MANILA, Philippines – Paris is a cultural epicenter that has cradled world-renowned electronic music acts such as Daft Punk and Justice. John Paul “JP” del Mundo will be the first from the Philippines to participate in the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) to be held in the city. 

For him, it seems like a dream. “I still couldn’t believe it until now, because I know how hard it is to get into,” he told Rappler. 

Only 61 workshop fellows were selected from around 4,000 applicants.

Del Mundo has been involved in various endeavors: avant-garde project John Pope, guitarist duties for pop rock band Never the Strangers, and deck-spinning gigs as DJ Arms Akimbo.

A platform for difference 

Since 1998, the Red Bull Music Academy has been “a platform for those who make a difference in today’s musical landscape.” 

Run by music journalists and label heads, the Academy takes in “committed music lovers” across the spectrum: producers, instrumentalists, vocalists, beatmakers, and the like. 

The 2015 edition of the RBMA will be held from October 25 to November 27. The Academy will take the participants in two batches across two terms. 

The RBMA has also hosted lectures from industry legends: Brian Eno, Erykah Badu, Nile Rodgers, Questlove, Erland Øye, and more. They have mentored the Academy’s illustrious alumni – the likes of producers Flying Lotus, Tokimonsta, Ta-Ku, Hudson Mohawke, and many others.

Participants will also have the opportunity to collaborate with each other in between these lectures, with an “array of synths, drum machines, workstations and live instruments” at their disposal. 

During the evenings, the workshop fellows will traverse the host city to immerse themselves in the local music scene. They will also have the chance to play alongside the music industry’s finest at concerts and club events.

‘A passion for learning’ 

The Academy looks for music lovers with “a passion for learning and sharing, enthusiasm for music across genres, and a truly global, open-minded outlook.” Del Mundo seems to be a good fit.

He was initially spurred to take on the guitar after hearing the Green Day album American Idiot. He has since expanded his horizons.

“As a musician, I’ve gone everywhere from pop-punk to technical death metal to blues to bebop to hip-hop,” he says.

Listening to French House music, however, was pivotal for him turning to electronic music production. His stint at the Academy in Paris will be serendipitous. 

He recounts, “I was really blown away the first time I heard Justice’s ‘Genesis,’ and my early influences were definitely the French electronic acts like Madeon, SebastiAn, The Toxic Avenger, and Daft Punk!”

Del Mundo is largely self-taught with YouTube tutorials, and for him, the learning never stops. Apart from being a regular at many local gigs, he considers even his yearly pilgrimage to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival as “a snapshot of what’s going on in the world of music at [the] moment because they definitely have everything.” 

‘Electronic textural maximalism’ 

As John Pope, Del Mundo calls his sound “electronic textural maximalism,” and likens it to his favorite sitcoms like Arrested Development, Community, and 30 Rock. 

He illustrates, “You have the main jokes going on, but at the same time, there are a ton of tiny jokes going in the background that you won’t even notice until past the 20th re-watch. With my music, you have the main things going on like the beat, bass, and melody, and at the same time, there are a lot of microtextures flying past each other.”

Del Mundo has looked to French House and chillwave (e.g. Toro y Moi, Washed Out) for inspiration. But through his fellow producer Similarobjects with the BuwanBuwan Collective’s event Bakunawa, he was initiated into the local scene. 

At that point, he started to dabble in beatmaking – influenced by acts like James Blake, Mount Kimbie, Flying Lotus, Lapalux, and others. 

Lately, as his Academy profile says, he has “settled into an experimental zone.”

At an event called Starving for Art, for instance, he took cues from drone music and musique concrète – making use of field recordings: tricycles, spoken word, and other musical acts. He explains, “I arrange, manipulate, and improvise with them live.”

Del Mundo is also part of the music collective, Logiclub, and counts wunderkinds like B. P. Valenzuela, CRWN, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ninno, and DancePlayCreate among his cohorts.

Already armed with an impressive portfolio, he also recently scored the short films Agos and Pasan by young filmmakers from the Ateneo de Manila University. The films competed in the Court Mètrage section of the 68^th Cannes Film Festival.

Acknowledging diversity

JP del Mundo’s recognition by the RBMA is a step forward in acknowledging the diverse local music scene, where the underground is burgeoning and buzzing with activity. 

Del Mundo says that there is a lot of quality music at the fringes, “From the smooth R&B-influenced sounds of CRWN to the J-pop influenced Ulzzang Pistol, there’s definitely something for everybody if you’re looking to get deeper – you just have to know where to look.”

“The center seems to be Metro Manila, but we also have great acts from Visayas and Mindanao like Womb and Kaapin! It really is all over, and it is here to stay,” he said. – Rappler.com

Paolo Abad is a film/television editor and motion graphic designer. He is also a self-confessed concert junkie. Follow his Instagram for live music @outoftunephoto