The WSK Experience

Always on the prowl for new and interesting things to do outside the usual mall and club experience here in Manila, I find that hearing about creative gigs is very difficult — you have to seek them out.

Luckily, a couple of friends sent invitations to Fête de la WSK or Wasaque, a festival showcasing sonic art and innovation held last Nov. 19-28.

As a self-proclaimed music fan, I was pretty excited to attend a few WSK events, but the hottest ticket was clearly Tujiko Nuriko’s performance on opening night.

The Paris-based Japanese avant-pop artist has been hailed as “the Asian Bjork” by fans and critics alike, based on her refreshing brand of electronica.

On Nov. 19  the opening gig was held at the Parallax Studios, a warehouse-turned-studio located in an industrial part of Makati.

I drove up to the venue only to be welcomed by complete darkness. Wondering whether it was part of the whole festival vibe, I walked into Parallax at 9 p.m. and met singer/designer Kate Torralba with artist Tujiko Nuriko.

The festival’s opening also featured a special performance by the multi-talented Kate Torralba.

The neighborhood apparently was experiencing a blackout and the organizers had to find generators. This caused a delay in the night’s performances so Kate decided to take Tujiko and I out for a quick dinner.

We ended up at Yellow Cab Pizza at People’s Support.

Over pizza and chicken wings, we talked about Tujiko’s music, her two-day journey from Paris, Manila’s music culture, and the traffic. I found her to be warm, adventurous and charming.

Back at Parallax and armed with her MacBook, Tujiko’s performance produced a three-dimensional sound that molded traditional pop into a surprisingly multi-faceted and textured music.

There’s a moody French flair to her sound that is disciplined by Japanese precision. Add that to the lights and images projected on a white wall, and her performance was an aural moment to be remembered.

WSK’s closing night was held at the Victoria Court motel in Pasig on Sunday, Nov. 28. Organizers chose the White House/Oval Office-themed suite which, to be honest, got us very excited.

Gigantic portraits of Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton, George Washington and Barack Obama lined the walls and stairs leading to the “Oval Office.”

As soon as I entered, a site-specific black and white video installation was being projected onto white walls in what was called “Silent Disco.”

Seen at the scene were WSK’s artistic director/curator Tengal Drilon, local rock legend Ely Buendia, fashion designer Kate Torralba, and one of the rising stars of the Japanese avant-pop scene, Tujiko Noriko.

Each viewer was required to bring a radio and headphones since the music and sound were transmitted over an FM frequency. Despite not getting the memo, I actually enjoyed looking at the images and hearing the music for the most part.

Apart from the auditory and visual feast that WSK celebrated, the most best part of the whole experience was the motley crew of guests that attended the events — a good mix of “culturati” and new faces. 

The attendees made me less cynical about the insular Manila scene. So thank you, Fete de la Wsk, for that, and also to Kate Torralba, Erwin Romulo and Tengal Drilon.

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Grace Velasco blogs at http://www.divasoria.ph.