MAKATI — Fans of NPR Tiny Desk concert, Warehouse Eight co-founder Kayla Dionisio and Kwago founder Czyka Tumaliuan started a series of gigs for musicians to freely express who they are and to closely connect with people in a no-frills setting. They recorded most of the performances and is exclusively launching them all on a no shoes and no phone gathering called Echoes at the Warehouse on September 22, 4pm – before midnight at Warehouse Eight, La Fuerza Plaza.
Suckers for real and intimate encounters, music lovers Dionisio and Tumaliuan decided to organize Echoes at the Warehouse to invite everyone to pause, slow down, and remember the beauty of being in the moment.
“There’s just too much distraction right now. People go to gigs and events to either take photos and videos for their IG stories, or to watch other people’s IG stories. It feels like people always want to escape the present, their current circumstance. You know what I mean? It feels like we’re all discontented, peering into other people’s lives, checking other possibilities of being. Kay and I designed Echoes to help people be at peace with where they are,” Tumaliuan shared.
The event will be divided into two areas: Echoes garage and Echoes bedroom. Musicians and homegrown art brands that inspire conversations will be at the garage selling merchandise and products, while the performances will happen in the bedroom. Everyone has to remove their shoes at Echoes bedroom.
“There will be a wall where people will have to pledge not to use their phones so they can focus on soaking in the magical performances and on conversing with other people and directly looking into their eyes,” Dionisio added.
Dubbed Echoes, the project started as a music and video production, but has evolved into a tight-knit community.
“We were able to create a space where strangers are able to interact so closely. Even introverts and socially awkward people like me. I feel proud of humans in general when we do ECHOES. Hindi cliquish ‘yung mga tao. People are so open and are interacting in a very genuine way,” Dionisio said.
“Sometimes, I feel secondary lang ‘yung gig. It came to a point that we’re not announcing who’s playing anymore. But people still look forward to the experience of hanging out with other people who are willing to put their guards down and chill after hours before midnight,” she added.
“ECHOES was supposed to be a nightcap and a youtube channel, but it has become a family we go home to every month,” Tumaliuan shared.
With no knowledge of music and video production, the two inevitably encountered problems setting up the gig and their YouTube channel. People from the community saw the struggle and started helping. Organically, the two found a new partner to take care of the production, Michael Lorenzana.
“I met Mike when I launched Kwago. He’s a bookworm who loves music and even plays the drums. We discovered that he happens to be a professional photographer and videographer who really loves the creative platform Kay and I have built. We’re so thankful that we have him on the team,” Tumaliuan said.
“Mike started out as a guest. He sent us a video of his experience of our events and even photos, and we fall in love with these photos and videos every time. There’s just so much love in every shot and sequence. We’re happy to have him on board,” Dionisio shared.
A regular in big gigs, Lorenzana shares that what he loves about Echoes is it brings people closer to the musicians.
“People always use the word ‘intimate’ to describe gigs, but it’s never authentic. Echoes in the only place that you really feel that there’s no gap between the audience and the artists. It doesn’t feel like a performance,” Lorenzana said.
Echoes at the Warehouse promptly starts at 4PM and ends before midnight on September 22, Saturday. Door charge is PHP 350. But children below 10 years of age will only be charged PHP 150. Tickets come with receipt poem by Dutch poet Roy Voragen.
