A numbers game
MANILA, Philippines - When siblings Mike,Mick and Bobby Benedicto decided to raise their middle fingers in the air and go against the grain of popular music, something like the forward-thinking, groundbreaking, Manila-based music label Number Line Records was born.
Having bridged the diasporas of their Filipino musician friends from all over the globe — all of whom sitting comfortably in the pockets of their individuality and own musical niches — the siblings made a case for independent Filipino music that had long since been neglected in light of other mainstream acts that are deemed more sellable.
Support from media conglomerates and regular inclusions of their 14 acts in the now-defunct Meiday! Meiday!, Attraction Reaction! and the recent Girl Scout MNL gig series, not to mention cameos in the cult hit Ang Nawawala movie and soundtrack, have earned the music label a cult following among the indie music-loving set, rerouting the once cul-de-sac movement into becoming the unstoppable wave of OPM and the 21st century.
The year 2012 was certainly a good one, if not the year, for Number Line Records. This was further established when founders Mike and Mick Benedicto of Outerhope were propelled to take their piano-and-guitar act to pop festivals abroad, done via the sui generic funding platform ArtisteConnect.
There was also the ascent of Tarsius in the music scene, composed of Pedicab vocalist and DJ Diego Mapa and Radioactive Sago Project’s Jay Gasapin. Their cluster of diverse musical influences was put front and center when they put out last year’s “Primate,†one of the first vinyl releases in decades. Also, who can forget their kickass music video for Ang Nawawala where the duo was situated in the middle of an art gallery while the camera spun around them?
Similar Objects’ ethereal music has also earned it accolades, not just in Manila but abroad as they played their first show in Hong Kong with Tarsius and fellow Number Line artist, Modulogeek. Meanwhile, Seattle-based Allan Lumba aka Multo, Manuel Nicolas Alvero and Slow Hello, composed of Ang Bandang Shirley members Owel Alvero and Selena Salang, have also become established players in the indie music scene.
These acts and more are featured in the music label’s third sampler, out this week, which kicks off what promises to be an exciting year for Number Line records. As with prior compilations, the sampler comes with alternate covers from some of Number Line’s favorite visual artists – Zean Cabangis, Ernest Concepcion, Gary Ross Pastrana and MM Yu.
Download at http://numberlinerecords.com/catalog/n-sampler-vol-3.
