Scout: 2016 November-December

NOVEM B ER - DECEMBER 2016

LAU RE N RE I D

s ug a r S CO U T M AG . P H

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music

kid t hro n e s

10 film

p et e rsen vargas

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fashion

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culture

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entertainment asian hip -hop

20 essay

true value

beautimous business

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keeshia felipe

st a ge d b are

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laure n reid

party playlists

portfolio

on the cover

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market

holiday gift guide

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portfolio

mimi mo ra d a

essay

music

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art + design

c a n’ t f e e l my face

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how to

social media

C O N T E N T

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fashion

run this town

just like the movies Home Alone is one of our favorite holiday movies.

So we tried to reenact that famous pose, but the Lauren way. Who do you think did it better?

w w w. scoutmag .ph GROUP

PUBLISHER

EDITOR

IN

CREATIVE

DIRECTOR

GRAPHIC

ARTIST

EDITORIAL COPY

CHIEF

ASSISTANTS

EDITOR

BEA J. LEDESMA ROMEO MORAN Nimu Muallam Grace de Luna Lex Celera Denise Fernandez Patricia Romualdez

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Reena Mesias, Cedric S. Reyes, Ceej Tantengco

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Koji Arboleda, Geloy Concepcion, Paolo Crodua, JL Javier

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTR ATOR

Jer Dee, Edward Joson, Audy Santos

CONTRIBUTING STYLISTS

Vince Crisostomo, Ryuji Shiomitsu

INTERNS

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Ria Francisco-Prieto

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Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez

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J. Ferdinand De Luzuriaga

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INQUIRER GROUP OF COMPANIES

Photography by PAOLO CRODUA Styling by RYUJI SHIOMITSU Makeup by MAC IGARTA for NARS HAIR by RHOB RUBIA Video by DEEJ FABIAN Shot on location at HEIM INTERIORS

this month on

If you’re not following our site Scoutmag.ph religiously, then why are we even friends?

#SCOUTFAVES Whatever caught our eye from the past week, rolled into one convenient article.

#SCOUTFRIDAYPICKS We pick a theme, and we get an artist to make a playlist for that theme. Capisce?

TAKE A PICTURE, IT LASTS LONGER We’d like to see how you’re reading your copies! Post your photos and tag us with with the flatlay and the hashtag #ScoutSugarLauren

@scou t m a g p h s c o u t m a g p h @ g m a i l.c o m

Le tte r fr o m th e E d i to r Truth is, I’m with former Scout editor Jed in being a really big Christmas person. This used to be such a sacred time of the year to me, ceremoniously ushered into sweet being by Christmas carols in all forms and genres (I prefer jazz—better smooth jazz than your bland white-bread Kenny G shit), the colder air, a ton of chocolates, and all the lights and trappings that come with it. I love it. I love it all, and I’m unashamed. (I also don’t quite understand how some people could choose Halloween to be their favorite late-year holiday, but I guess I also get the appeal of dressing up as someone/something else.)

But as most people realize, Christmas starts to feel a lot less Christmasy when you get older. Maybe it’s because adults no longer really get December as a vacation unless they go out of their way to make it one—even college kids, if they’re still on that old calendar where the second semester gets inconveniently bisected by the holidays, have to worry about requirements over the break sometimes. Christmas break used to mean lazing around in the cool weather and getting gifts and seeing all the lights; when less gets handed to you and you have to work for what you want, the holiday spirit dies a little more each year. At least, it feels that way.

The holiday spirit growing a little dimmer each year is one thing, but it’s a whole ‘nother thing for the millennial spirit, isn’t it? I think it may finally take me and everything I have to do this year to realize that hey, maybe this old, outdated wintry definition of what the holidays have to be is just that, and maybe now I have a little more power to redefine exactly what that is. I can get away from all this chaos when December rolls around and call that my holiday vacation. If Christmas doesn’t suit you anymore, then nobody’s stopping you from changing what that is in your head.

It’s something I learned our cover girl Lauren Reid (p. 26) does in our pretty lengthy conversation for this issue’s big story. Contrary to what it looks like, she never came here just to get into showbiz. It was a conscious decision she made for herself, something she feels she can pull off. And she can just as easily step out of if the circumstances say she’s done.

She says she’s now in a phase of her life where she can play off spontaneity in the day-to-day and still remain in control, and it’s a useful skill I think we should all try to figure out as we go along.

So whether you’ve got the Christmas spirit or you’re still chasing it, or you ain’t ever want it in the first place, what’s important in the most wonderful time of the year is that you be happy, and you’re making everything around you work for you. Give if you can. I’ll toast a mug of hot chocolate to all of us, and all our hustling spirits.

ROMEO

4

music

Music producer Kidthrones finds his own wavelength in constant reinvention

By LEX CELERA Photography by GELOY CONCEPCION

THE TABLES were empty and the diners came and went quietly the first time I went to Ma Mon Luk on Quezon Avenue. Our photographer Geloy, graphic artist Grace, and my fellow editorial assistant Denise and I occupied a table too long for all of us to fill up, but this restaurant was where we decided to shoot, and this particular seat at the end of the table in the corner was where we decided for Eric Trono, or Kidthrones, to sit. It was an interesting juxtaposition: between two walls of newspaper

and magazine clippings that chronicled the restaurant’s history sat someone who was definitely not yet born when these stories were published. For a place where history is the wallpaper, how can you stand out and not just blend into the backdrop?

The first time I heard Kidthrones’s music was when he was under the electronic trio DancePlayCreate (DPC) back in early 2014. They came to play on a quiet Saturday night to a thin crowd that was kind of dead to be honest.

The stage was brightly lit, elevated a few feet, and propped with smoke machines; the three stood in the middle and hung their necks low, focused on their laptop screens, knobs, and buttons. Trono took the mic and as they blasted booming synths, he shouted, “What’s up S-O-H? We are D-P-C.” I got turnt that night, to say the least. My friends and I remember that night fondly, thanks to that set.

“We just grew out of it,” Trono shares amid the conversational buzz pervading the restaurant.

music

“It was mainly me, Brian Moya, and Matthew Azada. We grew separately because we developed different sounds.” Before venturing into electronic music, DPC was a post-hardcore band molded after the likes of Saosin and Chiodos during Trono’s high school days in Music Industry, a club under Ryan Villena of Techy Romantics. By “grew out of it,” Trono meant growing out of both DPC as a band, and DPC as an electronic trio.

After the indefinite hiatus of DPC, Trono started his own solo project under the name Kidthrones, a play on his surname and his personal realization that he’s still a kid in the industry, a beginner, so to speak. “I put ‘kid’ on my moniker because it’s a reminder that I always have to learn, to be open,” he shares.

With the musical landscape changing dramatically due to the influx of bedroom producers and Soundcloud artists, so came the awareness of genre boundaries that are made depending on mood rather than melodic structure. A few years ago, several local artists, Kidthrones included, shared and reshared songs with no distinct geographical origin, definite classification, or even vocals to provide any context. It was music nonetheless, and with music like Kidthrones’ there’s no point in pigeonholing themselves into a certain genre. “[Kidthrones] is a lot of things, man. I think my music is a reflection of a time in my life, or a vibe that I captured at a certain period of time.”’

Thus came the flexibility to explore his own sound the way he explores his own personal identity, as I’d like to believe. As co-founder of Logiclub, Kidthrones stands between artists who are also at the cusp of growth. “Pressure?

Pressure to find your own sound, maybe,” he answers when asked if there’s a rush to finding his own sound. “But it’s an ongoing process, man. Each and every day you find something about yourself. I apply that to my sound.”

But along those constant changes and steady evolution of sounds, Kidthrones finds comfort in what he calls a “hip-hop, chillwave, Stones Throw kind of vibe.” At least, for the

moment. During the fourth anniversary of Logiclub at Black Market, Kidthrones bookended the event with his own set. I vividly remember him playing beats with a defined rhythm, but structurally different melodies. Could you dance to it? The crowd tried, and I don’t know if they succeeded. It was different, and it was new and interesting for ears used to wait for slow buildups and beat drops.

As he finishes his meal, he talks about tailor fitting his music to collaborators to create something entirely new. Snowflake Obsidian, a track he released featuring fellow Logiclub member Curtismith, is a good example of collaboration becoming his space for growth and his concern for his music to connect with an audience. Curtismith’s controlled voice accentuates the spacey synths and staccato percussions, maintaining a vibe that goes hard while staying laid-back. If anything, that’s where his sound is. “I think I’m maturing more as an artist because I get to work with different artists.

5

I v i v i d l y r e m em b er him playing beats with a defined rhythm, but structurally d i f f e r e n t m el o d i es .

Could you dance to i t ? T h e c r o w d t r i ed .

6

music

“As y o u g r ow up, h y p e’s no thing, m a n .

It’s re all y t h e ar t that s p ea k s fo r it s el f . ”

My part in making the song palatable is getting the right person to do melodies with on the track or rap on it. For me, that makes the track pop. There are also projects that I have that I want anybody to hop on. I want it to be like that, talaga. Sometimes it’s really fun for rappers to hop on it because they bring their own style, own flavor, and the track becomes something else.”

Nowadays, he’s fully committed to his craft, juggling his time working at the studio, playing at gigs, and making new music. It’s his full-time job, and he’s comfortable with it. “Recently I’ve been working a lot with Curtismith. He’s coming out with an EP, in which I have two tracks there.

From the five project EP, two of those are mine. I also did a project with Ninno, which is cool. That shit goes hard. I can’t wait for that to finish. I’m also producing for this guy, J. Blaze.”

As trends come and go, the differing tastes from the digital native generation appear as shifting sands. Some keep their feet on the

ground. Kidthrones rolls with the punches and moves towards the new whenever it reveals itself. But it’s safe to say that from the beginning, Kidthrones has never given in to trends despite hopping on what was new. It was all a matter of finding one’s wavelength and there’s admiration in keeping up with the times and not losing oneself. There comes the idea of being sure and confident in oneself that Kidthrones carries, from the way he acts and speaks to the music he puts out. “IKIGAI,” an EP he was supposed to release earlier this year at the Malasimbo Music Festival, was shelved due to him outgrowing it. He’s set to release a new EP entitled “Moods,” which was originally a fulllength but after cuts became what it is.

Before we leave the restaurant, he shows me his latest toy: a brand new SP-404SX, which he just recently bought. I caught a preview of his latest at Vibration Exercises last Oct. 10, where he shared his collaborative tracks with Ninno and Curtismith as well as his own solo tracks.

It was exciting in that the tracks were more defined and well composed, and it seemed like he is settling on a sound—at least for now.

But there’s promise in an artist who knows himself more than anything, who can both create new music with different artists while maintaining his own name, who can rise with the trends and come out on top. “As you grow up, hype’s nothing, man. It’s really the art that speaks for itself,” he points out. “I’m leaning towards that future. I just gotta release these tracks.” Which future? He doesn’t exactly say.

Against the backdrop of a history set in indelible ink, Kidthrones’s pen is still wet. Something’s always on the come up for someone who doesn’t settle. n

special feature

7

Krispy Kreme ties up with World Vision to help rebuild schools for the Filipino youth

By KRYZETTE PAPAGAYO

dimes to doughnuts

Sometimes, doughnuts speak epiphanies.

These glazed miracles are often the go-to when you’re down in the dumps. On good days, they’re many a millennial’s choice for breakfast. In its 10th year in the Philippines, Krispy Kreme x World Vision gets doughnut devotees involved.

Case in point: Imelda Elementary School’s Science Laboratory, which was recently turned over to school officials, is now ready for use. Through the initiative of Senior Marketing Manager of Krispy Kreme, Ariane Valinton, Communications Manager of World Vision, Genesis Jeff Lamigo, and the Principal of Imelda Elementary School, Mary Lu Rocela Cabais, parents and students have accepted the completed project in an event held in Malabon City.

The international retailer of premium-quality sweet treats continues their mission to touch and enhance lives through this project. “For Krispy Kreme, it’s not only about enjoying your favorite doughnut, but also sharing the joy that comes with it by helping and reaching out to more people,” said Ariane Valinton.

Share the joy when you buy half a dozen doughnuts packaged in a bespoke tin can. For every purchase, Php 20 goes to World Vision Philippines and helps in raising funds for the construction and improvement of more public school classrooms. By 2017, Krispy Kreme and World Vision aim to fully turnover all new and improved classrooms.

“Even the smallest donations can go a long way, and when we put them all together, there’s definitely a lot that we can do,” adds Ariane.

With stores in Bonifacio High Street and over 70 different locations nationwide, head over to your nearest Krispy Kreme and celebrate 10 years of sharing the joy!

For more information and updates about Krispy Kreme, visit krispykreme.com.ph or like facebook.com/krispykreme.ph.

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culture

the best of times, 2016 was a pretty terrible year, all things considered. Beloved people died, democracy is struggling, the world is turning toxic no matter where you look, but let’s see if we can still find something to be happy about

from baby to daddy transformation of the year

THE MOST KANYE MOMENT OF THE YEAR

unexpected blockbuster hit of the year

Train To Busan

Cole Sprouse

You’d think the zombie hype died with World War Z. Train to Busan brought it back with a (biting) vengeance. So. Many. Feelings.

This Disney alum transformed from cutie to hottie under our noses. Looking forward to seeing more of Cole in 2017!

The release of “The Life Of Pablo,” and all its edits

the best president we never had

Miriam DefensorSantiago She may not have won the presidential race, but she’s still one of the best leaders our country will ever have.

Have you ever heard of an album being released in drafts until “The Life of Pablo?”

juiciest revenge moment

“Lemonade”

OMG!

buzzer beater heartbreaker

Brangelina Breakup

NO

Queen Bey is on a whole new level—she makes an entire album calling out husband Jay Z. *slow clap*

OO

!

And we thought forever was real. MUST PROTECT THE BECKHAMS AT ALL COSTS.

Chance the Rapper

best artist who finally went mainstream this year

and we thought we were done with this

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child It was exciting at first, until you read it. Should’ve stopped at the seventh one, JK.

crush of the year

biggest blockbuster letdown

Suicide Squad When it comes to comic book cinema, let’s face it: Marvel > DC. Fans couldn’t help but think that this was going to be the one to turn DC’s luck around. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.

Liza Soberano Damn, this girl was literally everywhere. She’s Manila’s version of Helen of Troy—the face that launched a thousand (or more) social media posts, including one famous tweet by artist Charlie Puth.

culture

9

the worst of times

N 2016 EDITIO

best burn

Kim Kardashian keeping receipts of Taylor Swift

2016 meme that needs to go away

Harambe Yes, I’m afraid it’s time to pull our pants up. What do you value more?

Harambe, or the idea of Harambe?

breakout tv show

Since when was keeping and bringing out receipts a thing?

We’ll never get tired of using the snake emoji and using “I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative.”

he finally got it

Leonardo DiCaprio winning his first Oscar

YAY

!

Stranger Things

favorite bro moment

EarlWolf getting back together Yup, Odd Future cohorts Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, The Creator finally settle their beef and reunite onstage to perform Orange Juice at One Love Festival in Calgary.

scariest thing we never expected from 2016

R&B

biggest publicity stunt of the year

#HiddleSwift Not being a hater here. The beginning of their “relationship” was timed so conveniently along with Kim K’s takedown of the singer. #Hiddleswift didn’t last very long, of course. Coincidence?

We think not.

Hidilyn Diaz’s Olympic silver

Winona Ryder! Authentic ’80s setting! Amazing soundtrack! Great actors!

The cutest kids you’ll ever see on television!

genre of the year

The release of albums from Beyoncé, Rihanna, Frank Ocean, Usher, Solange, and… okay, Drake. It was a good year for music.

Enough said.

proudest pinoy pride moment of the year

CARDBOARD SIGNS song (that we really didn’t want and wish would go away now) of the year

Closer by The Chainsmokers and Halsey Give me inauthentic dancehall-infused jams every day, just don’t give me this sad, bro-step spiritual successor. Are we supposed to get this song because we eat microwaved meals twice a day? Those old-school synths are better off somewhere else.

TEEHEE!

TEEHEE!

It’s the first Olympic medal we’ve had in 20 years. Twenty.

most shameful pinoy pride moment of the year

Every time the president insults a foreign leader/power WE ALWAYS BECOME AN INTERNATIONAL HEADLINE, Y’ALL.

worst thing the government has given us this year This whole thing is making us terrible judgmental people.

Supporters judge drug addicts and pushers, while critics judge supporters.

War on drugs

undisputed shoe of 2016 Everyone and their mother wants an NMD in any color imaginable.

The Adidas NMD best (worst?) gaming letdown

Pokemon Go We’re better off putting AR tech somewhere else, like say a Yu-GiOh! gaming app. For real.

10 film

the spectacular now Petersen Vargas creates entirely new standards for aspiring millennial filmmakers

Interview by DENISE FERNANDEZ Photography by HANS MADULA and LYLET SOLIVEN

I WAS IN college when I first heard of Petersen Vargas. My good friend had excitedly approached me one evening at our dorm lobby, gushing about his “new filmmaker idol-slashcrush.” Petersen Vargas—you should check out his Vimeo. He writes poetry on Tumblr and makes really good short films about homosexuality and living in the province. He’s gay, just like me, and I love him so much.

Despite not being from the same school, I found that Petersen’s name was a familiar whisper among photographers, production enthusiasts, and local indie movie buffs such as me and my friend. As a student in the University of the Philippines Diliman, Petersen already had a considerable amount of buzz surrounding him thanks to his thought-provoking pieces on various topics such as young love, childhood, death, literature, and existentialism. He explored the same ideals as most film majors do, but with very different and diverse backdrops, like his Kapampangan heritage.

The world beyond his university niche expanded after a wider audience began to take

notice of his talent. Petersen was eventually nominated for the Gawad Urian Awards and Cinemanila International Film Festival, before winning the Cinemalaya trophies for Best Short Film and Best Short Film Director in 2015. But perhaps, before everything, he is most recognized and applauded for providing more than worthy representation for both Kapampangan natives and members of the LGBT community.

Now, Petersen is embarking on a whole new journey on its own as he takes the helm for his first full-length feature for Cinema One Originals, 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten, a The Dreamers-esque piece revolving around a young high school loner who gets caught up in the lives of two mysterious half-American brothers.

How did your interest in film first begin?

I would always go back to that one summer many years ago, after I first discovered Video City when it was still a thing. The popular VCD rental store was only one tricycle away next to the busy palengke in my hometown, Apalit, Pampanga.

I would score three to four titles on every visit

and spend all summer watching as many films as I could. When Video City was about to close for good, I eagerly saved enough money from my baon just to buy all the discounted VCDs they had for their week-long clearance sale.

Ever since then, I’ve always been a fan and avid watcher of films of any kind.

How was the overall experience directing a full-length movie for the first time?

I remember asking film critic-turned-filmmaker Dodo Dayao the same question. At that time, he just wrapped his shoot for his feature debut Violator for the same festival that my film is part of. He simply said, “It’s just like shooting a short, only with more shooting days.” And if you want a simple answer, I guess I’d say the same thing--but along with it, of course, an expanded feeling of dread, of tiredness, of resisting any meltdowns, to actually suffering meltdowns, and more sweat, more tears, more cups of coffee, even more sticks of cigarettes. But definitely, at the end of each day, it involves a much more blown-up heart.

HAPPY PILLS Five things that drive and inspire Petersen

WONG KAT WAI

“My favorite creature, also my #1 masungit cheerleader in the world.”

XAVIER DOLAN “If there was a Xavier Dolan fan club in the Philippines, I should be president!”

UP CINEASTES’ STUDIO

“The family that films together, stays together.”

#JADINE

“I dream of directing one of their movies someday.”

YOUR FILM ON THE BIG SCREEN

“The moment we’ve all been waiting for.”

film 11

“A film is not just by the director, but also by all the other people who worked hard for it to become what it is.”

(This page) Petersen has also directed acclaimed shorts such as 5:00 Ning Gatpanapun and Lisyun Qng Geografia.

You’ve been making short films, music videos, and experimental pieces ever since you were in school and got quite a few awards and recognition while at it. In what ways have you grown as a filmmaker?

I guess it’s a matter of what currently influences you that sort of adds identity to your work. During my third year in film school, I was exposed to some of our alternative local filmmakers and their work, from John Torres’s experimental documentary Ang Ninanais to Whammy Alcazaren’s thesis film Colossal. I also eventually became a Raya Martin fanboy and even made a short documentary focused on his early work for a class! This excited me enough to explore the possibilities of filmmaking in my own creations.

I guess that restlessness has tempered down, thanks or no thanks to the real world. Although, I’d like to believe that it’s a part of growth—that I become more “me” in everything I get to make.

You do almost everything, from promos to short films to music videos. What do you like best about each? Do you have a favorite among them?

During the start of film school, I acquired my first ever DSLR from my favorite OFW tita, a handy Canon 600D, which I ended up exhausting by 2015. Ever since then, I’ve always been comfortable working on my own. I could write, shoot, and edit whenever a particularly good song or poem inspired me. It’s fun that I get to do just that after graduation, since there are a lot of things that I could explore with these kinds of projects. But if I had to choose a favorite, it’d be making music videos because I was such a

(Opposite page) A still from Petersen’s new film, 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten, which shows one of the movie’s most challenging scenes with actors Khalil Ramos and Ethan Salvador.

fan of music videos way, way back. I was in high school when OPM was at such an all-time high, when our music channels on TV showed more Pinoy music than ever. To this day, the video for Imago’s Sundo still provides me that good old feeling.

What do you think is the best aspect of telling stories through the video medium?

I really love the collaborative nature of telling stories through film. In this medium, you get to work not just with the moving image, but also with set design and costumes, with music and sound, with actors, with locations, and so on.

It’s pretty overwhelming, sure, but working with all the aspects of filmmaking is always a fun venture. Most especially when your collaborators would always go the extra mile, exceed your expectations, and surprise you. A film is not just by the director, but also by all the other people who worked hard for it to become what it is.

As a director, what would you want to improve on or explore more?

The list would go on and on! I am my own toughest critic, as we all are.

What was your inspiration for 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten? How did the idea start?

The whole project began with a talk with a fellow Kapampangan filmmaker, Jason Paul Laxamana, early this year. I was supposed to ask him to help me develop this concept I had in mind that I thought was perfect for him and me to co-write.

But then he showed me the first draft of a script originally called Dos Mestizos, telling me he could see me directing this particular material.

I immediately fell in love with it. When we finally got awarded a grant from Cinema One Originals this year, the film eventually became what it is right now, with a few revisions from my end. We ended up calling it 2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten, which was taken from a 1998 song by Lucinda Williams.

What kind of projects would you like to work on in the future?

I still consider making my own version of Little Manhattan someday. But you know, with Gabe and Rosemary as two boys instead. Wouldn’t that be cute? n

12 entertainment

far east movement ko

rea

BE

ENZINO

Haven’t you heard? Hip-hop is going east. Meet the artists dropping the sickest beats on our side of the world while representing raw, full-blooded Asian talent

By DENISE FERNANDEZ Illustrations by JULIA PETALVER

MA

J

b

W

AL MASKA ID

ain

O I

Okay, we’re kind of cheating here. Majid Al Maskati (one-half of the duo Majid Jordan) is admittedly more R&B than hip-hop, but we couldn’t help putting him here on our little list since he’s one of the few Asian artists making it big internationally. Having worked with fellow hip-hop artists like Drake, Majid’s smooth vocals greatly complement partner Jordan Ullman’s beats. If you listen closely to some of their songs, you can hear some Middle Eastern flavor happening in the background.

Zone out to: Her, Something About You

TI

SUB m

sia

na

ay

viet

FLIZZO

r ah

m

al

Suboi is the real deal. Not everyone can say they’ve managed to impress the President of the United States of America with their rapping.

But Vietnam’s queen of rap sure can. While growing up, she loved hip-hop so much that she taught herself to rap in English by listening to Western artists like Snoop Dogg and Eminem.

That’s real dedication, y’all.

Another cool tidbit? She’s also an ambassador for Kenzo and H&M’s campaign for diversity.

Add to your playlist: Doi

Beenzino isn’t just a rapper; he’s also a talented artist who studied sculpture in Korea’s most prestigious university—so you can already expect all his music videos to come with a visually stunning aesthetic (try watching Break and January).

Beenzino is also one of the founding members of Korean music label Illionaire Records, along with two other prominent K-rap artists. And the best part about this guy? He doesn’t do diss raps and doesn’t try to be cool. Beenzino just is.

Bump: Break, Aquaman

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If you haven’t heard of Joe Flizzow, then you need to—he isn’t one of Malaysia’s biggest and baddest rappers for nothing. An icon who’s helped put Malaysian hip-hop on the world’s music radar, Joe is the epitome of #startedfromthebottomnowwehere.

Other than being a renowned entrepreneur, he now has five highly successful albums under his belt and is determined to prove that Asia is a rising giant in the general hip-hop scene.

Check out: Apa Khabar, Baek

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More and more hip-hop acts are popping up here and there as the rap community in India begins to grow. Brodha V is one of the few good ones who writes lyrics about local society and its hardships. While he’s a lot more underground than India’s more popular rappers, many fans have noted that this guy’s got the smoothest flow in the scene.

Blast: Aathma Raama, Aigiri Nandini

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Considering China’s censorship issues, you’d think this country would be the last place to have a growing underground hip-hop scene. Melo acknowledges this and says that China isn’t as ready for rap music as he’d like for it to be. But that doesn’t stop him from producing music that challenges the system, like his famous Uber Rap that accused authorities of interfering with Uber’s services in China. Now that’s what we call a good example of “fuck the police.”

Head nod to: Jang Jiu Xhege Beat

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As of the time of writing, up and coming local rapper Ninno Rodriguez has just taken over leadership for creative collective Logiclub.

It isn’t difficult to see why—after the release of his album “Third Culture Kid” just this year, Ninno only strengthened proof of his raw talent with excellent flow and selfaware, socially relevant lyrics. We’re excited to watch his homegrown career get even bigger.

Play: Game 3.0, TCK

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You know a guy’s legit when he’s been featured on Frank Ocean’s newest album. This North Tokyo native and part-time model has produced three studio albums so far, his third one named “Dirt” gaining critical acclaim by critics worldwide. KOHH has also collaborated with other international hip-hop icons, like viral South Korean sensation Keith Ape. Listen: Dirt, Paris

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One of the more underrated rappers based in Singapore, THELIONCITYBOY is an artist signed onto apl.de.ap’s music label BMBX. Of Indian and European descent, THELIONCITYBOY produces music fused with Western and Asian influence. You can’t go wrong with this guy’s beats: a sick mix of R&B and rap that’s bound to get anyone singing along.

Drop the needle on: Yaya

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Who knew that a gangly, homeschooled teenager from Jakarta would be the next big thing on the internet? After dropping his music video for Dat $tick, Indonesian comedian Brian Imanuel, who also goes by his rapper alias Rich Chigga, garnered praise from real hip-hop artists in a separate viral video. Though he’s considered a meme, you can’t deny that this boy’s got real flow. Somebody give him a full album.

You already know: Dat $tick, Who That Be

HIGGA C H C I

14 fashion

true value

Photography by KOJI ARBOLEDA Styling by VINCE CRISOSTOMO

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18 fashion

All clothes and accessories from OXYGEN at SM Megamall

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Makeup by SYLVINA LOPEZ feat. CHRIS and LYNDSAY

20 essay

beautimous THERE’S A GIRL I adore, and she once described life as “beautimous.” I Guadalupe might be clear to most people, but Gate 3 would confound even never figured out what it meant, but I presume it’s two words put together. the most seasoned commuter. There were lines for each jeep that started The first, I was sure, had to be “beautiful.” The second I guessed was at each route’s marked boarding point along the length of the enclosure, but “tremendous,” maybe, or “polyamorous,” or perhaps, the slightly less these lines got so long and winding, leaving people impatient and squatting interesting “glamorous.” In any case, she wore this viewpoint on her sleeve, on the pavement. It was such that I had to tap a number of people on the or, more accurately, her Twitter profile. shoulder to ask what route they were lining up for, until I found someone “Life is beautimous,” the bio used to say. It was stated so matter-of- going the same route, and then follow that particular line until I found its factly that I found it hard to disagree with. I admired her disregard for proper end. I had to do this every time, and that Friday was no exception. usage and took it for conviction. Life was beautimous, I said to myself, my One of the routes that boards passengers there is called EDSA Forbes, mouth agape. I hadn’t thought of it that way. after the sprawling expanse of wide roads and greenery where Makati’s This I remembered on my way home from work. elite resides. I am sure that the EDSA Forbes jeep boarded none of this I had just completed the 96th hour that day, which meant I had 104 village’s residents, the jeep likely skirting around the filthy and narrow to go. To be granted my business degree, I’d been not required but “highly roads that surround it instead. I was standing in line for my own jeep when encouraged” by the state university I attend to enroll in a midyear course I overheard an elderly couple ask where the end of the Forbes line was, called Business Practice. It was simple enough: find a company that would enunciating the e at the end, long and hard. take in my inflated resumé (I say this because it is engorged and made The girl I adore once said she would only date someone whose entirely of hot air), sign a few waivers, and assume my place as intern at one car had a Forbes sticker. These stickers are issued by the village’s of their desks for 200 hours from June to July. homeowners to residents and their relatives’ private vehicles, allowing Because I’m a state-educated kid, I like to think that I’m left-leaning, them a way around the public access congestion and through the village’s an idealist with principles that might guide the way to life getting better wide, asphalted roads. This, while elderly couples and interns in slacks in our country. My understanding of socialism is pedestrian at best. (The crammed themselves into jeeps which then crammed themselves into the truth of this is warm and bitter and real, much like the Americano I had designated single-lane roads. I agreed wholeheartedly, I remember saying at a McDonald’s once while reading The Communist to the girl that I adore. I wasn’t going to wait around Manifesto. #Marxdo, I thought, trying to understand while beautimous life passed me by. what it all meant. Later, I got up and bought myself I wondered then what she would think of these A socially-aware college an egg tart.) At the very least, I knew enough that the octogenarians hobbling from person to agitated student grapples with the prospect of working for a corporation incited a minor person, waiting for someone to point them home. This sacrilege of joining the dark kind of inner turmoil. Think of it this way—it’s hard to couple would likely go on the rest of their lives skirting claim that the economy should service the basic needs the edge of For-bes, not knowing of the grand expanse side that is capitalism of the public when your day job is to sell it a more that awaited those who bore stickers. As someone powerful detergent. from the middle class, I was exposed to both the

By CEDRIC S. REYES Still, I had to get an internship for my degree, and expanse and the single lane roads that surrounded it, Illustration by JER DEE even if the matter of graduating was not up for debate, just beyond its walls and gates.

I’d be lying if I said I did it only because I had to.

My upbringing and left-leaning views resisted Before starting, I was excited and fascinated by the comfort and beckoned me to fight, to tear down the allure of corporate life. Despite my ideals, I still wanted to know what it was high walls that separated rich from poor. But something else, something like on the inside. Not so I could run it to the ground a la Lenin (I swear, stronger than my ideals, wanted to leave the walls be. In a city where employers past, present, and future), but because I liked the order of it all, opportunities for social mobility are few and far apart, I was going to take the neatness that it promised despite the conflict with my views. the first one that came. Maybe, it only took 96 hours for me to fall in love Ninety-six hours into it, the allure had not faded. I was sure: I loved with corporate because I had long ago chosen the stickers. corporate. Didn’t like it, didn’t think it was a suitable career option. I loved Equality should be a no-brainer. Because I grew up knowing only it. The three-by-two-square-meter cubicle I called mine, the way the lights the single-lane roads, I still want to be able to serve the marginalized, dimmed at exactly 12 noon, Miss Jenneth from Sales. I loved the matrices to provide for the essentials that they are still deprived of. Here lies the and the processes and the clarity of it all, and I loved Jennneth. Laymen classic dilemma—myself or others? When I was younger, there didn’t seem would call it an internship but it was a job to me, my job. to be a need to differentiate the two. Faced with the realities of life at the The day I completed my 96th hour was a Friday, and everyone was end of the line for a jeep, doused in my own sweat, it seemed increasingly in a Friday mood. We were given a talk on making business decisions in like I would have to choose—if not now, then eventually. Maybe when the the morning and then, after sifting through the usual spreadsheets in my time for deciding comes, I’ll make a choice that I can be proud of. In the ergonomically designed chair, I left at the usual hour to make my way home. meantime, I just really wanted to get in the damned jeep.

This way involves two malls and a bit of walking. Behind the first mall I board Someone in the line for Gate 3 had directed the couple to the end a jeepney that shuttles me to the next one. Once at that second mall, I take of their line, this person pronouncing the same long e at the end. It was a tricycle that drops me off at my house, which is too close to be considered getting dark, and usually this meant I would get to board my jeep soon. In “out of town” but far enough that I’m routinely warned about the danger of the jeep, so tightly packed that my seatmates and I would have to negotiate small animals. arrangements to prevent us from falling to the middle, I would plunge I arrived at the concrete lot behind the first mall, a dusty enclosure where deeper through the warm and bitter reality of where I’m from. Shanties all jeeps pass. It serves as both a parking lot and a station for different jeep that line the main highways obscured by a concrete wall maybe seven feet routes, but really it was a shoulder of the adjoining major highway. For this high are blocked off again by the shoulders of the people across me in the reason, it could have been perfect for public transportation, had it not been jeep. The truth of my city is far from the regularity of corporate life that for tropical heat and the enclosure’s shitty maintenance. But it was a Friday, I had compromised my ideals for. But no matter, because soon I would and home beckoned me southwards. arrive at the second mall, where there’s no e in Forbes and maps outline Mine was just one of the many jeeps that boarded at this enclosure, which boutique is where. Only a little more until everything is brightly lit and joined by other routes that were vague and unhelpful in equal measure. beautimous again. n

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essay 21

Faced with the realities of life, it seemed increasingly like I would have to choose—if not now, then eventually.

Maybe when the time to decide comes, I’ll make a choice that I can be proud of.

22 portfolio

more than kawaii Keeshia Felipe’s world of doll-faced muses is both window and mirror for the young artist

By LEX CELERA THE BEAUTY is in the details. The cheeks are blushed and rosy, the eyebrows on point, the hair colored like ice cream. The body is adorned in easy-looking pastel garb. A little quirk here and there. The eyes say it all. Is she pensive? Is she happy?

“What I like the most is how I usually draw eyes, like a cat-eyeliner style,” shares Keeshia Felipe. “I just like how sophisticated it looks.” Sophisticated may not be the word some might call it—not just the eyes but the doll-like figures Felipe draws as a whole. They might call it quirky, or kawaii, the Japanese word for cute. But to call it as just that, as just a run-of-the-mill pop art that gets lost in the stream of Tumblr posts, is unfair to the artist.

In a world of reviews and reviews of reviews, people forget the relationship between the artist and his art. The artist leaves a part of himself on his art, and vice versa.

Keeshia, or Kita to her fanbase, values her art as a hopeful extension of herself. “When people started noticing I look like the [figures] that I am drawing, it’s because one of my frustrations when I was still developing my

My Space Digital Art

style was I can’t wear anything that the girls on my drawings are sporting.

Like, I can’t wear a sleeveless top or loud-colored hair because I was brought up by a very conservative family, and the environment which I live in is still not open to looks outside the norm.”

There are a lot of artists like Keeshia who find liberation in expressing oneself through art. One of Keeshia’s icons, Tyler, The Creator breaks through the mold of race and age through his work in music and art. “I’m trying to live how he lives his life. I believe in his teachings that you should find your wings and fly. Do what you want and do not listen to anybody but yourself. Trusting yourself.” It was a very happy coincidence that the two had a connection online. “I was very hyped when he noticed my version of his ‘Cherry Bomb’ artwork, he then reposted it and even included it in his ‘GOLF BOOK’ and he sent me a copy of the book! So awesome! I was very hyped!

He skyrocketed my career.”

You might see Keeshia’s work outside the screen through her recent collaboration with lifestyle blogger Chuvaness and National Book Store.

“Chuvaness, Cecile van Straten, is actually the sister of my boyfriend’s schoolmate, Ana. Ana knew of my art from my boyfriend Paul, and she liked my work and decided to have herself drawn. She helped me boost my career to another level, and showed me endless support. She’s like a ninang to me.” The result of the collaboration introduced a special line of school supplies, tote bags, and more.

“Now that I am more confident about myself, I can easily express what I want to look like and now I feel like I am one with my drawings. It is such a great feeling,” she shares. Her drawings don’t have to smile to reflect Keeshia’s happiness. The art may just be cute, even simple, but in the coming-of-age yearning for self-expression, Keeshia is a beacon of pastel light. “Everyone is dreaming to be known and to give inspiration to everybody, I want that.”

Through her art, she just might get what she wants. n

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Killer Shades Gouache Paint

I’m Watching You 1 Digital Art

All Girls Club Digital Art

Tyler, The Angel

Bye! Ink

I’m Watching You 2 Digital Art

Teenage Girl Gouache Paint

24 essay

staged

bare Improv theater is for everyone, even when you think you’re not cut out for it

By CARMEL ILUSTRISIMO Illustration by LIANNE FONDEVILLA

essay 25

THERE IS NO STAGE FOR THE ACTORS. In fact, the performance space is barely wider than an average bathtub.

There are no big backdrops, no props, no special lighting except for the same set of fluorescent lights that hang over all the customers in the small restaurant. None of the actors are in costume, and only some are wearing light, everyday makeup. Two of them are holding microphones, introducing their improv comedy group to everyone in the room. The audience gives them a round of applause, and the show starts.

“Improv,” explains one of the two hosts, “is a form of drama that uses no script. Everything we act out is made on the spot! That’s why we need your help!”

“Our first game is called Quick Change,” says the other host. “Two of us will act out a scene based on your suggestion. When we ring the bell, the player who spoke last must change their last line. If we’re not satisfied with the new line, we ring the bell again. And on and on and on. Now, can any of you tell us, what is the worst place you could take someone out on a date?”

Hands are raised, answers shouted, each one wilder than the last. “A school locker!” “A dumpsite!” “A confession booth!”

The hosts choose the craziest one. Two other players join them in the performance area. “Presenting ‘Quick Change: A Date in the Confession Booth’,” the hosts introduce, and then they wait on the sides with the rest of the group as the two players act out the scene, creating the beginning, climax, and conclusion of a plot right on the spot, with not even a second to talk and plan things.

“But I’ve only been a priest for two months,” says one of the players.

The bell rings.

“But I’ve only been a priest for two years,” the player repeats. The bell rings again.

The player pauses. “I’m not actually a priest, my boy,” he says. The audience roars with laughter. At the end of the scene, the two players smile at each other with pride for the success. One of them assumes the role of host, describes another game as three more players jump in. A few games later, the show ends to everyone’s satisfaction, including the improvisers’.

It happened almost a year ago.

It’s crazy to think that had I known exactly what I was getting into, I would have backed out, or avoided it at all costs. I knew I was not a good comedian. I knew I was an extreme introvert, with stage fright, and being awkward took the same amount of effort for me as breathing.

The class I had signed up for was called “Presentation Skills.” I assumed we’d be taught how to speak clearly, enunciating consonants and things like that, or that we’d have lessons on appropriate body language and posture.

I thought it would tackle the stuff we needed to nail a job interview. Had “improv comedy” been in any part of the class description, I would have run away from it like the plague and never looked back.

But they only showed the class titles, not their descriptions, and this was the first time our school had offered Presentation Skills. It turned out to be a class on improv comedy.

I should have known. It was listed as a theater arts elective, after all, and most of my classmates were drama veterans, active in campus performance groups or minors in theater arts. There were only nine of us in class.

Improv is simultaneously convenient and difficult. On one hand, it does not cost much, since there is no need for elaborate technicalities. Only the players, a good sound system, a bell or a buzzer, and slips of paper and pens for the audience to write their suggestions on are needed. The ideal audience size for improv shows is small, preferably less than a hundred, so each viewer has a better chance of having their suggestion used.

However, the very same liberties that make improv convenient can be hurdles in presenting a good show. Since no script is used, it is completely up to the improvisers to ensure each performance is engaging from start to finish. Using only the suggestion of the audience, the improvisers must establish a coherent story together. As much as possible, they must avoid unnecessary dialogue, while remembering the rules of the game. For example, in Quick Change, they must come up with a good replacement for the last line as quickly as possible.

But perhaps the biggest challenge for any improviser is the willingness to be laughed at, to be vulnerable. In ordinary drama, scripts are analyzed by actors so their characters can be taken seriously by the audience and understood the way the playwright and the actor understand the character. Not so with improv, where characters and relationships are created on the spot. The occasional awkward silence, deadpan jokes, and misunderstandings among fellow improvisers cannot be avoided. They all must find a way to make it work towards the end—and they can only do that when their inner critic has been sufficiently silenced.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for any improviser is the willingness to be laughed at, to be vulnerable.

We played simple games in the first few weeks. Those were icebreaker games. I now recognize the wisdom of our instructor, Missy Maramara, herself a member of a prominent local improv group called SPIT, in strengthening our friendship first. To do that, we had to be willing to show our true selves. One of the first and most important concepts we learned in improv class was silencing our inner critic.

The inner critic is a little voice in your head that keeps you from embarrassing yourself. It warns you when you’re doing something stupid or shameful. When someone’s inner critic is very loud, their ability to have fun, make friends, and show their true self is compromised. In short, an overprotective inner critic is the last thing you’ll need in an improv show, where you’re expected to be put in embarrassing situations in front of an audience.

Later we were playing short games with a scene partner, then short scenes with two or more people. After our first exam, where we put on a show at the Fine Arts Theater, we moved to longform games with multiple scene partners. It became easier and easier to tell if any of us had a noisy inner critic during the show. We knew the audience could tell, too: the long pauses, out-of-character laughter, stumbling over words, desperate uses of slapstick jokes. The more we listened to each other over the voices of our inner critics, the funnier shows we had.

Once your inner critic is silent, it’s easier to make use of another principle: being in the moment. Being in the moment is crucial in any improv game. You don’t need to have a special funny bone or be the class jokester to be adept at improv. The funniest shows are those where improvisers are completely in the moment, listening to each other and making each other look good.

Being in the moment means to temporarily forget that you are being watched by an audience. For a while, you must believe you are a character, and that your scene partner is also a character, and that both of you have some sort of relationship, which must be established on the spot. Besides the relationships between the characters, you and your scene partner are also in charge of defining the other Ws: where are your characters at that moment, when is it taking place, why are you there, what are you both doing, what do both of you want to happen. To make the audience laugh, they must understand the situation, and for that to happen, the improvisers must first be familiar with the world they’re creating.

Don’t worry about the audience. Instead, put all your energy in defining the situation with your partner. Offer an idea to your partner, and accept theirs. This basic principle is called, “Yes, And…” When your scene partner calls you his wife, you must accept it with no qualms, and then offer him a suggestion. YES, you are his wife, AND he crashed your car last weekend.

Your scene partner must then add something to the situation, but he has to make use of the fact that he was the one who crashed his wife’s car last weekend. He can say no and pretend he didn’t do it, but he must let the audience know that he is pretending and that he actually had crashed the car last weekend. You can pretend to be fooled, or you can get mad about him lying, but you must not disagree with the offerings he established.

Neither should he disagree with any of yours.

Silencing the inner critic. Being in the moment. Yes, And. Not exactly the primer for nailing job interviews, but they can help a lot. And they are useful in any social situation, where quick thinking, alertness, and listening are much appreciated.

The easiest way to master all these is to use them frequently. Use them amongst peers to turn potential arguments to healthy discussions. Use them to be less biased in acquiring information. Use them to get a better understanding of anyone and anything. The things you learn in improv or theater can be applicable to any tricky situation. n

26 on the cover

r o o k i e

of

t h e One long, unfilitered conversation with the freshfaced Lauren Reid, who did not really come here with plans to join the circus that is local showbiz

y e a r Interview by ROMEO MORAN

Photography by PAOLO CRODUA

Styling by RYUJI SHIOMITSU

(Opposite Page) H&M x KENZO top

on the cover 27

IF YOU found Lauren Reid the way I did the morning of our cover shoot, you would’ve never figured that this was the girl everyone’s been putting on covers and shoots and ads lately.

You’d expect a woman flanked by a small entourage the sister of the James Reid and possible future sister-in-law of the Nadine Lustre would need in this star-crazed country—but no, Lauren arrived first, all by herself. I found her peering at the wall of magazine covers in our office, clearly curious and interested, instead of sitting down and being engrossed in her phone while she waited.

I would later learn that even though she posts selfies and her photos and her gym and dancing videos on Instagram, she doesn’t really care about all the materialism prevalent in our lives today. The more I spoke with her, the more I learned that here, we have a millennial quite unlike the millennial most of us have become, and a celebrity that’s unlike most yet. Lauren Reid did not magically appear from some formless void because she is a Reid with a famous brother who blazed a trail she could take full advantage of; to her, this entire showbiz experience is just that: an experience.

And because she’s been shining under the spotlight for the past couple of months, no doubt by now you’ve read a lot of what there is to say about Lauren. It seems that we’re all in too much of a rush to document her and already prepare her spot in the annals of our showbiz history, long before any of us—including Lauren herself—even knows what she’s going to do, or how much she’s going to do. But she’s not an ant burning under a microscope on a sunny day. She sweats none of this.

One can say she stumbled into this crazy world and decided to take it all on. And I can confirm that she, at this point, is fully okay with the idea of having to leave it one day, finished or not finished, failure or success. If it ever has to come to that, she can walk away from it just like she left us after our shoot, walking into traffic, blending into the city crowd, unhesitant of who would spot her and gawk at James Reid’s sister.

And she’ll still have left showbiz a better place than she found it.

Exactly.

I know a lot of my friends in Australia are just like, “What... happened to you? How are you doing that right now?” How did it happen? It was obviously because my brother’s already in the industry. Two of my brothers were already in the industry. And there was an opportunity for me because his management, I suppose, allowed me to come in for an interview and whatnot. To be honest, I don’t know how it happened (laughs) but I’m happy that it did!

This has to be the nth interview you’ve done in the span of... a couple of months?

Yeah, about three!

Both.

Moving here, really, was because of my dad. He is pushing 80, so he’s quite oooold—he doesn’t wanna hear that, but he’s getting older, he’s not getting younger. And I just wanted to spend some more time with him, because I moved out at 15. So I wasn’t with him for a lot of that. And so our relationship wasn’t as strong as it could have been.

But to go into showbiz, I don’t know how— who gets that opportunity, you know? Why would you pass that up? Because a corporate job’s a corporate job, I can always go back to it. It’s not like I’m gonna lose all my skills. I can apply for another job, and get another job.

How have they all been?

Each one is very different. Completely different.

More or less the same questions, but the approach to all the interviews are very different.

Does it get boring?

No, it doesn’t... but when I get asked the same questions, it’s a tough one to think, “Do I give the same answer, because it’s the first thing that comes to the top of my head, or do I need to give you something else?”

Glad you brought that up, because I feel pressured. I’ve been reading up on all your interviews and what you’ve been up to. I guess I’m gonna have to start with the obvious one— how does a girl working a corporate job in Australia end up— Ooh. —in Philippine showbiz?

Oh, right. How does that happen? That’s not even something that people think would ever happen.

Can you give us a timeline—like, this time last year, what was happening?

Okay, September last year. I think I was here, actually. I think I was here for about three months or so, kind of testing the waters if I wanted to be in the country. I was on a bit of a holiday, I was here, seeing if I liked it, went back to Australia for six months, had my final decision and then came here.

“But [for me] to go into showbiz, I don’t know how—who gets that opportunity, you know? Why would you pass that up?”

What led you to consider it?

Showbiz or moving here?

Did you feel any sort of ennui, any sort of restlessness, I guess, in Australia or anything?

In Australia? Kind of, with my job, I had kind of some moral issues with what I was doing. Not that it was bad, or anything, but I worked for a company that provided workforce to abattoirs, like slaughterhouses and whatnot.

Professionally, it’s a good job, but I was vegan at the time, and prior to that, vegetarian, so I had these morals of how can I not eat meat and all that. The reason I went vegan is because

of climate change, and slaughterhouses and abattoirs don’t help that at all, but it’s the biggest industry in Australia. It’s really difficult.

How long did it take you to get up out of there because of your own feelings about the situation?

When I first started, I thought, “Oh God, am I really doing this?” It was actually from the start. But I’ve gotta say that I was really good at my job, and I really enjoyed it and the people that I worked with. So I stuck on with it. And the company grew, and it was successful, and it’s still a thriving business.

It’s like, there are so many more things! It’s not just because of that. It’s also because of family. It’s also because I wanted something new. It’s not anyone.

Okay. By my count, I think you’ve done like four photoshoots and covers for big publications around here. How does that feel? Does that overwhelm you?

Yeah! It does! It’s awesome! Like I’m saving every single picture, like the Preview [feature], for example, I just got a stack of them that’s just in my room. You know, I’m really proud of it just because, as you said, this time last year I didn’t think I was gonna be in this position.

Did you ever see yourself on a cover of a magazine?

Nooo, God no. (laughs) What does it feel like?

It’s awesome! It’s awesome to, like once you can hold it, say I did this. I achieved this.

That’s fantastic. But you know, it’s different— like in any business, any job that you do, you get a certification of attainment or something that you’ve done within that business, it’s the same thing. This is just like a picture. It’s still like a reward. It’s like an achievement, just in a different form, I suppose.

Are you getting used to it?

I kind of... I know what to expect in a photoshoot now, which is... like not exactly getting used to it, because it’s different, every single time. It’s a different concept, different people. You can’t really get used to it when it’s not exactly the same thing.

I mean the fact that you’re living this life.

People want you on the cover of magazines, people want you on billboards, commercials.

Is this something you’re already used to?

Yeah, I guess. I mean, I don’t expect it, but if someone says, “You wanna shoot?” I’m still like, “Oh my God, yes! That’s really nice!” I’m still kilig, if you wanna say that.

Kilig, okay!

I’m still kilig!

Is that like the first major Filipino concept that you learned? (laughs) No, no! I bet it’s probably one of my favorites.

It’s kilig and pak ganern! (laughs) Yeah, I saw that video you did.

The one at the gym?

The one at the gym, and the beki slang...

Oh! (laughs)

28 on the cover

“I see all my friends when I was younger, and they have their parents, and they have their siblings, and their parents are still together and they’re not divorced and they all live in this nice white picket-fence house. To me, that was always the ideal family. But our family was never that.”

Is it weird that people keep making you do this stuff?

Um, no, I think it’s fun! The one in the gym, I decided to do that. But the beki slang one (chuckles) that was... that was interesting.

But other people enjoyed it, too. I’m glad it got the people laughing.

Is that the weirdest thing about being foreign in the Philippines—someone who’s not originally from here, you grew up elsewhere—they’re trying to paint you as this outsider who’s cute and comes in, assimilating the culture and all that. What do you think of all that?

Right! I never saw it that way until just now. Well, I guess it’s what I’m trying to do—I’m not trying to be cute and all that, but I am trying to assimilate in some form or way by trying to learn the language, and trying to immerse myself in what all the Filipinos do here. Because if I’m gonna live here permanently or for a while, I feel like it’s necessary to assimilate.

Do you feel weirded out that people, or of all the things they’ve been making you do on those videos and stuff, they’re portraying you as this funny foreigner?

I never saw it like that! (laughs) It’s funny, the things they’re making you do, and you’re obviously having a blast.

Yeah, no, I’m having a lot of fun! But if they wanna paint that picture, it’s fine. If people see me that way, that’s fine. It’s fine with me. I don’t really mind.

Why is that? Have you never thought about what people think of you?

Not too much, really. Everybody sees everyone in a different way, so not everyone’s gonna see me like that. Some people are gonna think it’s funny, some people are gonna think it’s a joke, some people don’t care, some people are gonna hate it. So I don’t, really.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the Philippines is kind of a really judgmental society.

Oh, yeeeah. So is Australia! I’m not gonna lie, everyone’s judgmental, they just do it in a different way. In Australia, it’s very sarcastic. It’s sarcastic to everybody. They judge everyone, but they’re very straight up about it.

People are straight up mean here, you know?

They’re not sarcastic, they’re just mean.

Like people online, and whatnot?

Yeah. In general, I guess.

I just... I think that’s so sad, to be honest. That you need to take time out of your day to say something horrible to another person. You could do something much more positive with your time.

Have you already gotten a taste of that?

Like a bit. Not as much as I thought I would, just right now. I’ve had some. At the start, it was mostly in Tagalog and I couldn’t understand that, so it’s kind of like, ugh! It’s fine! I don’t really mind that. But now that I can understand some

things, yeah, I just push it to the side. To be honest, I will remove it from my page. If I see it, I will remove it, because I don’t need to go on my social media when I’m feeling great and I don’t need to see that comment there every single day. Or whenever I go into that.

my friends when I was younger, and they have their parents, and they have their siblings, and their parents are still together and they’re not divorced and they all live in this nice white picket-fence house. And to me, that was always the ideal family. But our family was never that.

What is the worst thing that you could understand?

Um... I can’t even remember, to be honest. They all just sound the same to me.

A TV family.

It’s like, well, kind of, you would make a good story. But five mothers, and then a bajillion children that all live separately at one point, all together at one point, yeah, it’s just normal.

That’s great, because I wish we could all forget.

It sticks with you!

Actually! I don’t have good memory, so it’s got something to do with it, but I really can’t remember. Like I think I posted a video the other day and someone said I don’t have an ass.

That’s the last thing I heard. But yeah, that’s fine by me.

What’s the worst thing—the hardest thing, I guess, about being an Australian in the Philippines?

For me, it’s the language barrier. And also, I’m not fully Filipino. Even if I embrace Filipino culture and all that, I’m not totally a Filipino, I’m still not one of them, even if I learn these things.

Because it’s gonna be years before I can speak as fluently as the next Filipino.

What was it like to meet your half-siblings and not communicate with them?

Well, they’re 18, 17, 16, and another one is 13.

So it’s been years. I knew them when they were born, and they can speak English, but they’re just shy. So I’m gonna be the one that can communicate with them. Because these halfsiblings of mine, they’re all younger than me. So I’m their ate, I should take initiative and do that for them.

Going back to all the haters and stuff. Have you ever given failure in showbiz any thought?

Yeah. That it like might not lead to anywhere? Is that what you’re saying?

Sorry, does that annoy you?

When people talk about and bring up James? No no no no no. Yeah, no, people can bring up James, that’s fine. I have no issues with discussing my brother.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah! Of course. If that happens, then I’ll go back to what I was doing before, or get back to a corporate job. It doesn’t faze me at all. It’s like if I failed really big in the public eye, that if I did something that just ruined me in a really negative light, the only thing that would bother me, really, would be how it would reflect on my family. So how it would reflect my on my dad, my brothers, my brothers’ careers. But I can’t imagine what I’d do.

All right. What’s the best thing about now—I read somewhere that you guys grew up not so well-off.

No, we grew up really well-off, then it dropped off.

How would it reflect on their careers?

Well, it depends on what I did, or what happened to me. So if I did something really really bad that, I don’t know, I can’t even think about it.

Oh yes, right.

So we were like kings to peasants.

Because my idea of failure would be flopping.

I guess how I understand your idea of failure is scandal.

No, not exactly scandal. Okay, yeah, but scandal, that wasn’t in my head. Flopping, as in I can’t deliver?

James has been doing really well.

James has been doing really well, but he’s been here seven years. He’s been here for a long time.

Then here now.

Then here now. But yeah, but it took a while.

Like my dad and James living in a little hotel for a few years.

Over here?

Yeah. Because we didn’t have enough money.

But then now, because of James...

I guess.

Mmm, that would be a shame. (laughs)

Oh! No, I didn’t live with them. So I don’t know.

Not saying that you can’t, because it’s just saying that— But like, I mean I haven’t put any expectations for anybody yet, other than what people are expecting of me. Because I haven’t claimed, exactly, to wanna be an actor, a singer, or a dancer, anything. So everyone’s expectations are their own right now.

What was it like?

I guess the family’s all scattered a bit, so what is that like? What is it like... it’s normal for us.

It was just the most normal thing. Like I see all

What’s the highest expectation, or the most absurd, I guess, that you’ve gotten? If any?

Um, I haven’t heard anything. But people ask me to go on ASAP.

What was that like? I mean, like, I guess I wanna know...

I didn’t live with them.

on the cover 29

H&M x KENZO coat and T-shirt, H&M top

“My mindset right now is so positive, and I’m just so happy with my life right now that everything is brilliant.”

H&M x KENZO hoodie and T-shirt, H&M STUDIO pants, H&M shoes

30 on the cover

on the cover 31

Yeah!

That’s like really the only thing I’ve gotten from people. Which is... that’s cool. That sounds like fun. I can use my dancing. (laughs) But yeah, flopping because I couldn’t deliver, how would I feel about that? I’d feel pretty shitty about it.

No one enjoys failure, but then from failure, you can build yourself up, look at what you did, and do better. But for me, I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket and going, “Showbiz is it.” I am giving it my all, but I do have a Plan B. Which is the corporate world. Not necessarily going back to Australia, I can do it here.

That’s amazing.

I don’t feel anybody’s expectations, like baggage, on me. To me it’s all really exciting.

The way—my mindset right now is so positive, and I’m just so happy with my life right now that everything is brilliant. Like that might sound like a showbiz answer to you, but in Australia, I was not a very positive person. So now I’m just taking everything with a grain of salt.

Yeah.

Actually, before I went into showbiz, I had a few applications here with a few different corporations.

So that was the plan before— Yeah, yeah, showbiz wasn’t my [plan]. I didn’t come here like, “Ooh, I’m gonna go in showbiz!” No, I had applications in and been in interviews and things like that.

All the other corporate stuff.

Yeah.

I think that might have been the story people had in mind with you.

That I came in for showbiz?

Okay. Do you still want to be a lawyer?

No, I don’t wanna be a lawyer. I would like to be in the legal sector.

Yeah.

No, I came in, I had a few months, I was applying for jobs, did my interviews and stuff, had some time, went over to America with James and Nadine for their tour. They did the whole “You should join showbiz,” and I thought, hey, you know what? I haven’t got a job yet. I’ve still got my applications in. They’re still coming in, so I can try this out, see how it goes, then here I am!

I guess in a pressure way.

In a pressure way. No, I don’t feel the pressure.

Really?

No, I really don’t feel the pressure.

The reason why my eyes are wide is because I got kicked out of law school.

Oh, really? (laughs) I think that’s pretty noble. Would you wanna practice law here or in Australia?

I would say in Australia, but that’s what I initially wanted. I kind of went down the path of human resources and business management. So human resources within a law firm, that was my goal.

Until I had sights on investments and things like that. Like I wouldn’t want just one job. I’d want other paths.

You got any leads?

Here?

You said you don’t have any expectations of you or anything, so I guess what I was asking earlier about whether these shoots and covers were overwhelming is because, I guess, you can say that you haven’t been established yet.

And then here you are, people are setting up all these expectations of you by putting you everywhere. Does that really not faze you at all?

Like in a positive or a negative way?

So what did you always wanna be growing up?

I wanted to be a businesswoman. I wanted to be a lawyer, actually. ‘Cause I looked up to my brother, my eldest brother, Andrew. He’s a successful businessman, lawyer, beautiful family, beautiful children, lives in America, got that life going on. That’s what I wanted.

Okay. But not necessarily practicing law.

Not necessarily practicing law.

Okay, I noticed that you post a lot of selfies in the gym and stuff. (laughs)

Where does this positivity come from?

I don’t know. But it was after the tour. I’ve just been a really happy person. Which is amazing, because as I said, I was not always a happy person.

Part of being a celebrity, I guess, is staying fit.

Yeah, it’s really part of the job. If you don’t—I think if someone doesn’t see it as part of their job, they’re not all that. You should be healthy and fit. I think, actually for anybody, not just in showbiz, going to the gym should be part of your job. It should be something you do every single day.

Can I ask why?

Why? Just a lot, a lot of things. From a very young age.

Interesting.

You have one body to take you from start to the finish. And if you don’t look after that body, you’re not gonna get there. Or you’re gonna get there a lot quicker, you know what I mean?

Okay. I’m not gonna go into that since you didn’t wanna go into that.

Nope.

To the finish. (laughs) Yeah, to the finish! We all wanna take our time, and enjoy it!

32 on the cover

I was gonna ask you what you were training for, but I guess that answers it.

Training for life! Yeah!

But okay, so I was also gonna ask you if you thought it was a requirement to join showbiz, so I guess you do.

Yeah. Yeah, I do.

Did somebody tell you, “You have to stay fit?”

No. Actually, I had to put a clause into my contract saying we have to maintain my fitness together.

Did you put a clause in your contract saying, “You have to pay for my gym?”

No, no, God no! No no no.

Because that would be great!

I just said I need to maintain my fitness, basically, and you have to help me get there.

Like I can’t be too busy, so I can go to the gym, things like that.

That’s a good point. I think one of the main issues in showbiz right now is not being talked about that much, but people want better hours.

Yeah. The hours are meant to go ‘til midnight, but they still go further than midnight.

Yeah, yeah, right? Have you been asked to do any tapings yet or anything?

No, no.

Does that worry you?

Kinda.

It’s part of the job, isn’t it?

It’s part of the job, but adequate resting hours are also necessary. I would be very firm with that. Firm with finishing times and all that.

Is there a stigma of people, I guess, in showbiz, the higher-ups looking down on people such as yourself making demands that you feel are reasonable?

Like am I being demanding? Over other people?

No, no, it’s not necessarily you being demanding, but are you afraid of people thinking you’re demanding?

No. Not at all. I think I do come across as very strong to people, I don’t know if you think that.

Not so far. Just between the two of us, I think I’m stronger right now.

Most people, yeah, would say that to me.

But no, I think it’s reasonable. On that one comment, saying that finish time should be a finish time, but any actor that goes into taping has a handler, and that handler would be the one to say they’re finished at the correct finish time. So... I suppose it wouldn’t be me.

You wouldn’t be the one to say it. Does going into showbiz worry you at all?

About what?

Like, I don’t know, I guess in a matter of wellbeing, both physical and mental.

I’d be worried about my well-being, about getting tired, getting exhausted, not having adequate time to rest. Because then if you’re not healthy, if you’re not mentally, emotionally all there, how can you perform to your best ability?

Have you heard any horror stories about how showbiz works, at least in the work hours? Or, you know, what is expected of you?

I’ve heard James, for example, because he is my closest door into the industry. When he was first starting out, he had a call time of, say, 9 a.m. He didn’t go on until I think it was 11 a.m. the next day. So he was there for like 26 hours.

Just waiting.

Well, I mean, these things can happen, right?

So— But, yeah, that can’t happen anymore. Because there are call times and finish times. So that’s a horror story to me. Just waiting there, not being told. I think that would mess up your mind a little bit.

But none of this really scares you.

No. It doesn’t really scare me. I mean like, I might get agitated if I was in that position or I might get frustrated, but it doesn’t scare me. Or worry me.

“I had my life planned out.

And if things didn’t go to plan, I would flip out. So now, I’m really just taking things day by day.”

I think most people want the fame and the money, I guess, and don’t really realize that this business changes people. Are you afraid that it might change you?

If anything, it might make me more outspoken and, I don’t know, confident? But I’m not exactly doing it for the money or anything. I’m really just doing it for an experience, and for my family. Any money I get goes towards the family. So yeah, that’s it.

What do you get up for?

I get up for... myself? My family? The gym?

Because if I don’t, I get a headache. If I sleep in.

Really?

Yeah, I get a really bad headache. I don’t know, just to have a better day than yesterday, I suppose.

Okay. None of this has gotten you down?

Showbiz?

Showbiz, life. Life here. People.

No, the worst thing is probably the traffic. Or

the food. I mean I love Filipino food, but I miss the food in Australia. We have just really good produce and stuff there. Because no one really eats vegetables here, which really kills me, so I go to this one place and eat the same thing every single day, basically. I’m not a very adventurous eater.

What do you have to say to young people trying to chase their dreams, or trying to live life for the experience, not knowing what they have in store for them?

Just the experience of life? The experience of going to showbiz?

I guess advice for people who are lost.

People who are lost... ...but have a lot of energy. Restless energy.

A lot of energy. Plan it out. Sit down, really make a goal. Take baby steps. This is kinda the same thing I tell people when they wanna have a goal losing weight. It’s the same kinda thing for your life, well, this is what I did. I really took my time to sit down and think about what I wanted. I could relate this to moving countries. Sit down, think about what I wanted; I literally did a pros and cons list to see what would be better for me.

So those things really work?

I guess they kinda did, and I kinda thought about what’s important—is it me, is it my friends, is it my family? Where do I see myself in the next five, 10 years? Do I want this relationship?

Do I want kids? Do I want this job? Really just think about everything that you have. I kind of reprogrammed my whole thought process also, because I planned everything out. I had a diary, my life planned out in a diary. And if things didn’t go to plan in my diary, I would flip out. Flip out!

So now, I’m really just taking things day by day.

And I’m so much more calm and relaxed.

Do you take more risks?

Take more risks... risks as in not planning it out?

Like that?

Yeah. Just making stuff work.

Well, I haven’t done anything extreme, really. I did trapezing.

I saw that on your Instagram.

Yeah, that’s like the riskiest thing I’ve done.

I did that too, it was really freaky going up.

Yeah, it’s fun though! That’s what you should do.

Even though I’m not a big planner anymore, like I still write down my schedule and everything like that, but just for people to take it one day at a time, because I’m a much more carefree person for it. But to reach a goal, know your goal and think about how you wanna get there. Surround yourself with like-minded people, maybe? People that know the industry. Network. That’s all I can say.

For my last last question, what’s the best thing you’ve ever gotten from doing something unplanned?

Being happy, really. Like I’m not big on... artificial (holds up phone) what do you call it? Objects.

Materialism.

Yeah, materialism. I’m not big on materialism.

You can scrap everything I have and I’ll still be happy. n

H&M x KENZO dress, GARRISON pullover, H&M shoes

on the cover 33

Makeup by MAC IGARTA for NARS Hair by RHOB RUBIA Stylist’s assistant JL CRESPO Shot on location at HEIM INTERIORS

34 music

how to make it in party city From classic moods to new, staple goods, the party playlists that stick are those that have that mix

By REENA MESIAS Illustrations by LIANNE FONDEVILLA

BASSMENT EDITION An ode to house parties that power up the bass and rhythms to ruin your neighbors’ sleep

SUMMER SAUCE

RANGER DANGER

SOLO DOLO

For squeezing out every last drop of summer

Think skate parks or your not-so-friendly, heinously rowdy neighborhood bars

Drink these tunes down when partying alone, couch-bound, with a glass of negroni

black sheep

l e t ’s s t a y together

on melancholy hill

METRIC

GORILLAZ

hell of a life KANYE WEST

1979 THE SMASHING PUMPKINS

king kunta KENDRICK LAMAR

tribe THEOPHILUS LONDON FEAT. JESSE BOYKINS III

L.E.S. CHILDISH GAMBINO

higher SBTRKT FEAT. RAURY

buffalo TYLER, THE CREATOR

lord pretty flacko jodye 2 A$AP ROCKY

prima donna VINCE STAPLES FEAT. A$AP ROCKY

ghost ship BLUR

yesterdays ONLY REAL

when will i change

bad habits wait up (boots of danger) TOKYO POLICE CLUB

12:51 THE STROKES

lovesick PEACE

BEST COAST

a beautiful sea FERDIA WALSH PEELO

helicopter BLOC PARTY

sunny where you are

bizarre love triangle

WE ARE IMAGINARY

SUGAR FOR SUGAR

come home now DAY WAVE

genesis

can’t hardly wait

JUSTICE

RUSTY MACHINES

day ‘n’ nite KID CUDI

AL GREEN

THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS

everlong FOO FIGHTERS

coming home LEON BRIDGES

two can win J DILLA

prototype OUTKAST

under control THE INTERNET

love like you

(rebecca sugar cover) MILES AND MOT

cosmic love MAYER HAWTHORNE

D.R.U.G.S

first date

REIJIE SNOW

BLINK-182

holding back

blueside

all my best friends are metalheads

betting on us

ROONEY

LESS THAN JAKE

FRANCIS AND THE LIGHTS

SG LEWIS FEAT. GALLANT

Our shoes may be a little wet (no thanks to the moody weather) but we made good on our promise of a good, fun time, right? Shout out to Joaqui Madamba, The Three Of Us, Regj Mison, and Over October for the jams, and to everyone that came to o u r f i r s t S c o u t C a m p u s To u r t h i s y e a r. U n t i l n e x t t i m e . # S C O U T C a m p u s To u r

CO-PRESENTED BY

Untitled-11 1

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

07/11/2016 5:32 PM

36 market

wish fulfilment

3 SHARPIE pen set

1 TOILETPAPER plate

2 CHUVANESS x NBS notecards

FOR THE VISIONARY 6 DOUCHÉ bag 5 MOLESKINE x THE SIMPSONS notebook

4 POLLY patches

9 CAV/EMPT sweatshirt 8 NOTHING T-shirt 7 ADIDAS ORIGINALS X PHARELL WILLIAMS HU RACE windbreaker

13 KYC VINTAGE cap

10 RED WING boots

FOR THE LIVING STYLE PEG

12 SASSAFRAS pants

11 ROYALTY T-shirt

market 37

Christmas is one of the two biggest times of the year where it is absolutely okay to treat yourself.

We’ve rounded up the best stuff for all your heart’s desires 14 SON AND PARK beauty water

16 KIEHL’S healthy skin starter kit

17 CHATEAU LABIOTTE wine lip tint 15 LUSH bath bombs

FOR THE MAKEUP HOARDER

22 KYLIE lip kit

18 URBAN DECAY NAKED palette

19 TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL Dinoplatz UFO box 20 K-PALETTE eyeliner

21 SLEEK SOLSTICE highlighting palette

25 FITBIT Flex 23 APPLE headphone jack adapter

26 GOOGLE Pixel 24 KINGSTON 512 GB flash drive

FOR THE GADGET GOD 27 MARSHALL Kilburn speakers

29 PARROT Bebop 2 drone 28 WD MyPassport external hard drive

WHERE TO GET? 1 - Assembly PH 2 - National Book Store 3 - National Book Store 4 - Polly (pollypatch.storenvy.com) 5 - National Book Store 6 - Douché (douche.serious-studio.com) 7 - Adidas 8 - Nothing (nothingofficial.tv) 9 - Cavempt.com 10 - General PH 11 - ROYALTY (royalty.com.ph) 12 - Signet 13 - Kyc (kycvintage.bigcartel.com) 14 - @philosophieph on Instagram 15 - Lush 16 - Kiehl’s 17 - @philosophieph on Instagram 18 - Lazada 19 - Althea Philippines 20 - Beauty Bar 21 - SM Department Store 22 - BeautyMNL.com 23 - Apple.com 24 - Amazon 25 - Digital Walker 26 - Local availability TBA 27 - Digital Walker 28 - Octagon 29 - iPrice.ph

38 fashion

r

u

n

t

h

i

s

t

o

w

n

Photography by JL JAVIER Styling by ALEXANDER

fashion 39

(This page) ZIGGY SAVELLA robe and shorts, BENCH tank top (Opposite page) PROUD RACE coat

40 fashion

BENCH tank top

fashion 41

THE ARTISAN CLOTHING jacket

42 fashion (This page) PROUD RACE coat (Opposite page) ZIGGY SAVELLA robe and shorts, BENCH tank top

fashion 43

feat. KIT THOMPSON

WHERE TO GET: ZIGGY SAVELLA Ziggy Savella Clothiers on Facebook PROUD RACE proudrace.com THE ARTISAN CLOTHING theartisanclothing.com BENCH SM Megamall

44 art + design

Words from Can’t Feel My Face by The Weeknd. Illustration by AUDY SANTOS for Scout

Untitled-3 1

10/11/16 11:57 AM

night

46 portfolio

There’s a transformation people go through, usually after midnight, and photographer Mimi Morada is usually around to catch it with her camera

visions

Interview by DENISE FERNANDEZ

MANILA IS UNPREDICTABLE when the sun goes down. The sound of traffic is wild with echoes when city folk come out to play, be it at the tight, small-spaced parties of Black Market, the raves in Bonifacio Global City, or the gigs at bars such as Saguijo or Route 196. To capture such happenings is a testament of youth.

Mimi Morada, known for having taken album portraits for local independent bands like Tom’s Story and Flying Ipis, has always been in an intimate relationship with music. Before she found herself deep into the crevices of the industry, Mimi was a young college student at the University of Santo Tomas who simply enjoyed going out to bars, much especially to watch her favorite bands back then–Franco and Urbandub.

What started out as a hobby taking snaps of performing bands as well as the crowd dancing and drinking in the area turned into something she’s actually passionate about. After all, what could be more interesting to shoot than people in their most euphoric states?

How did you first get into nightlife photography? How different do you think it is compared to other kinds of photography?

This is actually a pretty funny story. I went to a Terno gig in 19 East to get early bird tickets for Up Dharma Down’s “Capacities” album launch—of course, also with the intention of taking a few shots of the performers while I was there. It was

Band members of SUD and Cheats enjoy some smokes and good conversations after a gig.

a particularly rainy night and I noticed a couple of the performers, Dane Policarpio from Maude and Luis Gutierrez, who was sessioning for Yolanda Moon. They were struggling with their equipment so I offered my umbrella to help them out. After the gig and a few introductions, I made friends with the guys from Yolanda Moon and Wilderness. It was Wilderness’s Chiko and Miguel Hernandez who really got me into the indie scene, and in turn, nightlife photography.

I’d say portrait and nightlife photography are both very different, but at the same time similar. It’s just that the latter requires more social energy because you have to interact with more people than usual. It’s not bad though, because I really enjoy going to gigs and listening to music. With taking portraits, it’s much more intimate and focused because you direct what you want to capture. With nightlife photography in general, you never really know what’s gonna happen next so you have to be on your toes.

She’s Only Sixteen’s Roberto Seña also moonlights as electronic artist St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

portfolio 47

Twin Lobster vocalist Nick Lazaro once stood on a drumset in front of an ecstatic crowd during a gig at Route 196 that Mimi describes as one of the “wildest” she has ever shot.

How would you describe your own personal aesthetic for photography?

I’m a natural and ambient light kind of girl. Not very technical, too. I don’t like using artificial lights on my photos and I’m more into capturing the moment than having people pose in front of me. I try to imagine what I want and try to capture what I see. I’d like to think that my style is very simple.

Do you think people make more interesting subjects when at parties or events rather than at shoots?

I would like to think so because they’re much more genuine when they’re at parties rather than at shoots. I like being a wallflower when I go out and just really observe people and take their portraits when they’re not looking. (laughs) Kind of creepy, I know. With shoots, people tend to be more guarded, but then again, I still like shoots because I get to impose a certain concept on the subject. But generally, yes, people are much more interesting in events.

Mimi uses natural and ambient lighting since she dislikes distracting subjects when she captures their photos.

How do you decide which subjects to shoot during an event? What do you need to see for you to take a picture of them?

Most of the time, I just follow my instinct. People tend to have this magnetic vibe around them that makes others instantly pay attention or notice them. I try to find that energy most of the time.

When I can find someone in the room who is the complete opposite, like a wallflower of sorts, I take photos of them as well.

What do you enjoy most about nightlife photography?

I like how unpredictable it is and how you need to find a way to make the lighting work without disrupting the subject. It’s exciting. When everyone’s in their element, I don’t really want to startle them with strobes so I try to go unnoticed when I take their photos.

Nick Lazaro from Moonwlk and Twin Lobster poses with a less-thanenthusiastic partner.

Can you tell us about the craziest party or wildest gig that you shot? What happened?

I can’t pick between these two! One was during a Twin Lobster set at Route 196 and it was probably one of the first times I watched the band. Everyone was really riled up and Nick Lazaro suddenly stood on the drum set and almost fell. The other one was a gig at B-Side Courtyard. It was the first time I ever saw Earthmover play live and I was completely blown away. People ran up the stage and Miguel Hernandez (from Wilderness) shook his beer bottle and did a beer fountain at them. (laughs)

Mimi always makes sure to capture a certain energy that party and gig-goers exude in her snapshots.

A lot of millennials are saying that party culture is dead.

It depends on how you define the term “party culture,” I guess. For me, it’s either going to gigs or even just staying at home and playing games.

To some, it’s going out and dancing to music in clubs and bars. I can’t really say they’re dead because they frequently still happen. n

48 how to Your account, your rules. Being a social media manager made me acutely aware of #feedgoals, or that curated, negative-space aesthetic used by lifestyle bloggers. That’s the dominant look, but it isn’t the only way to go.

My friend Karen is a photographer, and she uses Instagram as a portfolio—curating pristine landscapes from the top of mountains and rarely showing her own face. My college batchmate, Kiko, is a filmmaker, so every shot looks like a scene from a movie. One of our NCAA analysts, Mikee, is an athlete who gives zero shits about the grid and uses Instagram to post videos of himself telling jokes. I love looking at all three accounts.

There may be a more business-oriented way to look at social media—say, people who consistently post OOTDs have a shot at product placement deals—but really, there’s no right or wrong way to use it.

That said, you gotta draw the line somewhere. Using social media is a bit like working in TV. You have to set your own limits about what you will and will not do, or else you’ll get sucked into the system of I’ll-do-anythingso-people-like-me. I love posting about my work as a reporter, but I’m also very conscious about seeming GGSS, so I make a point to alternate on-the-job selfies with shots of the athletes themselves. When I feel like there’s too much of my face on the grid, I take a self-imposed break and post a bunch of travel photos.

It’s up to you to figure out your own limits, but a good start is to think, “What do I not like to see on social media?” (Inch-long blocks of hashtags, maybe?) Then make sure you don’t do it yourself.

the pitfall of feed goals All the lessons a self-confessed social media addict learned after getting her head out of her online, curated-feed ass

By CEEJ TANTENGCO Illustration by EDWARD JOSON

Know that the system can be gamed.

When you work in social media for a living, you get cynical about the entire affair. For every here’s-my-perfectly-arranged-mess-on-thebed product placement shot, there’s a brand manager thankful that their investment paid off. For every blogger’s flatlay lunch racking up a thousand likes, there’s a social media manager snickering at how staged it is.

Real talk from the food world: A famous blogger was once invited to try a restaurant’s entire menu. She took a photo of the full-table spread, uploaded it with a caption about being matakaw and baboy, hashtag #cheatday—then refused to eat anything with carbs. This happens more often than you think.

So don’t worry if your Instagram doesn’t look like that of an “influencer.” Chances are their real life doesn’t look like that either.

Post what you like, and likes won’t matter.

Before I became a reporter, I was happy to hit 20 likes on a photo. By the time the NCAA basketball tournament ended, I had a string of 10 photos from the finals that each had close to 200 likes.

That’s nowhere near the thousands that top bloggers receive on a daily basis, but it was still the biggest I had ever gotten, and there was a part of me that wanted to hang on to that “standard.” I was disappointed when my next posts of normal life—hanging out with friends, food—received less than a hundred likes.

Then #BestNine2015 came out and I saw how off my results were. I remember 2015 as the year I started working in front of the camera after years of rejection and toiling away behind the scenes, the year I went on my first trip abroad with my boyfriend, the year my college friends and I attended Guimaras mango festival and tried the eat-all-you-can mango challenge. (I had six.) But if you ask #BestNine2015, my “best” or mostliked moments were makeup selfies and photos with random artistas.

What you like and what other people like are two different things. So don’t worry too much about the number of likes your photos get. Are you posting what you want to see or what you think other people want to see? Someone once told me, “Don’t worry about posing for pictures.

Think happy thoughts when you smile so that no matter how the photo comes out, you know it was real. No happy photo was ever bad.”

I think the same goes for social media. Like yourself and the things you like, and there will be no regrets.

If you want to, there’s a way to curate your feed without it taking over your life.

Here’s something several restaurants do. Open a secret, private Instagram account where you can upload sets in advance and play around with the order whenever you have time. No staying up at ungodly hours. No pressure to delete a flubbed post right away. Spoiler alert: This is what I do now, and it’s oddly game-like and relaxing.

DGAF. You had too much fun at the party and your photos are a little blurry. The concert was amazing but the blue lights don’t fit in your grid’s #mood. You got a bit of crazy eyes going on in that selfie. Social media may be a constructed playground where we present our highlights reel, best-foot-forward selves, but at some point, you got to have the sense of humor to say “fuck it,” and post it anyway.

It’s just social media, after all. Life’s messy, and if art mimics life, maybe your feed could use a little bit of messiness too.

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