HUMANFOLK
Encyclopedia
HUMANFOLK is the musical collaboration and concept band of guitarist-composer, Johnny Alegre
Johnny Alegre
Juan Bautista H. Alegre , widely known as Johnny Alegre, is a jazz guitarist and composer from Manila, Philippines...
with the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
based Fil-Am percussionist, Susie Ibarra
Susie Ibarra
Susie Ibarra is a Contemporary Composer and Percussionist who has worked and recorded with jazz, classical, world, and Indigenous musicians. She is known for her work as a performer in avant-garde, jazz, world and new music...
and her husband, drummer Roberto Juan Rodriguez, together with the multi-instrumentalist Cynthia Alexander
Cynthia Alexander
Cynthia Alexander is a highly respected singer-songwriter and musician in the Philippines. Her music infuses prose-poetry and haunting melodies with indigenous Philippine and Asian rhythms...
and the electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
exponent, Malek Lopez. This collective is a pioneering effort marking the convergence in a contemporary Philippine setting of multiple musical idioms (jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, kulintang
Kulintang
Kulintang is a modern term for an ancient instrumental form of music composed on a row of small, horizontally-laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended gongs and drums...
, agung
Agung
The agung is a set of two wide-rimmed, vertically-suspended gongs used by the Maguindanao, Maranao and Tausug people of the Philippines as a supportive instrument in kulintang ensembles...
and indigenous percussion, with Iberian
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
and folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
influences). The group's name is a deliberate conjoining of the words, "human folk", akin to menfolk and womenfolk, without prejudice to gender, and frequently set in all caps
All caps
In typography, all caps refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters. All caps is usually used for emphasis. It is commonly seen in the titles on book covers, in advertisements and in newspaper headlines...
to distinguish it from a dictionary term.
Assembled in the summer of 2008, the introduction of Alegre, Ibarra and Rodriguez at the United States Embassy in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
spurred a series of musical and social interactions culminating in the recording sessions for "Humanfolk Suite", a world music cycle by Alegre performed alongside Alexander and Lopez. Towards October, 2008, the Humanfolk threesome of Alegre, Alexander and Lopez performed a live semi-improvised score for a short, silent film by Sasha Palomares, entitled "Une Femme Andalouse", which was awarded the KODAK Best 16mm Experimental Film in that year by the Kodak Filmschool Competition. They were subsequently invited to perform at the 4th Philippine International Jazz & Ethnic Arts Festival
Philippine International Jazz & Ethnic Arts Festival
The Philippine International Jazz & Arts Festival is a music festival that takes place in the Philippines. Formerly called the Philippine International Jazz & Ethnic Arts Festival, the event is organized by the PIJazz Foundation and presents international jazz musicians along with prominent...
in February, 2009, and a live collaborative performance with the Australian didgeredoo virtuoso, William Barton
William Barton (musician)
William Barton is an Australian Aboriginal didgeridoo player. He was born in Mount Isa, Queensland on 4 June 1981. and learned to play from his uncle, an elder of the Wannyi, Lardil and Kalkadunga tribes of Western Queensland...
in January, 2010, that also introduced vocalist-keyboardist Abby Clutario as a new principal member of the group. These high profile appearances and many others that followed were milestones leading to the release by MCA Music
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
(Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
) of Humanfolk's eponymous album in May, 2011.
Members
- Johnny AlegreJohnny AlegreJuan Bautista H. Alegre , widely known as Johnny Alegre, is a jazz guitarist and composer from Manila, Philippines...
- guitars, bungkaka, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, vocals - Susie IbarraSusie IbarraSusie Ibarra is a Contemporary Composer and Percussionist who has worked and recorded with jazz, classical, world, and Indigenous musicians. She is known for her work as a performer in avant-garde, jazz, world and new music...
- kulintangKulintangKulintang is a modern term for an ancient instrumental form of music composed on a row of small, horizontally-laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended gongs and drums...
, kulintang a kayoKulintang a KayoThe kulintang a kayo is a Philippine xylophone of the Maguindanaon people with eight tuned slabs arranged horizontally atop a wooden antangan . Made of soft wood such as bayug, the kulintang a kayo is a common found among Maguindanaon households with a musical background...
, drum kitDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocals and handclaps - Cynthia AlexanderCynthia AlexanderCynthia Alexander is a highly respected singer-songwriter and musician in the Philippines. Her music infuses prose-poetry and haunting melodies with indigenous Philippine and Asian rhythms...
- guitars, bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, agungAgungThe agung is a set of two wide-rimmed, vertically-suspended gongs used by the Maguindanao, Maranao and Tausug people of the Philippines as a supportive instrument in kulintang ensembles...
, vocals - Roberto Juan Rodriguez - drum kitDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, cajónCajónA cajón is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front face with the hands.-Origins and evolution:...
, bongos - Malek Lopez - computerComputerA computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
, sound designSound designSound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Abby Clutario - vocals, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, Chapman StickChapman StickThe Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and has been used on music recordings to play bass lines, melody lines, chords or textures...