one special thing that shows a personality of a man, despite how he dresses and carries himself, it's his haircut."

Interview by Marvin Conanan and photos by Roma Vitug

Who are the founders of Noble Barbers?

The founding partners were Me (Carlo Castillo), Lorenz Rances, Lester Rances, Darren Hizon, and Miguel Evangelista. Our shop started this year with the help of Mikee Yabut, our managing partner, who's handling the nitty-gritty part of the business. We gained followers too when we did pop-up barber services through bazaars both in Manila and Pampanga, but since we really want to bring the culture back then to our own locals here, we've decided to establish a container shop here instead.

What's the inspiration behind Noble Barbers? What made you pursue a business in men's grooming?

Our interest in the field was clearly inspired by the local emerging field in barber and pomades back in 2014, so we started our own pomade by 2015 and selling small scale through the help of our friends - who are doing meet-ups with buyers - within the metro. Actually, I'm more into design and branding, after I left the design studio, Miguel - who was really one of the main follower of the culture - inspired me to start a business with him. My goal was really just to spread good design through packaging, posters, photos, and later on, with the videos and the interiors and details of the shop, but as the time goes, we learned to live by the culture day to day.

What is the story behind the brand name?

Inspired by the movies, Kingsman and Great Gatsby, we've taken the whole concept of nobility and the design of each movie then applied it to our products and packaging. And we really live with these words from Ernest Hemingway saying, "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self."

Can you share to us a few things about your drinks menu?

We do have non-alcoholic drinks like iced coffee, lemonades, and floats, which we also infuse with vodka and rum as per guest's preference aside from our alcoholic beverages. We source our beans from Kidapawan and have it dark-medium roasted by our friend in Manila, while our lemons come from Baguio. We don't have a trained barista, as we only do and mix everything on our own with the help of our friends, and through watching tutorials from Youtube.

Why is men's grooming important for you guys?

Since we're a barbershop, we think that if there's one special thing that shows a personality of a man, despite how he dresses and carries himself, it's his haircut.

You started with pomades, then a barbershop and cafe this year, what should we expect next?

We're actually planning to build a mall under our name. Haha! Well, seriously, we don't know yet, but gaining a lot of positive feedback from our guests really excites us to build another branch, however, we're still torn between branching out, or making another brand but with a higher target market and foot traffic area. Nevertheless, we'll be letting you know as soon as we know our progress.

New Brand Tomorrow Takes Today by Storm with their Debut Collection

When looking at the casual wear scene, there's a certain thread to be found across all brands. The kind of edgy, devil-may-care sort of vibe that's one part anarchy, and one part good fun. Which isn't bad, but you'd sometimes wonder if there's anything more to the scene.

Enter Tomorrow - from the tandem of Tim Lopez and Andrew Panopio - the local clothes brand that's injecting a more positive spin to the usual narrative. Envisioning messages of hope, timelessness, and looking forward, Tomorrow's brand is one that ultimately combines the "good vibe" feel of other street bands, while transcending.

Power Mac Center’s Sync Sessions Returns with Free Workshops and Indie Performances

Power Mac Center stays true to its mother brand’s trademark of innovation with the return of Sync Sessions. Now on its third installment, Sync Sessions is designed to celebrate the power of apps, accessories, and Apple devices in music-making. Running from September to October, Sync Sessions will feature Masterclass sessions with local music greats like Gary Valenciano, Urbandub’s Gabby Alipe, and Raimund Marasigan. 

More than the Masterclass sessions, a Logic Pro X training for beginners will be led by De La Salle College of St. Benilde music professor Teresa Barrozo. The free training will be held on September 25, October 5, and October 23. Aspiring musicians can register for the training through this link.

To showcase homegrown music talent, independent acts BP Valenzuela, The Ransom Collective, and CRWN with Jess Connelly will also perform in select Power Mac Center branches on September 24, October 8, and October 22, respectively. 

For more information, you can visit www.powermaccenter.com and follow @powermaccenter on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Snapchat. 

We talked to Artists and Fans at the Urban Jam 2016 about Hip hop Music and Culture

It was a rainy day last August 27, but people were not deterred to show up at Bridgetowne Open Grounds, Quezon City for Urban Jam 2016. From rap aficionados, graffiti writers, to hip hop dancers, the place was filled with positive energy that winds and raindrops can't repel. With the music performances headed by Mobb Deep and Skratch Bastid, and flanked by local acts headed by BLKD, Batas, Anygma, and Loonie, everybody was definitely hyped. They were all down to bump their heads to banging beats and sick rhymes. Every artist definitely brought it, from young cats; Tatz and Tweng, to veterans like Dash and Kemikal Ali.

Here are some photos from the event, plus a quick interview with some of the hip hop heads in attendance to provide you a better view of what went down. You will also have some insights on what it is to be hip hop, and the outlook that they have for our scene.

"When I went to (play) other music, they were like, "we want some more hip hop" which was really cool. I like that. True hip hop fans." 

- Skratch Bastid

Interview by David Villania III and photos by Tristan Tamayo

1. What can you say about the crowd at Urban Jam?

Protege, Emcee & Producer

I think it was a pretty diverse hip hop crowd. You had the old school heads, the newer younger generation, the hard-core supporters of the local scene, the fans of the international acts, and also some non-hip hop people, seeing them all for the first time.

Skratch Bastid, DJ

Well the crowd at Urban Jam is a very hip hop crowd. It was really cool to come here and play new hip hop, old school hip hop, classic hip hop, everything. When I went to (play) other music, they were like, "we want some more hip hop!" which was really cool. I like that. True hip hop fans.

Sloj, Producer

I thought it was dope that there were a lot of familiar heads that night, but I also wished there were more of them. Also enjoyed watching break crews and their cyphers. It was great that people were still into the show despite the bad weather.

Dash, Emcee & Producer

Fun, everyone had a great time and loving every minute of it to last drop, despite the weather and all. Classic moment.

Batas, Emcee

Well, they were very interactive regardless of the rain, it didn't bother them to watch and listen in front of the stage. It was a good crowd.

Kemikal Ali, Emcee

The Urban Jam crowd had a majority of the real heads. The rain didn't stop them at all.

Umph, Producer

I saw some real hip hop heads in the crowd, from old school to new.

Skratch Bastid

Goriong Talas, Batas, & Sayadd (Illustrado) 

Anygma

2. What is the first song that got you into hip hop?

Anygma, Emcee

I can't say that just one song got me into hiphop but one of the earlier actual rap songs that I can remember was "Lodi Dodi" by Snoop. I was probably 9 or 10 years old and the storytelling really got me, partly too 'cos it was very explicit. haha!

Joshua Cesario, Graphic Artist

"Ilibing ng Buhay" by Death Threat.

Havoc, Emcee

For me, I think it was Kurtis Blow with his song, "Basketball".

Cedric Cordero, Videographer

Foreign track: "My Adidas" by Run DMC, local track: "Mga Kababayan" by Francis M.

Meow, Emcee & Graffiti Artist

I remember my father always made me sing "Humanap ka ng Panget" by Andrew E when I was a kid, but I can't say that I got into hip hop because of that. There wasn't really a specific song but some of the first hip hop albums that my cousin and I listened to were from Bone Thugs, Death Threat, Sun Valley Crew and Urban Flow.

Mon Punzalan, DJ

I grew up in Novaliches, mobile sound systems were popular that time. "Paid in Full" by Eric B and Rakim, that was the most popular song back then.

Tatz, Emcee & Producer

The first song, I think (is) "If I Rule the World" by Nas. That's also the first beat that I wrote to.

Havoc & Prodigy (Mobb Deep)

3. What is your fondest memory as a hip hop artist? 

Prodigy, Emcee

When we did that song with Rakim. That was crazy doing a song with Ra.

Kemikal Ali

Fondest memory was me spittin' in front of Andrew E at the parking lot of Greenhills Sound Studios. I think that was 1994 or early 95. I couldn't come up with a demo tape so I went at it.

Skratch Bastid

It's probably building a friendship with DJ Jazzy Jeff. It's not really one memory in particular, but he's my idol, my hero. And now he's my friend and we work on stuff together. It's more of a life direction, and I'm very happy about that because he's an amazing person and I think, together we're doing some really fun stuff for DJ.

Dash

Fondest memory is when we first performed at Boom Boom in Pasay in 1993 with Masta Plann, Death Threat and our mentor and producer Boom! That was our first ever big debut as Legit Misfitz. And then there was 2008 First Asian Hip Hop fest with the BeatMathics and (we) performed in front of 50,000 people when we opened up for Nas. We did our set and killed it, ended it with Pambansang Kamao, no doubt!

Anygma

Man, I really hate these questions 'cos it requires me to rank things. But off the top at the moment, maybe not exactly my fondest, more like one of my proudest moments, was actually making it to Toronto for World Domination 4 despite the insane flooding, being fucked over by the embassy 'cos they just didn't open my application despite it being submitted 9 weeks prior, me breaking down, trying every possible and potentially illegal way to convince them to grant me my visa. Having slept only like 15 hours in 5 days, not sleeping on the entire 22+ hour flight, (and) arriving a day late for the 2-day event, being picked up by the homies, getting to the venue straight from the airport, and battled on stage in like 15 minutes upon arriving. I feel like it was one of my better showings as well. But yeah, everything about that trip, it was really crazy, I can probably tell it better in person and with more self incriminating details too. haha!

Meow

I miss the times when you would really have to search for hip hop. Everything is on the Internet now. Back then I keep switching from one music video channel to another just to see if they would be playing hip hop. Aside from Channel V and MTV, there was Channel O, which I think was an African network that played a lot of rap, from Ghostface to Dizzee Rascal. I went to every record bar I could find to search for tapes and CDs. If I wanted to check out an artist's album, I couldn't just download the whole thing or listen to it on Youtube or Spotify,  I would have to search Limewire or Kazaa, then download whatever song is available.

Havoc

One of my fondest memories in hip hop is going gold for the first time. One of our albums going gold, that was pretty dope.

Tatz

This right now, Urban Jam. My first real, real, real hip hop performance.

Dash

KJah

DJ Teaze

BLKD

4. What do you want to happen to the hip hop culture in the Philippines?

Protege

I personally would like to see our hip hop culture and its artists gain more international audience. People need to know what we do out here, and the history runs deep. At the same time, we have emcees who rap in English that non-Filipinos worldwide should listen to, as well as some of the best musicians, producers, and DJs.

Umph

I would want more original sounds to come out of the scene.  Like stuff that doesn't sound like it has a peg.

Joshua Cesario

On the real though, more money to circulate in the scene, so that the artists can get paid right. Even the people behind the scene: organizers, graphic designers, video directors, etc. So that there's a budget to play around with, to execute ideas and concepts.

Sloj

That there will be more heads who understand what's going on.

Batas

I want it to grow bigger and bigger. I hope the quality evolves and evolves.

Kemikal Ali

I wanted it to blow up (like) back then. Now I just want the true hardworking individuals to get what they deserve. Get respected, be supportive of each other and get paid. That's, get paid right.

Cedric Cordero

I want it grow more even-though it is already happening,. More critical listeners. More tastemakers. Less cheapskates and fakers.

Meow

More foreign acts, more big events/hip hop festivals with all the hip hop elements present.

***

Music festivals like Urban Jam are a boost to a local music scene. There is nothing like watching international acts perform live and, if you're lucky, interact with them even just for a bit. Come April next year, better not miss out because the organizers are gearing up for Urban Jam 2017. Philippine hip hop stand up! 

Loonie

Tweng

Red-I

Skarm

DJ Buddah

Curtismith

DJ Kimozave

D-Coy

Sud goes louder than usual with their new music video for "How We Play"

Seven-piece alternative soul band Sud has been one of today's popular acts in the indie music scene. After having fans sing in unison to their slow jams "Smilky" and "Sila", they decided to switch it up with their latest music video for their song "How We Play". Watch on as two girls roam the streets, having their own version of fun with reckless abandon. We asked frontman Sud Ballecer a few questions to give us an insight of how everything came to fruition:

What makes "How We Play" different from your previous songs?

It sounds different compared to our slow and sexy sounding songs. It has a heavier feel and it's very aggressive.

How did the idea for the music video came about? Who came up with the storyline, etc.?

Enzo Valdez, our manager and the music video director was the one who came up with the concept. He wanted it to be colorful, intense and fast paced, just like our song.

What do you guys want to convey with the music video? How is it connected to the song?

We just want to let the people know that we will continue creating our music the way we want it.

Is the last scene connected to any future music videos or anything you guys will come up next?

We'll be releasing a few more videos before the year ends. Watch out for that!

***

The band just got on a magazine cover last August and is slowly breaking through mainstream as television networks are starting to showcase them. With more people taking notice, there are those who have said less positive things about the group and their works. But for those who dig what they do, you can count on Sud to provide you with what brought them here in the first place: their own kind of music.

Stargate x Urban Trilogy "Deliver Us, From Evil" Capsule Collection

The emerging local skate brand and collective, Stargate has recently partnered with newly born brand, Urban Trilogy for a Capsule Collection. Inspired by the demons, hell, and the dark side in totality, the collection expresses the raw rebelliousness and devil-may-care attitude. The aptly named "Deliver Us, From Evil" Capsule Collection features graphic t-shirts - a skate ensemble staple, sweatshirts and short sleeved button-downs. The collaboration collection was released through an event last September 24, 2016. Both brands' skate teams were there to join in the launch of the collection. Rap Santos, Aliza Alejandre, Brian Vallescas, Allen "Renzo" Dizon, Pao Mendoza, June Braga, and Jordy Barreyro shred with their skateboards as much as they celebrated with Stargate and Urban Trilogy. You can view below the event recap video to see what happened last Saturday, plus the full lookbook and video presentation for the collection.