THE METRO MANILA DANCEHALL AUTHORITY!

Milagros Dancehall Collective was founded in 2003 at the crews first Makati residence in Milagros St. Dancehall reggae was the common denominator that brought the boys to form the band.Dancehall was the music that reigned on their PC at home, and artists like Yellowman, Lt. Stitchie, Mad Cobra, Bounty Killer, Beenieman, Elephant Man, Sean Paul, Lady Saw, Red Rat and Damien Marley constantly reverberated throughout the whole apartment building. As such, dancehall figured prominently when the idea of coming together and forming a band came up.

"First off, it has to be made clear that we are not a dancehall band in the sense that we play strictly dancehall. The name Milagros Dancehall Collective represents: 1) where we’re from 2) the music we were all into when we decided to play together 3) how we see our merry troop -- a loose collection of friends who just happen to kick ass onstage, he he. Jamaican dancehall artists don’t even use live musicians on their CDs. If we were hard pressed to give a category to our music, it would still fall under reggae. It’s still very much rooted in the Jamaican sound, but what makes it different is probably our whole mindset when it comes to being a band and making music. We have a very strong “original-material-takes-precedence” work ethic. In fact, we have never actually rehearsed a Bob Marley piece as cover song material. We want to be known for our original stuff as opposed to being “that band which does a mean version of Santeria by Sublime.” Know what I mean?

When it comes to our sound, we incorporate a lot more hip-hop and guitar-driven rock into our live sets than most reggae groups do. We also don’t use a horn section simply because we’re not going for the festive, island mood. We’ve also started using music samples to bulk up the sound. We’re just continually experimenting, searching for ways to push the envelope and sail farther away from everybody else out there." as narrated by Robert Martinez aka Robby Ranks.

The members of the Collective currently in the performing lineup are: Caio Cadiz (Caioman) on keyboards and backup vocals; Macky Macaventa (Burnie Mac) on bass; Rob Martinez (Robbie Ranks) on vocals; Sappy Saplala (General Sappy) on lead guitar and backup vocals; Al Sese (Emperor Alphonse) on the drum kit; and Carlos Tirona (Caloy) on rhythm guitar. (Members on performing hiatus are: Mike Cruz, who did keyboards and musical direction and is currently based in Auckland, New Zealand, and Vince Chacon, currently a grade school teacher in Jakarta, Indonesia, who did percussions.) Though MDC boasts a lineup of experienced musicians, the group also manages to sound totally fresh. Nuff said. Play this loud!

(MDC performing at SaGuijo)

(Sunscreen by MDC)

1. Nice an' Sweet

2. Rasta Love

3. Baby Gal

4. Watch Me Now

5. Milagros Dance

6. Drop It

7. Collective Rock

8. Sunscreen

9. Tolus

10. What You Want

11. Me Name Is

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