SINYMA

Remember when Artful Dodger reigned supreme over the global dance music charts and everybody knew the chorus to Rewind and Moving Too Fast? 15 years have passed and some electronic musicians, producers and DJs are still trying to get their hands on recreating UK garage, with Disclosure and Alunageorge taking some of its strands to their DNA shot.

Sinyma’s “About It” follows the similar lead with a more contemporary flair: club-pounding beats with glistening pop sensibilities, its aesthetic liberties stripping away the guilt from guilty pleasure. While its appropriation of jittery, 2-step pulse builds fluidly from one progression to another, it is Jessica Connelly’s steady R&B vocals that pack an unexpected caffeine rush to the mix, making everything sound perpetually stylish but still radio-friendly. - Vandals On The Wall

After a crazy year of regrouping, SINYMA has found their groove and is ready to let you feel the magic of their audio-visual brand of electronic. This Friday, everyone is invited to witness the rebirth of this trio at 12 Monkeys, where they’re launching the chromatic music video of About It.


It’s their very first music video so as much as it features the female confidence of About It, it’s also SINYMA introducing themselves to everyone. “It shows us as the (audio-visual) electronic group that we are. The colors you see in the video, that’s what we saw when we wrote the track.” Something to dance to and a visual to behold and experience at the same time? It won’t be a stoic night for sure. At the least some foot-tapping. Plus head-bobbing.


The best part about making the colorful video was working with Marco Limjap, Dino Pastrano and their team. “They made the environment easy and fun to be around!” the band shares. “We thoroughly enjoyed the whole process… and all the food.” - SCOUT Magazine

SINYMA sneaks out of the Manila underground scene with their sultry downtempo sound that experiments with glitch, funk, soul, and disco.

See more at: http://statusmagonline.com/features/sinyma-interview-july-2014/#sthash.reUs5G7E.dpuf

“It’s not like we have to be different, but that’s a side that I like about us: we are three different people and the way it mixes together works really well.”
You played for us at our Sunset Party. What have you been up to since then?
Madz: Of course, rehearsals, polishing our work as we move forward, recording. We finished our single, “About It.”
Cyril: The single is just a teaser, actually. We’re just finishing the rest of the EP, which is going to turn out to be a 6-track EP.
Each of the members brings a different element to the sound. JessCon’s voice has dance-pop vibes like a female Sam Smith, and Silverfilter and Abdel bring the dark electronic sound. It’s difficult to put you int to just one genre, is it your goal to be eclectic and unclassifiable?
Jessica: It’s not like we have to be different, but that’s a side that I like about us: we are three different people and the way it mixes together works really well.
M: It’s a democratic kind of group wherein we get to do whatever. It’s fun.
With such diverse influences, what can we expect in your album?
M: For this one, there’s really no specific sound. Right now, it’s like, “this is what we can do individually but working individually as well on that track.”
C: The EP is a product of Jess and the group from the start. All the different tracks that came into fruition sound a bit different because we were just trying to throw different songs into it and trying to write for this.
J: And this is my first time I write and perform, and it’s as well just that they threw me into it deep and at first I was like, “Omg, what am I doing!?” But it was good that they did that because they constantly set a standard so I just have to keep it there, which is the way that it should be.
“It’s a democratic kind of group wherein we get to do whatever. It’s fun.”
Jessica, how’d you transition from being known as a PBB housemate and roles in ABS-CBN soaps to being a singer of one of Manila’s upcoming underground bands?
We haven’t even been working together for more than a year so over the past year I’ve had a transition. Even if we have to work and meet up at late hours, I have no problem because I like doing it. Whereas before, I call myself a singer, I know I can sing.
I first got into that, sort of entertainment side in Manila, because I came here when I was younger and that’s the first thing that’s exposed to you. But then once I started doing it, it didn’t satisfy me.
Abdel, you’re known as one of the local pioneers of Ableton Live. What makes it your DAW (digital audio workstation) of choice over others like Reason or Fruity Loops?
I’m not like a traditional musician that knows every bit of music theory. Ableton Live made it a lot easier for me to work with known musicians because I’d be able to session my work instantly with that software versus other DAWs. In the very beginning, I started using that back in 2004, 2003, version 3. I just honed and worked with it as it progressed. It’s like an extension for me.
Cyril, aka Silverfilter, you’re considered one of the icons of Manila’s electronica scene and you really lend SINYMA your expertise in that sound. How’d you get involved in the band?
Well, Madz and I go back, way back. 13 years, 12 years? The story is, we’ve always wanted to do something, but he was doing his thing and I was doing my thing. When I say perfect timing, it’s not like it was a perfect season, we bumped into each other at the mall with the same idea, “Dude, let’s do this.”

“That’s the goal, when people see us, they should be like, ‘Wow.'”
You’ve gone the reverse route of most bands by building a buzz around your live performances rather than your studio cuts. How’re you guys developing your plans of turning the group into an audio and visual experience?
C: The plans are really big. We really want it, audio and visual. That’s why we came up with SINYMA, because cinematic. Thing is, it’s hard to get people involved. Going back to what I was saying earlier, the vision of the band, we’re in this for something. It’s hard to get people to be part of the team not because they’re looking for something else, but they’re just not on the same boat, yet. What I mean is, it’s hard to get video guys who want to get involved because everybody’s also trying to make a living here, so we can’t get their committment on that side. As much as we want to do the whole visual thing.
J: But that’s the next thing that we’re working on.
C: We’re trying to get people involved already. Who are the guys who are in it? Before, we weren’t trying to force it but because of our eagerness, we were like, “Let’s just look for someone.”
J: When you’re an independent artist, you do have to build everything from ground up. You can’t just walk up to somebody great and be like, “Can you do this for me? And you know, I’ve got your back sometime.” It’s as well, building the network between the community around you and supporting each other.
M: Recently, a friend of ours just put out a video of us doing a cover mashup on our Facebook. They helped us, documented everything, they videod everything, it was pretty good. Basically, that’s how we’re doing things now. So far, so good. We’ve been getting a lot of good help from a lot of people.
SINYMA is pronounced as “cinema.” The dark, moody vibe of your live performances can be described to be cinematic. Was film your inspiration for your band name?
C: You mentioned that we took that path that we’re actually getting noticed for the live aspect because we want that certain level of performance that when people see us, regardless if we have the huge screens at the back. On our own, we should be able to handle that thing.
M: That’s why we try to look nice and bring lots of gear.
J: Versus us relying on, “Omg, we don’t have lighting or video.”
C: That’s the goal, when people see us, they should be like, “Wow.”

- See more at: http://statusmagonline.com/features/sinyma-interview-july-2014/#sthash.reUs5G7E.dpuf - STATUS

As their name projects, the band Sinyma is an audio and visual experience. Their music transports you to a relaxed atmoshphere. A moody jazz bar or an evening by the beach - these are some of the images that come into mind. The mixture of soulful vocals, reggae beats and funky electronica blends together into a sound smooth enough to drink.

"S I N Y M A (pronounced as “cinema”) is electronica-funk-electro-nusoul-disco-future garage all rolled into one."
The group is made up of three members:

"Abdel Aziz flips the SINYMA script and moves in FUNK-soul motion while improvising on the fly. Silverfilter carryies the GROOVE while Jessica Connelly, releases the SOUL. As the SINYMA-tic wordsmith, stringing spectators into a magnetic narrative, taking SINYMA into full circle."

The group, known for their spontenaity and versatile sound, sometimes surprises listeners with fun mashups (wittily called Sinymashups) but always with that smooth Sinyma-tic tone. A recent one was Daft Punk inspired: Something about Us and Get Lucky! Listeners of the group never know what they are going to hear next.
Heima and Sinyma once worked together to support Bloom Arts Festival in 2012. Now they come together again to make beautiful music at Heima. Sinyma will provide a soulful soundtrack perfect for swaying away to this summer night. - HEIMA Home & Lifestyle