#PursueYourGIGIL: GIGIL Agency Launches the album "Mary, The 9 Ideas" at The 70's Bistro Bar
On January 25, the album Mary, the 9 Ideas was released at the 70s Bistro Bar in Anonas, Quezon City. The up-and-coming band of advertising creatives-turned-musicians performed all nine songs from their self-titled album alongside Soupstar Music artists Hey June!, Banda ni Kleggy, Gracenote, and Sandwich.
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| #PursueYourGIGIL: GIGIL Agency Launches the album "Mary, The 9 Ideas" at The 70's Bistro Bar |
Mary, The 9 Ideas, or M9i, is a collection of lyricists and musicians who work for the ideas company GIGIL Philippines. Their name comes from the old proverb, "Marry the ideas." Based on this famous remark, the band devised a character: a musician with nine heads, as if diverse personalities had fused into one body but with genuine heads merging into one figure. The character's head features the likenesses of nine of the album's musicians.
The group was founded as part of GIGIL Philippines' #PursueYourGIGIL initiative. Their company is a creative agency, and they believe that working nonstop will cause you to lose your spark. The one thing that creatives most fear is becoming boring. They encourage their employees to pursue their hobbies, passions, and creative pursuits outside the job by using the hashtag #PursueYourGIGIL.
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| Mary, The 9 Ideas Album Cover |
In September 2022, GIGIL hosted a songwriting workshop for its musically inclined employees. The event was held in the same venue where they eventually presented their CD, 70s Bistro. This session was led by Raymund Marasigan, the legendary drummer of the Eraserheads and lead singer of Sandwich. He gave GIGIL employees motivation and advice on songwriting and musical production. After being motivated by this discussion, the team was given the opportunity to write and submit demos for the first-ever GIGIL Album. As a result, Mary, the Nine Ideas, was born.
Reading the lyrics of their songs while listening to them is like reading an advertising creative's memoirs. The song's title, "Pagkawala," plays off the word's two meanings—to vanish and to be liberated. It was created during the lockdown when everyone wished the pandemic would stop so they could restore their freedom. It also represents the end of a relationship and the need to move on. The slogan "Pagkawala" was converted into a song to turn a terrible ending into a promising beginning. The second and lead single, Simula. Dulo deals with the literal beginning and end of a relationship. It examines how some people can connect instantly, as if they've known one other their entire lives, but are commonly divided by their views on "the end." While some endings are severely closed chapters, others are happily ever afters, according to Simula Dulo.
Soupstar Music produced and recorded the album in the Velvet Playground studio in November 2022. Berns Cuevas and Raffy Bonifacio of Banda ni Kleggy worked as supplementary studio musicians with the GIGIL Philippines artists on the album, which was produced and arranged by Eunice Jorge of Gracenote.
Mary, the 9 Ideas is now available on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/album/2BLO0iQJICAhMgFHScqO6h?si=TRwgFafoTIyHgCo9CevQHA
The first GIGIL Album, Mary, The 9 Ideas, was made possible by the following:
- Producer and Arranger - Eunice Jorge
- Managing Producers - Jordan Constantino, Darwin Hernandez
- Executive Producers - Herbert Hernandez, Badong Abesamis, Jake Yrastorza
- Additional Studio Musicians - Eunice Jorge, Berns Cuevas, Raffy Bonifacio, Zion Dela Peña, Samuel Mateo, Ronchris Cosme, Chrislyn Gregorio
- Mixing and Mastering - Willy Villa
- Engineer - Mark Marlon Bautista
- Production Assistant - Ann Bernadette Marzan
- Photo and Video Coverage - Jenmarie Cadeliña
- Accounts Director - Micco Balana
- Account Supervisor - Adel Clemente
- Recorded at Velvet Playground, Marikina. November 2022.
- Cover Art - Ronchris Cosme
- Eunice Jorge, Berns Cuevas, and Raffy Bonifacio appear courtesy of Gracenote, Banda ni Kleggy, and Soupstar Music
- Jordan Constantino appears courtesy of Valley of Chrome, and Tower of Doom
- Workshops and Launch Venue - 70s Bistro
- Workshop Speaker - Raymund Marasigan
Sponsors:
- Black Noise Machine
- Arcade Film Factory
- NCP Studios Inc.
- Southern Lantern Studios
- Sasa Pascual
- Eo+
- Kerplunk Studios
- Studio V
- Dgteyes Productions
- Editcube Digital