WYWY

The Middle East teems with talented Filipino musicians, but every once in a while, an act rises above the crop and proves to be of a different, more transcendent and audacious sort of mettle. Case in point: WYWY. Take it from this quick profile, penned by lead vocalist “X.”

OUR BAND
The band name is inspired by The Beatles song ‘Within You Without You’ from the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The lyrics of the song inspire us to continuously create special things in our lives. “Special” just happened to be music.

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X Alvarez –vocalist, samples and xylophone. I also sing lead forVisqueen from TseTse Fly Middle East, a sound art & noise experimental community in the UAE. I am a mentor of Rock Camp for Girls UAE.By day, I work as a Marketing Coordinator in an oil & gas company.
Mckie Alvarez – guitars and synths. He is also known as Madd Star Sounds (Reggae dub producer & DJ)
Our music is classified as ethereal wave, shoegaze and trip hop.

OUR ART
Before the two of us met, Mckie was the bassist of one of the well-known reggae band in the Philippines, ‘Collieherb,’ and I was a bedroom musician. I called myself ‘Bedroom Musician’ because I had a lot of compositions at home that I kept only for my hearing pleasure.

When we became a couple in 2006, we started creating music together and posting videos on Youtube and Soundcloud just for fun. We got married in 2010, and up to this day we continue to do what we love. We even got our son involved in a music video. Music has become a family hobby.
WYWY (1)

OUR JOURNEY
In 2013, we started an electronic dream pop trio band called Parallel Sound System. It was my first ever band in Dubai. Through this venture, we had the chance to travel and perform in some parts of the Middle East. It helped us gain more experience and connected us to the right people in the music scene. WYWY started in 2015. In the same year, we released our first original song ‘That Changes Everything.’ We didn’t expect good feedback from listeners, but to our surprise, it was featured in different international music blogs and aired on radio stations. We were also invited to perform as front act forinternational artiststhat visited Dubai.

We are very grateful for how far our work has come.The support that we get from the international music industry inspires us to continue and get even better at what we are doing. Our tracks are played in radio stations here in Dubai, Singapore, Philippines and Poland. Hopefully, our music reaches more countries soon. Recently, we were invited to play at the Fete delaMusique in Manila, which is a big music event in the Philippines. We played on 2 different stages in one night. It was one of the best gigs we ever had.
WYWY (2)

OUR PROCESS
All the songs from our upcoming album are based on real life experiences. You may call it “hugot” songs. Most often, we are struck by inspiration in very random situations – like when we get stuck in traffic in the Dubai- Sharjah road or in Al Khail Road. Sometimes, even the most plain instances can give you the most visceral flashback of the events that hurt you, or made you happy – and then you just have to give in to the moment. For us, bad traffic is a great catalyst. We come up with the lyrics and melodies inside the car, record it in a cellphone and then arrange it in our home studio. That’s how we do it.

WYWY (3)

OUR WAY FORWARD
We are working on our first album ‘You’re Blessed.’ It was supposed to be just an EP but we decided to make it a full album, as we were able to come up with the requisite numbers of songs. We want to make itworth listening to and give the audience eargarms.We are planning to launch our album this year in a small venue with an intimate crowd. Let’s see where the wind brings us. We hope it will take us to different places – not only in the Middle East,but across the universe.

TO OUR FELLOW ARTISTS
Be yourself. Don’t mind what other people say about you. Just do what you love and what makes you happy. When someone tries to pull you down, you pull them up!

Connect with WYWY!
FB: https://www.facebook.com/WYWYMusicOfficial/
SC: https://soundcloud.com/wywy-music
Website: https://wywy-music.bandcamp.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/wywy.music
TW: https://twitter.com/@wywymusic - illustrado Life Magazine

Good music defines a good weekend. Last June 17-18, Makati was the epicenter of simultaneous gigs, resembling one huge watering hole punctuated by live performances from some of the country’s most exciting acts.
There was a tribute to John Mayer, as well as the 2016 Féte de la Musique festival, and Terno Inferno Night that kept music fans happy for two straight days.
Here are the acts that Inquirer Super was able to catch:

John Mayer tribute
Some 600 people showed up for the two-day tribute to John Mayer’s “Room for Squares” album. For its organizer, IndieManila—or Bel Certeza, a one-woman team—it was a dream come true.
Certeza’s personal passion project allowed people to discover other kinds of music, and not just that of John Mayer.
She said the goal of the event, held at 12 Monkeys Music Hall & Pub, was to gather vintage Mayer fans and introduce them to young artists in the local indie scene, at the same time that the new generation of music fans would turn on to Mayer’s songs as interpreted by the young artists.
“IndieManila’s followers are mostly college kids,” Bel said. “Natuwa ako that they were able to connect with Mayer because of the local artists who performed the songs. They found out that these artists were covering these songs of Mayer, and they actually started to listen to his songs.”
The performers were KR Quiñon, Martti Franca, Nights of Rizal, Reese Lansagan, Kai Honasan and LPG (Laglag Panty Gang) with the frontmen of SUD, Miles Experience, and Jensen and the Flips.
“Room for Squares,” Mayer’s debut album, was released in 2001. Certeza said the 12 Monkeys gig was a chance to go back in time to celebrate the 15th year since the release of the album.
Féte de la Musique
Féte de la Musique was crazy, an experience that no local music festival has yet topped.
With two main stages and 21 pocket stages all over Makati, the event made us wish we had teleportation powers so we could watch all the action.
The Indie Stage at Axom in Green Sun seemed to be the most popular of all the other stages, judging by the sheer number of people in the audience.
It was so packed, a line had formed outside where people stood, content to hear the music without seeing the artists.
Organizers had to stop letting people in as early as 10 p.m., but that wasn’t really surprising, especially when the roster od acts included Ang Bandang Shirley, Autotelic, The Ransom Collective, Cheats, among others.
The hashtag turned out to be true, #WalangAlisanSaGreenSun.
Magnetic presence
BP Valenzuela’s music had subdued layers of different energies, pulsating beats and catchy melodies. She had a magnetic presence, notwithstanding a delicate voice that sometimes fell into a frail whisper, as she sang narratives about love, loss, and gray areas in between.
Delighting the crowd with tracks from her album “The Neon Hour,” Valenzuela said that Manila inspired her to make the record.
Playing for the first time on the Féte main stage, Valenzuela said the milestone was a reflection of her musical journey and the direction it has taken since her performances on the acoustic, eclectic and indie stages of Fete starting in 2014.
“I’m working on a new album, but I’m not revealing a lot about it yet,” she teased.
Mellow yet vibrant
The neo-folk-rock band Ransom Collective reminded us of the sounds of The Lumineers and Mumford and Sons.
Its creative, colorful play on strings and percussion enhanced its mellow yet vibrant, lighthearted tunes like “Run,” “Fools,” and “Settled,” which the crowd loved.
Experimental
Tom’s Story, a trio, performed “Anchors,” “Dream,” “Catcher,” “VL Raza” and “Mugatu”—the mimicked notes rolling off the tongues of the air-drumming, fist-pumping crowd.
Experimental in approach, Tom’s Story’s music had a youthful vibe and combined different genres with distinct narratives, which you wished also had poetic lyrics to sing along to.

Supernatural groove
While glancing at the artists painting the white walls of Lokal Hostel, we heard the music from the Eclectic Stage. WYWY’s mixes had a supernatural groove, lending a mysterious mood to the music.

Terno Inferno Night
“Outside it’s Féte de la Musique, here it’s just Fat de la Musique,” joked Up Dharma Down’s Armi Millare before the band played.
A special edition of Terno Inferno coincided with the first day of Féte, and was also held near the area of Féte’s multiple stages. Up Dharma Down took the liberty of calling the 12 Monkeys as venue of the “hugot stage,” to explain the Terno-managed bands in the lineup.
The legendary Terno Inferno nights were anticipated by many in the live music circuit. It was a fan’s way to hear the indie record label’s artist roster that included Up Dharma Down (UDD), Encounters With A Yeti and Yolanda Moon.
UDD performed its classic hits “Sana,” “Indak,” “Tadhana” and “Oo,” to the 12 Monkeys crowd, who knew these anthems by heart.
The band also played two new songs. “All the Good Things,” which UDD wrote for its recent Singapore show, was a kaleidoscopic experiment with more eclectic electronic beats and deeper bass lines, paired with snappy stanzas dotted with the catchy, tongue-twisting adlibs—a refreshing addition to its repertoire.
The other song, which was in Filipino, was untitled but had a previously unheard vocal tenacity.
Announcing that it’s currently working on a new album and promising to release it soon, UDD seemed to be exploring the opposite end of its 2012 album “Capacities,” with new sounds for fans to look forward to.


Read more: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/231525/a-weekend-of-good-music#ixzz4IS79uyD2
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook - Inquirer.net

BIURO PODRÓŻY 2016/07/16 18:00
Prowadzący Grabowski Patryk, Tomaszuk Mateusz
Opis
W "Muzycznym Biurze Podróży" wybraliśmy się do Francji i Zjednoczonych Emiratów Arabskich. - After Marianne to jedna z najbardziej wzruszających historii muzycznych, jakie kiedykolwiek słyszałem. Napisana po angielsku, ale wywodząca się z Francji - opowiadał Patryk Grabowski.

W Czwórce słuchaliśmy także utworów rodem z Egiptu, czy Zjednoczonych Emiratów Arabskich, zajrzeliśmy także m.in. do inspirowanych francuską nową falą końca lat 70. i 80., charakterystycznych nagrań Nouvelle Vaque, która w listopadzie tego roku pojawi się w Polsce, by promować nowy album. Sprawdziliśmy także, dlaczego tak wielu artystów uinspiracji szuka w twórczości... The Beatles.

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Tytuł audycji: Muzyczne Biuro Podróży

Prowadzący: Mateusz Tomaszuk, Patryk Grabowski

Data emisji: 16.2016

Godzina emisji: 18.05

kd/kul - Polskie Radio

Pinoy Electronica duo WYWY featured on Sound Gaarden

WYWY, the electro-pop duo composed of husband and wife tandam of X and Mckie Alvarez is the current toast of Dubai’s Independent music scene as their unique playful electronica harmonises finds its way to the spotlight. Featured on the latest episode of Sound Gaarden’s #DiscoverLocal series, a platform for the city’s upcoming local acts, WYWY performed their debut single “Disconnected” live at the Jam Jar, a community art space in Dubai. Prior to forming WYWY, a name inspired by the The Beatles song “Within You Without You”, both X and Mckie are members of electro dream pop band Parallel Sound System which has played several venues across the Middle East.

X is also one of the mentors of the non profit organization – Rock Camp for Girls while Mckie is a DJ/producer of dub reggae known as Maddstar Sounds, Watch out for WYWY’s soon to be released EP “You’re Blessed”. For more info, follow them on www.facebook.com/withinyouwithoutyou.music - illustrado Magazine (page 47)

Dubai-based electro duo WYWY (Within You Without You) are the latest UAE artists to perform for The Sound Gaarden’s #discoveringlocal video series. The duo – Xtianne (X) and McKie Alvarez – played their song “Disconnected” live at the jamjar, a “community art space” in Dubai.

The track displays WYWY’s distinctive sound – hints of shoegaze and ambient music come through the layers of synth drone that underpin X’s float-y vocals.

Watch “Disconnected” below: - http://www.triplew.me

UAE-based electro duo Within You Without You (WYWY) have released a new single from their upcoming debut EP You’re Blessed. “Questions” – mixed and mastered at Republika 1896 Studio – is a slightly heavier track than their previous release, last year’s “That Changes Everything”, with a heavily distorted guitar track adding a shoegaze-y feel underneath Christianne Alvarez’s fragile vocals.

Listen to “Questions” below: - http://www.triplew.me

UAE-based “trip-hop/neo-psychedelia” duo Within You Without You (WYWY) have released their first single, “That Changes Everything”. The duo consists of Parallel Sound System vocalist Christianne Alvarez (aka X) and, according to Alvarez, “a guy who will be like a ‘ghost’ member. He doesn’t want to be recognised.” With Parallel Sound System bandmate Cromwell Ojeda currently focused on one of his other projects – Muhaisnah Four – Alvarez has obviously been keeping busy too.

“That Changes Everything”, the first release from Within You Without You’s upcoming EP You’re Blessed, has a dream-pop vibe that will be familiar to fans of Parallel Sound System, as will Alvarez’s distinctive voice. Take a listen below: - http://www.triplew.me

Dubai-based duo Within You Without You (WYWY) have only released two singles yet. But you can hear they’ve already found their own sound, which is a surprisingly clear amalgam of quite broad inspirations.

Simultanously appealing for fans of shoegaze, electro(nica), and slow-core, WYWY keep one thing consistent regardless of the choice of instruments at a particular moment. And that constant thing is a gloomy, hypnotizing atmosphere mainly based in bass and reverb.

A follow-up to “That Changes Everything”, which came out in October, the duo’s new track “Questions” is even darker than its predecessor, at least as far as the sound is concerned. Because at the same time, it gives more space to Christianne Alvarez’s dreamy, yet piercing vocals.

You might know Christianne’s voice from another UAE-based group Parallel Sound System, and her partner in WYWY, Mckie, takes care of arrangements.

Right now, the duo is preparing release of their debut EP, “You’re Blessed”, and maybe it sheds more light if not on the duo themselves, then maybe on where they’re aiming at sound-wise.

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WYWY on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter. - http://beehy.pe

WYWY // Within You Without You is a trip-hop / neo-psychedelia duo from Dubai.

Members:
Parallel Sound System vocalist Christianne Alvarez (aka X) and, according to Alvarez, “a guy who will be like a ‘ghost’ member. He doesn’t want to be recognised.”
For inquiries, email wywy.music@gmail.com.

That Changes Everything
– first cut from WYWY’s upcoming EP “You’re Blessed”
Mix and mastered by Reigel Omega Torrevillas of Republika1896 Home Studio - http://www.radiorepublic.ph

Head down to Casa Latina on Friday December 4 to hear experimental trip-hop/ electronic act Within You Without You open up for Bad House Party’s international guest Astronautalis

My first musical influence ...
I grew up listening to 60s and 70s music, my influences are mostly from my Dad’s music library.

The last pop star I liked was...
Amy Winehouse. Her music tells story about her life, you will get to know more about her love, struggles, etc if you listen to her songs.

My sound is best described as...
Dark, “high-on-drugs-without- drugs-feels” something like that.

Best piece of advice you’ve received?
YOLO.

What’s your musical guilty pleasure?
‘Stars’ by Simply Red.

The best band in Dubai is...
LIPSLID. Back in 2010, they are all about positivity and solid friendship.

When I make it, the one thing I want on my rider is...
Oh geez when we make it, we will probably want massive visuals and mind blowing lighting effects... and unlimited food.

My musical motto is...
Music is like a window to your soul, it’s pure, real and it represents yourself as a person. It may inspire other people or maybe not but as long as your music comes from the heart, it won’t matter.

Best gig you’ve played?
It was in Beirut, my previous band was invited to play there with other bands from different parts of the Middle East and it was an amazing experience.

And the worst?
None so far, but I guess the only gig that would make a gig worst is a bad sound system.

Best lyrics of all time?
Try to realise it’s all within yourself
No one else can make you change
And to see you’re really only very small
And life flows on within you and without you (Beatles: Within You Without You)

Bad House Party feat. Astronautilus & WYWY, Thursday December 3, Casa Latina, 9pm-3am. - Infusion Magazine (Dubai)