Tatô

Visuals:
Visual Artist: Manny Montelibano
Additional Footage & Edits: Jose Antonio Buencamino and Biag Gaongen
Movement: Biag Gaongen

In October 2019 I was commissioned by Biag Gaongen to make music for his multi-media dance piece as part of CCP's choreographer's workshop, NeoFilipino. His work was a collaborative project with visual artist Manny Montelibano. They have graciously allowed me to include their visuals into my own work, which includes Biag’s movement and choreography. I edited and added a bit of my own footage as well.

The music was inspired by the flowing of the ink, of the pricking of the skin, of the steady formation of the patterns, and of war and ritual, with which tattooing is associated.

This project with NeoFilipino served as the impetus of the endeavor of interpreting creative processes into sound. While it was with weaving that my curiosity was initially piqued, Tatô was the first of the pieces to be realized, and this spurred me on to write music about the rest. The music you will hear is based on this initial work but serves as my own interpretation and impression of the creative processes involved in the art of tattoo.