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Humanfolk

HUMANFOLK is a world music project between guitarist-composer Johnny Alegre and the percussionist Susie Ibarra with drummer Roberto Juan Rodriguez. Together with the singer-multi-instrumentalist Cynthia Alexander and electronic musician Malek Lopez, they recorded a suite written by Alegre entitled "Humanfolk", that subsequently became the name of the concept group.

Johnny Alegre's breakthrough recording with Ron McClure and Billy Hart, "Johnny Alegre 3", was released by MCA Music (Universal Music Group). His earlier albums appeared under the Candid Records label.

New York based Susie Ibarra is a rising star in the rarefied ethno-musical and avant-garde jazz landscapes of recent times, with a cachet of recordings and formidable collaborations with Derek Bailey, John Zorn, Mark Dresser, David S. Ware and so forth.

The Cuban-born drummer Roberto Juan Rodriguez (whose musical chops were honed in the orchestra of the great bassist-composer, Israel “Cachao” Lopez, and the Miami Sound Machine) is breaking ground afresh with his and Susie's fusion of electronica, ethnic music and jazz in Electric Kulintang, and with his own Afro-Cuban ensemble, Septeto Rodriguez.

Cynthia Alexander's award-winning albums and endearing repertoire have carved a niche the Philippine music scene. Her exquisitely-crafted folk songs, compelling melodies and prose-poetry are distinctly Asian yet warmly cognitive of popular western influences. She had since migrated to the United States.

The Berklee-trained Malek Lopez is the keyboardist and electronic musician behind Philippine groups, Drip and Rubber Inc. His collaborations with kindred artists such as Chris Brown and the Berlin-based Teichman Brothers brought Manila's underground electronica culture to venues of convergence in the Southeast Asian region.

The brave Philippine endeavor, HUMANFOLK, could very well be one of Asia's more compelling musical associations in several years. Upon the departure of Ibarra and Rodriguez, the threesome of Alegre, Alexander and Lopez performed a live semi-improvised score in late 2008 for a short, silent film entitled "Une Femme Andalouse", which was awarded the KODAK Best 16mm Experimental Film in that year by the Kodak Filmschool Competition. They were subsequently invited to perform at the 4th Philippine International Jazz & Ethnic Arts Festival in 2009. A live collaborative performance with the Australian didgeredoo virtuoso, William Barton in early 2010 necessitated the addition of vocalist-keyboardist Abby Clutario as a new principal member. Subsequent high profile appearances that followed led to the release by MCA Music (Universal Music Group) of Humanfolk's eponymous album in 2011.

In 2012, HUMANFOLK was conferred an Awit Award as Best World Music Recording for their single, "Para Sa Tao", by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI).

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