Eggboy is the lo-fi/electronic project of Diego Mapa, known
for his works with Pedicab, Cambio, Monsterbot and Tarsius. Known for the cozy
atmosphere apparent in his music, Eggboy evokes a sense of nostalgia by
utilizing a multitude of instruments available at his disposal. Old drum kits,
drum machines, analog synths, guitars, and his laid back vocals were all
utilized to create various sounds that seemed to cohesively come together to
form the familiar “homemade” vibe Eggboy is known for.
His first EP, “Taste Test”, was released in 1998. Containing
memorable tracks such as “Nagsasawa Ka Na Ba?” and the demo for “Lost With
You”, the EP firmly established Eggboy as the sonic equivalent of an afternoon
spent hanging out with friends. The second EP, “Everyday Starting Today”, was
released in 2000 through Manila-New York based dOCUMENTO Records. Featuring
some of the songs found in Taste Test, this EP contained a fully realized
version of Lost With You, along with new tracks such as “Get It Over” and
“Details”. The third EP, “The Unknown Wrestler”, was released in 2003 by
Monopond Records. This EP contained the best cuts of the previous two EPs in a
shorter tracklist. All three EPs were released in the CD-R format, being
distributed in gigs and specialty stores. These EPs would later be further
condensed together in the “98-05” anthology, Eggboy’s most well known release.
Released in 2005, this anthology served as Eggboy’s last
release at the time. “98-05” contained the best tracks of the EPs, ordered to
form a cohesive piece of art that would be loved by multiple people in the
scene. “Multiple people” might be somewhat of an understatement with the amount
of people that “98-05” has enchanted. Ranging from the heartbroken, those who
tuned into Tales of the Friend Zone, almost every music geek in the UP music
circle and the Filipino music scene in general, this anthology has captured the
hearts of many. Bands such as Ang Bandang Shirley, Ciudad, Ourselves the Elves,
and The Gory Orgies all adore Eggboy to some degree."98-05” would serve to
be Eggboy’s best release, but also his last for the time being.
After focusing on his bands and getting into synths and the
art of DJing, 2008 saw the return of Eggboy with a new sound. Taking influences
from several electronic sound palettes, Eggboy came back with two major
accomplishments: “50 INSTRUMENTALS N A WK” and the “Dragzbanny EP”
“50 INSTRUMENTALS N A WK” is the “unofficial” release of the
soundtrack Eggboy made for Season 1 of Project Runaway Philippines. As the name
implies, all of the tracks were made in the span of a week. Writing almost 10
songs per day, Eggboy churned out several stingers, bumpers, reprisals of older
tracks, and full soundtracks for the show. Some of the instrumentals in this
compilation went straight to the show, while the others were compiled in this
release for cohesion.
“Dragzbanny EP” fuses together his older aesthetic and his
forays into electronic music. The end result is a sound miles away from the
original lo-fi home recordings, but still residing in the same universe.
Although “Dragzbanny EP” tackles new territory, the atmosphere of the music is
still rooted in that found in the first three EPs and 98-05.
Aside from the two singles “No Way Jose” and “Strange
Odyssey”, there wasn't much activity from Eggboy until June of 2016 with the
release of his latest EP titled “Spotlight Effect”. The EP contained songs from
the early four-track era that were not included in the first three EPs or
“98-05”. With the exception of the track “Beat Matsing”, all of the tracks
found in the EP were fully re-imagined and re-recorded.
Sporadic as Eggboy may appear, his sound and influence
permeates throughout several scenes. His works have always been seen as a great
unifier: Eggboy is most likely the one artist people from different scenes have
as a common favorite. And overall, the essence of Eggboy is that of true DIY,
the rawness of making music for the sake of letting people be a part of the
experience.
NO WAY JOSE (2009)
STRANGE ODYSSEY SINGLE (2008)
98 - 05 (2005)
DRAGZBANNY EP (2008)
SPOTLIGHT EFFECT (2016)
50 INSTRUMENTALS N A WK (2018)
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