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| Sandwich |
Raimund Marasigan was in high spirits when he and rest of his band Sandwich (Myrene Academia, Diego Castillo, Mong Alcaraz and Mike Dizon launched their album Fat, Salt & Flame via a free
concert over at Centris Walk. He joked his way during the press conference referring to Tirso Ripoll as a member of the Eraserheads or ERazerback, and gleefully throwing into the audience a makeshift shaker made from a beer can. Fat, Salt
& Flame released by Polyeast Records is the band’s seventh studio album
coming out in time for their 15th year anniversary celebrations.
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| Mryene Academia, Raimund Marasigan, Mike Dizon, Mong Alcaraz and Diego Castillo |
Sandwich had a press conference before they started their performance and this gave
me a chance to learn a lot about the band and how they work. Bassist Myrene
mentioned that the album’s title was based on the three key things that make
food delicious. And this album title also reflected the band’s affinity for
food and dining which they also claim has kept the band together for 15 years.
In
their 15 years as a band, they said that Polyeast Records or even their
previous label had never imposed on them what to play, write and include in
their album. The band pointed out having an instrumental track to open the
album as proof of this confidence in them. Raimund also said that he has
learned how to take care of the band after all these years. He even said that
it has come to the point that he would take a bullet for them.
Going
back to Fat, Salt & Flame, the
band said that they had the luxury of time with this album. They were able to
rehearse the songs, take them on a road test before recording them live as a
band. With live recording, they were able to capture the energy. The recording
may not be perfectly clean, but for them, it’s more about the process and
achieving that moment when they curled their toes to know that they’ve gotten
things right.
Aside
from the lead single Back for More, other notable tracks in the album include New Romancer which features Myrene and
Mong Alcaraz doing the lead vocals. The crowd went wild when the band performed
this during the concert that followed the press conference. Razorback’s Tirso
Ripoll appears in the track Manhid that
only happened when Tirso just dropped by at the studio with his gear and then started
jamming with the band. The band also mentioned that there had been uncredited
guest artists in previous albums but they aren’t telling who. Or else, they and
the artists might get into trouble with their respective labels. A re-worked
version of Mayday is also included in
this album which is very different from the version that appeared at the Ang Nawawala film. Guitarist Diego
Castillo said that they quickly and specifically wrote that song in order to
look good on screen while performing it.
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| Raimund at Radio Republic's opening week |
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| Raimund at the Cinemalaya |
It
has been a long running joke that I am very much intimidated by Raimund
Marasigan. Whenever I see him at Radio
Republic Cultural
Center Philippines
of all places during the Cinemalaya. But as time passed by, I’ve grown more
comfortable and at ease whenever he is around. So I was glad that I’ve finally
overcome this silly fear just in time for the launch which was truly a fun
affair.
Fat, Salt & Flame, released by
Polyeast Records is now out in AstroPlus/Astrovision stores. Back for More and the rest of the tracks
can also be downloaded at MyMusicStore Philippines
and at iTunes.
Fat, Salt & Flame
Tracks:
1. Fat, Salt and Flame
2. Back for More
3. Sleepwalker
4. Pray for Today
5. The Week After
6. Mayday
7. Kidlat
8. New Romancer
9. Manhid
Text by RAd
Photos by JR Bustamante and RAd
