Always (LP) by miguel maravilla

Always. A single word. Boundless and finite.

Nearly eight years of working on fragments of the same word, same idea, same sound, and now it's finally done. 48 songs compartmentalized into 18. Or one song recorded and re-iterated 48 times.

This is a thank you, a kind of remembering, a cry of despair, a love letter; to my one and only, to my friends-turned-musical inspirations, to the true heroes of the motherland, to dialectical materialism, and to the encroaching future.



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Many, many thanks go to some incredible people who made these songs come to life in ways I couldn't conceive on my own.

For my brother, Franco, who was there on my first day. At every first day. Somehow, he also manages to be a kind of musical glue that performs the sweetest complexities and serves the simplest, most effective messages in sound. He is, of course, the first person to believe in my music, and show me that I could do it too.

For Cherry Blu, my first true music friend, adversary, and what leads me to green; he is honesty and willingness, perfectly compressed and accompanied with a clear-cut 808/kick.

For Jen Yakamovich, who has shown me and pushed me time and again to pursue the depths of my ideas with more precision and discipline, with love and humour. She has been a linguist, a mentor to me for many things, but especially for communicating in and through music.

For the Prado sisters, who paved the way for brilliant, young, broke artists in Vancouver. They are beacons of creativity, pillars of so many communities, and clear reminders of what it means to be resourceful and independent, clever and skilled with talent.

For LCB, my safe haven and bottomless well of energy, stupid ideas, and the best loops between four kids that no one will ever hear. Simultaneously "unrestrained and caring" were the elements that began and continue to spark our infinite joy, and I treasure each memory and sound we create together.

For the pursuit of national liberation and genuine democracy in the Philippines, for which these words would fall flat if such a struggle were not at the core of my existence.

For all the wonderful, kind, supportive people who told me to keep going, to trust in myself more, to stop hesitating.

And of course, for my partner and love of my life. Without you, I would have no inspiration to create these things the way I do. Every word and note is dedicated to you, Always.

instagram.com/yellowmiguel

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