September 15, 2017
Stages Sessions
Anyone who's ever set out to take a creative path has heard it: Write what you know. Draw what you see. It's a philosophy that's in full force for the 22-year-old rap artist Mito Fabie, better known as Curtismith. A member of Logiclub, a music-based collective in Manila, Curtismith dropped his debut mixtape, "Ideal," in 2015 -- a collaborative effort with fellow artists like CRWN, Beat Sampras, and Similar Objects. The mixtape introduced a style that's quite distinct coming from a Filipino rapper, and not because he was mouthing off in English over striking and minimalist but meticulous beats. The words are clearly enunciated -- but never exaggerated -- which makes them compulsively listenable, and because of this, his ideas and emotions really get across. Hip-hop has a long history with protest and desire for change, but you won't find any outright political agendas on any of Curtismith's songs, which have more of a "middle-class" instead of "street" vibe to them. This isn't to say, of course, that such songs lack strong resolve. In fact, there's a sense of urgency and purpose to them that comes off in waves, with the conviction that there's got to be more than this: ambition, frustration, hopes, dreams. Consequently, his body of work has taken on a pseudo-confessional quality, a collection of anthems about coming to a head, coming to terms, and coming of age. Nowhere is this more evident than in his latest release, the EP "Failing Forward," also a collaborative effort with numerous artists, including the writer Jam Pascual and the producer Frank Savage. On the EP, Curtismith speaks about the naivete that accompanies youth and the epiphanies that come with growing up -- mistakes and all. Curtismith was recently announced as one of the new brand ambassadors for the clothing brand Human. The Stages Sessions is a YouTube channel dedicated for live musical sessions and artists who want to show off something special to their fans. Here, the artist can play something new, something fresh and something out of the ordinary in order for their audience to see a different dimension of their artistry. It's mainstream stuff, done in an alternative way. INDEPENDENT was a Stages Sessions produced concert featuring Bullet Dumas, Keiko Necesario, Gio Levy, Coeli, Tom's Story and Curtismith at the Globe Auditorium, BGC Arts Center. In collaboration with the Ted Amper and the Manila String Machine, these amazing young independent artists were able to, for one night only, play with a mini-orchestra and horn ensemble to elevate and heighten their sound and original music compositions.