MEBUYAN has released one album to date: “Mga Kuwentong Bata” (Children Stories). The album contains songs and music for and about children, with emphasis on children’s rights (to play, to go to school, to have a home, etc). It is a response to the call for more vigilance towards the safety and the rights of children, and the United Nations Decade of a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence to Children of the World (2000-2010).
Baking in the oven is a second album entitled “Mga Kuwentong Mindanaw” (Mindanao Stories), in collaboration with various music artists in Davao, Philippines. It features the winning (and finalist) entries to the “Tunog Mindanaw (Mindanao Sound) Annual World Music Competition” in Davao City, Philippines, where members of Mebuyan competed against each other for the plum prize. It also includes the entries to the “2007 Global Cooling: the first Mothers for Peace Singout and Songwriting Competition” where again, Mebuyan members also competed against each other.
It is difficult to put Mebuyan’s music into just one category although the sound of Mindanao indigenous instruments such as the “kulintang,” the “agong,” and the “kubing,” provide vernacular color to what otherwise would be categorized as simply folk, acoustic, pop, rock, or adult contemporary music. Safely, though, they can be grouped with bands under the category World Music even as their music are quite eclectic.
Mebuyan is an aggregrate of composers-musicians, each with his/her own wealth of musical background. Geejay Arriola, has been writing music for various theater and dance productions in Mindanao, Philippines for 17 years, where indigenous artistic expressions are naturally woven into contemporary performances. Gauss Obenza has been a folk and jazz musician for 20 years. Her major work to date is writing the music and score for Arnel Mardoquio’s film “Hospital Boat.” Paolo Sisi is a music teacher and has been a session artist for many bands in Manila and Davao for about 15 years. Chico Zambrano has likewise been session percussionist for various bands for about the same number of years as Paolo. And the younger ones–Maan Chua, Maree Contaoi, and Maia Tampoy—have been having regular gigs as solo musicians-singers for the last 7 years or so.
Mebuyan is composed of:
GEEJAY ARRIOLA - kulintang, various percussion
GAUSS OBENZA - guitar
MAREE CONTAOI - cajon, djembe
MAAN CHUA - guitar, various percussion
MAIA TAMPOY - keyboard
PAOLO SISI - bass
CHICO ZAMBRANO - conga, cymbals, various percussion
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