**KJWAN** BAR TOUR ROUTE 196 JULY 5!!!

INVITATION MUSIC VIDEO!!!
SEE IT BEFORE IT HITS NATIONAL TV!!!
KJWAN burst onto the Philippine music scene in 2003, when the local rock music scene had forgotten who it was originally and people were almost afraid to listen to anything new. Still, they came down hard, raw, in your face, with the release of their self titled debut album (in 2004) and coined the now-familiar catchphrase, “Bastusan na!” Their hit song, “Daliri,” became an anthem to a new generation of rock listeners and being true to your self became the order of the day. Even the very word, Kjwan, seemed to flamboyantly step in your way and hounded you so that you would never forget the name, the band and the sound
This first album earned them the nominations for Best New Artist, Best Video and Best Album Packaging (along with Balbuena being nominated as Best Drummer) in local rock station NU107’s “Rock Awards.” Favorite New Artist and Best Video at the MTV Pilipinas Video Music Awards 2005 and a month long feature on MTV Philippines as the “Rising Star” Artist of the Month (Jan 2005), specifically, for their breakthrough single “Daliri.” The song, which received such a good amount of airplay on the radio and local music channels, appealed mainly to rock listeners who were fans of A Perfect Circle, Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine, and the earlier grunge bands that defined early 90s rock.
The Manila-based quintet is made up of distinct personalities, with individual musical tastes that don’t always overlap, and strong ideals that are often diametrically opposed. The chemistry might have combusted a lesser band before it even started, but the equally passionate friendships and shared hardships that make up Kjwan have held it together.
Long-time friends and former high school band-mates Marc Abaya (vocals) and Kelley Mangahas (bass) got together with fellow Ateneans Jorel Corpus (guitar) and J-hoon Balbuena (drums) to form the band’s initial lineup. They were joined in 2004 by Boogie Romero (guitar), another high school friend and former band-mate of Marc and Kelley, soon after the release of their self-titled debut album.
Three years later, at the height of the new music renaissance, Kjwan is braving a second album, 2StepMarv, which promises to be so many things more than their first self-titled album.
If the first album had been a simple matter of coming out, the two-year journey of making 2StepMarv was a more complicated matter of growing up—musically. They were able to craft better songs, hone their individual skills, introduce new musical elements to their primarily rock sound, and in general, just put more thought, heart and soul into the new music. They became comfortable in their new skin.
“2StepMarv is a bold step for the band,” Mangahas says. “As a collective, we really wanted to put in more of ourselves and our influences right now. With the addition of Boogie (Romero) for this album, we tried to incorporate this new sound and create a whole new dynamic for the sound of Kjwan.”
Skill-wise, three years of playing together, and more than that of playing with other bands, has honed each member enough to be confident in his own skin as a musician. In terms of new influences, they have consciously opened themselves and their songwriting to be inspired by genres other than rock. If the band has made a rock drummer out of J-Hoon, who in fact grew up not listening to rock, he in turn, introduced them to his original influences of jazz, drum ‘n bass and electronica. These, plus Kelley’s recent Hiphop / R and B and Electronic inspirations, Jorel’s recent interest in samba percussion, and the band’s elemental rock base, were the diverse elements that lent themselves to Kjwan’s collective songwriting for 2StepMarv.
Each and every one of them was more involved in all the creative processes, from the songwriting, the recording, mixing, packaging, and down to the video production of the first single “Pintura”. Marc, who writes almost all the words of Kjwan, points out that even in writing lyrics, it is easier for him to bare his soul to his bandmates, without hindrances like fear, insecurity or pretension between them. This very open friendship is a big factor in the maturity and confidence of the new album.
“Our songs are honest.” Corpus (who also religiously takes care of the band’s online business) says. “They are audible manifestations of our feelings, and the experience is a complete one, from the music to the message. We believe that, as songwriters and musicians, we are faced with a task to not only put out material that only we can relate to, but to put out something everyone can digest.”
The band worked again with noted multi-awarded producer Angee Rozul, who has recorded practically everyone who matters in the Philippine music scene for more than a decade in the acclaimed Tracks Studio in Pasig City.
“Angee is the best sound engineer in this country. Without him, we wouldn’t have even put out our first album, we owe him a lot and naturally for this record, there were no other options. He knows us best and we love working with him because were in our natural element when in his studio” says vocalist Marc Abaya
With this album, Guitarist Jorel, for instance, had the opportunity to incorporate his samba percussion skills to a couple of the songs (“Invitation” “One Look” “You Didn’t Know” and “2 Step Marv”) together with some of his fellows from Brigada (his samba percussion ensemble); while drummer J-hoon contributed his skills in track programming. Also, with regard to the addition of a second guitar, it became an important learning process for both Boogie and Jorel (who were both used to being the only guitarist in a band) to put their heads together and cooperate in order to come up with different but complementary guitar parts, while each still retained his own playing style.
Romero says “It’s a growth, from the first album, and hopefully, in the coming albums, it will grow more. So you can’t really pin your sound to one given genre. It will still grow and grow and grow.”
The band’s faith in their music held it together. A record more explosive than anything you have heard, the album has an incredible range. On one end, there are the classic guitar-driven, big riffed “Pintura” “Sa Ilalim” and “Daan” which elevate the classy, heavy sound that Kjwan is known for from their previous releases. They achieve this by adding more layers, voicing, and elements that tap into the genius of band members Romero and Balbuena, while vocalist Abaya slithers and sings about his infatuation with a mysterious woman and life revelations respectively. On the other extreme, there’s “2StepMarv” a lively track armed with an organic garage beat arranged for a mix of clean guitars and some heavy dynamics that took minor cues from drummer Balbuena’s love for broken, garage, and 2 step beats and “One Look” an insanely addictive pop song that speaks from the heart and taps Corpus’ fascination with the massive samba baterias of Rio’s carnavals.
Among all of these are gems that you might classify as cutting edge; fresh, soulful, hard hitting. “Shai” features new guitarist Boogie Romero’s dark ambient guitars, exploding towards the conclusion, with Corpus helping him build a sonic wall of guitars attacking and lingering as the song dies with the sweet mood that the band is famous for during live shows. “Invitation” opens the the listener immediately to the more secure sound of the band introducing the essential elements of the 2 guitar spacing of Corpus and Romero, The tight broken beats and solid groove of Mangahas and Balbuena and of course Abaya’s unforgettable vocals.
”You Didn’t Know” flawlessly fuses Balbuena’s jazz sensibilities with Romero’s rigid riffing. “Can’t Do That” and “Slow Shutter” highlights the band’s experience in playing with different styles as they adjust to a more soulful setting: minimal elements, sweet voicing, and a lot of dynamics. “Solana” draws attention to Mangahas and how he gels everyone together with an unyielding guitar riff and how it lets Abaya’s message ring through. He sings, “Can you believe? I found myself a special kind that keeps me safe” through the well-knit and firm foundation that his band mates created.
At the center of the record’s sound is “Focus” a beautiful piece that starts off with Mangahas and Balbuena locked together in a tight rhythmic progression, complemented by a counter rhythm by Corpus and Romero. Abaya sings “Take this away from me … take away this poison.” Referring to the classic theme of fallen relationships and honesty, in this case, the persona in this song is being honest about admitting that he has fallen out of love. “Save me from my emotions, I have lost my hold on my mind. I can’t find what you seek in me, I am not what you once loved.”
With their momentous effort for this sophomore album came great blessings too! The band won as Favorite Indie Artist in the local music channel MYX’s music awards night along with their video “Pintura” winning “Favorite Guest Appearance” with the help of a seasoned actress Chin-Chin Gutierrez, A month long feature on MTV Pilipinas as “Lokal Artist of the Month” in December 2006, another month long feature as Yahoo Southeast Asia’s band of the month and another month long feature as “Celebrity VJ’s” in MYX for the whole month of April 2006 where they got to extensively promote the new album and meet new people!
Corpus says "For this record, we hope to reach as much people as we can. We want people to listen to us. Know what we’re all about, like meeting a new acquaintance and developing friendships with our listeners that hopefully will last a lifetime”
WE WOULD LIKE TO GIVE LOVE TO OUR SPONSORS!