Blending mathematical approach with a joyous and carefree feel, Filipino guitar architect Gabba finally presents his debut solo album “Recollections”.
Gabba’s debut full-length album starts quietly like a classic Sigur Rós piece, but after a minute and a half you’re teleported from Iceland to the Philippines with a burst of roaring but shining guitars.
We’ve been following Gabba since his years in the fantastic math rock folk quartet Fools and Foes. As the group announced hiatus almost four years ago, Gabba Santiago started recording solo and we mean it: he’s doing electric, acoustic and bass guitars, and drums too.
On his long-awaited debut album, “Recollections“, there is a couple of guests, including talented singer-songwriter Clara Benin – who also has a new album – in three songs. But the overall impression is of a very focused artist, building his pieces with multiple layers, one, two, five, ten, all perfectly synched.
This kind of shiny instrumental math-rock/pop is one of the trademarks of the music scenes in South-East Asia, blending mathematical approach with a joyous and carefree feel.
Stream “Recollections” LP on Bandcamp and Spotify.
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