Published on: STATUS magazine, 2018
An interview with the band IV of Spades.
In IV OF SPADES’ calendar, every day is a Thursday. Playing you throwback-inspired tunes from the daylight of a music festival to the darkness of a late-night bar gig, this homegrown act will have you grooving in the palm of their hand.
The boys of the funk band IV of Spades, Unique Salonga (guitars/vocals), Zildjian Benitez (bass/vocals), Blaster Silonga (guitars), and Badjao de Castro (drums), could easily fit into the cast of That '70s Show. Their thrifted outfits blend into the '70s era but also remain relatively relevant to the hipster millennials. Their funky, falsetto-filled songs will make you question if they were born in the wrong generation. But what's so wrong, feels so right.
Their timing couldn't even be more perfect as “old is the new cool” is what keeps the youth of
Manila at their toes. With the interest of vinyl, old band shirts, polaroids, and typewriters on the rise, the nostalgia-inducing music of IV of Spades is just the icing on the cake.
But they did not purposely choose this retro image to go viral and take over your playlists, it just came naturally. “It started with the music. Zild noticed that mainstream music was going back to the '80s,” Badjao adds. “Then what happened was he suggested going back to the '70s, for us to make '70s inspired music like with disco beats, clean guitar, and bass lines.”
Translating their groovy music into visuals was a hard pill to swallow for some of the band, “Unique and I weren't on board at first,” Badjao admits. “Nilunok namin siya,” Unique adds.
Eventually, they have slowly eased into the band aesthetic and embraced the process, “Bit by
bit we started tucking in our shirts and wearing necklaces,” Badjao says. “And now we're in makeup,” Blaster adds.
“Next week, I'm in heels,” Zild announces. In which he did wear heeled boots that weekend for the Wanderland Music and Arts Festival.
The band's look has individualism but at the same time surprisingly cohesive. These four lads usually style themselves in their music videos, gigs, and shoots. They thrift individually as well around Marikina or Cubao, they can't go to the “ukay-ukay” as a group because according to them they tend to steal each other's pieces. If you think they couldn't be more likable, think again, they sometimes have PowerPoint presentations of their planned looks for a music video.
With their “old” music and aesthetic, one could wonder in a time where the streets are filled with RnB, DJ sounds, and streetwear, what makes IV of Spades appealing? “Maybe because it's striking and new for them. However, with their parents, it's nostalgic,” Blaster guesses.
“We're also in an era where people want to be different. They would wear '80s clothing and be like "Hey, okay 'to bago," Zild adds. “Especially with social media, we're more exposed to culture and fashion. You get to explore things that people don't usually know.”
IV of Spades wasn't born with catchy dancey tunes at their sleeve that lures the crowd into singing and dancing along with their music. They struggled and worked hard like how budding musicians are in this industry.
They performed in close to empty gigs for two to three years and lost to the indie band Oh Flamingo! when they battled for Wanderband in 2015. They rocked the typical rugged band image with their skinny jeans and dark songs like Ilaw Sa Daan.
With the rise of IV of Spades, gigs will be coming and going in each step the band takes. Their
most memorable gig so far was when they played by request last December at Route 196, “We were really surprised with what happened,” Unique recalls. “Because two years before we had gigs that were just okay then when we came back that time around there were a lot of people enjoying our music,” Zild adds.
“When Mundo was new and not yet released as a single, there were lots of people already singing along,” Unique reminisces. “Di na kailangan kumanta ni Unique *laughs*,” Badjao jokes. “It's just funny, the idea of us not releasing Mundo immediately. It led to people watching us live in gigs kasi iba talaga yung power ng live gig,” Zild says.
IV of Spades having released four singles has not held the people back from watching them live. It's so much more captivating watching them play their heart out on stage with their '70s outfits you wished you found at your local thrift store.
They don't label themselves as "famous‟ yet though, they feel like it's weird and they haven't reached that level yet, “We're always surprised when strangers recognize us. Maybe not the word famous maybe recognized. Famous is okay but I'm just not used to it,” Zild says.
Fans that are on the lookout for an album or an EP should settle down and practice patience
because as of now there's no album/EP in the works nor plans for it in the near future. Inspiration for the band's music doesn't come on a silver platter, “It's hard especially when you look for it because you shouldn't find inspiration,” Unique says.
Quoting the France-based band Phoenix, Zild shares, “Phoenix said this. It was like 'You can't create something new if you're aware of it.'"
IV of Spades hit a retro gold mine the moment they thought of adding a punch of '70s in their band aesthetic. Their magnetic tunes will get you hooked and leave you chanting long after listening to their songs. Connecting generations with music the whole family can enjoy, IV of Spades will surely go a long way and around the globe.
The secret is to just be you. “Huwag ka matakot maging ikaw,” Badjao advises. Zild's message for you is to, “Know your worth and value. You're not worthless.” In this age where social media recognition comes with a side dish of trolls, IV of Spades turns a blind eye on haters but captures the ears of everybody in their path.
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