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GERARD BUMANGLAG interviews DOI PORRAS!
WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND SUBKULTURE RECORDS/PRODUCTIONS?
Subkulture was formed as the main entity of the whole Darkmusic segment here in Manila and eventually the Philippines as it has come to be, at its earlier stages, it was more particularly centered on the Gothic-Darkwave movement, but as the years passed it has come to embrace the darkmusic scene and its children as a whole. Subkulture as The recording Label is now still at its infancy and is focused on bringing artists their freedom and audiences music that surpasses the norms. at this point Finances are perspectively difficult to come by but faith will easily overcome of what is thought by others as a supposed "hopeless" case.
WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT THE PRESENT GOTH MOVEMENT IN MANILA?
First and foremost I will have the need to commend and take this oppurtunity to thank Gerard "Runeschadow" for much of the effort and faith he has put into this, him being the other half of Subkulture and a major reason of influence and guidance for the present Goth- dark music movement.
My thoughts on the present goth scene is bright in the sense that wether it be called by whatever name, we at Subkulture will be doing our best for everyone who delves into the obscure/arcane and for those who dare the tide, if there be a scene or not, it really doesnt matter. What matters is we all do what makes us all happy inside and on what makes us wake up everyday. I personally don't view it as the need to have some sort of "tribe" mentality or "scene" at that, but sharing thoughts, art, music and lifestyle with like minded people is rewarding enough.
ARE YOU READY TO HOST A MAJOR EVENT SUCH AS THE UPCOMING ASIAN GOTH FESTIVAL? WHO IS GOING TO SPONSOR THIS HUGE PROJECT OF YOURS? HAVE YOU STARTED INVITING OUR FOREIGN COUNTERPARTS?
Yes, we are very much working hard on having the asian goth festival, as actually the first chapter of the Asian goth festival was made possible with Evil boy productions/Eve of the New Church of Japan and our good Legendary friend Mr.Haruhiko Ash of Japan's Eve of Destiny, it was two Events and spanned two nights all in all with Eve of destiny playing with our very own artists, both events were very successful and hopefully another is slated very soon. Regarding sponsorship, that has always been a big problem, the business side is somewhat distasteful and yet needed. We hope to come across a company that supports us to the hilt. Actually, were now discussing with an excellent liquour company and it looks promising. We are also looking at another foreign band from Europe as we now speak we are already negotiating with them, they're also another performer in Germany's Wave Gotik treffen, so I'm sure everyone will have a good time, especially that we do our events FREE. despite non support of most corporate circles, we are hoping that their attitude of being in a box will change drastically.
HOW MANY INTERNATIONAL GOTH BANDS HAVE YOU PERFORMED WITH?
We have brought in two international bands and an international DJ,we are now working on our third international band at this time.
WHAT TRANSPIRED FROM YOUR DEALINGS WITH THEM?
Good friendships, music and future dealings with our international counterparts. On the other hand, the broken wheels of Major Labels/the Music Industry and those who just want to conglomerate and exploit everything they get their slimy hands on. As well as the Broken hopes of many unsupportive people that said we cant pull this off and that it's all impossible.
WHAT'S NEW WITH YOUR BAND, DOMINION? WHEN IS THE RELEASE OF YOUR FIRST ALBUM?
My other half, DOMINION, has just finished our long delayed album and hopefuly will be releasing it within the year, a slated tour is being worked on and will cover most of the major cities in the Philippines. I think it will start in Ilo-Ilo city this August16 and we jump from there. We're also looking at doing Cebu again hopefully, we will keep everyone posted. You can also visit our unofficial FanSite at WWW.Pinkspiderweb.net/DOMINION (thanks to Spider for the lovely site) our official site is being finished still. For Bookings, inquiries, merchandise, fanlist, show updates, free stuff, or to be a part of the DOMINION family, you can send email to us at Dominion@Gothica.zzn.com. we plan to release a limited edition CD sampler before the album itself, as well as being released on an international goth compilation if things work well between Subkulture records and an American label.
DO YOU PLAN TO COMMERCIALIZE YOUR MUSIC?
We play what we play, we also do what we have been doing for the past 8 years. If people connect to what we do, then all is good and well. If they dont, it still is all good and well, because we're happy on what we do. If we do otherwise from what we like then the band has come to its demise, we are here to share our music/ideology and art with our old/new and potential audiences worldwide as much as we can, but coming out in some noon time show to be "rich and famous" just isn't in our vocabulary.
WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE IN VISITING GERMANY?
Actually, going to Germany isn't as concrete at the moment, but we plan and hope to take part of the Wave Gotik Treffen soon, no dates as of yet but hopefully it will push through in the near future.
ARE YOU GOING TO MEET WITH THE ANGINA PECTORIS?
Seeing them again would be lovely, moreso playing with them again if the oppurtunity arises for us to see them at stuttgart and for going to Germany. And I do hope to see their guitar player, Jay Phoenix, he's a real cool guy and he drinks like no tomorrow. That's why we really got along very well.
THERE HAVE BEEN SOME SIGNS OF GOTH IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY LIKE THAT GOTH BAND IN MEDINA, DRUID ASSAULT, IF THEY HAPPEN TO READ THIS INTERVIEW, WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST THEY DO TO BECOME PART OF THE FILIPINO GOTH SCENE?
Yes, there are very strong supporters of the Goth genre and it's really overwhelming to realize this fact. The south like Cebu, Ilo-ilo has very strong support and has a great scene. I heard Davao has as well which is relatively nice. I havent heard of Druid Assault or know where they're from as of yet, but hopefully they would be a great addition in the community, they're very welcome as well as other new artists in Subkulture. If they be interested they may send us their profiles at Subkulture@gothica.zzn.com and if it goes as assumed, then we will have them in the chain of events.