‘The Eighth Note’ is 8 quick Questions with Wellington Musicians.
A chance for us to catch up with people & see what they’re up to, or introduce you to a new musician/band and their music.
Up next is Lord of the North, an instrumental project formed by cebuano guitarist Jiji Aligno. The band was finally materialized on 2015 when Jiji a.k.a. “Lord of the North” was invited to play for the album launch of another rock instrumentalist, Dave Gonzales. Ron Garcia (ex-Stabwoundz) and Xyril Taran (ex-Burning Culture) was then invited to play in the band. They band stuck with the name “Lord of the North” and has been playing in gigs ever since. Richard Ricky Flores (Three Legged Men / Stellarskin) then took over the drummer duties which led to completion of the debut album called “MVRCK”.
Who are you? Tell us a bit about your music:
Friends call me Jiji. My music goes under the name ‘Lord of the North’ which is a long story. But to make things clear, the name is not referencing the famous TV show with the dragons and all that. It’s actually an inside joke that my friends used to call me back where I come from, since I used to live in the northern part of Cebu, which is in the Philippines. I’ve moved to Wellington (for good) and have tried to perform and share my music in the Welly scene as much as I can. I really love Wellington and the arts scene here. As for my music, I write rock instrumental music with a huge focus on guitar melodies, catchy riffs and with huge attention to arrangement and story telling. I guess you can say it is progressive instrumental music highlighting a lot of guitar work.
What have you been working on lately? Any new tracks or albums on the way?
I’ve been working on a new album and have just released a new single and a music video called “Apollo” which features one of my best friends Seth Jackson (Scorn of Creation). Very excited with the way this new album is headed since I’ve recently gained a huge interest in cinematic scoring and am trying to apply new ideas to express certain motiffs. Still in the writing process though and might even do a bit of singing in some tunes. I’m also writing music for a funk project called BuzzSaw.
Where is the best place people can follow you & find your music?
The music is available on Spotify, iTunes and other digital outlets. The first album, MVRCK, which I released in 2016 can be found there. My music is also lurking in the bowels of the internet like Facebook, Instagram and Youtube where I like to post guitar vids and exercises on top of the music I write.
What were the 3 most influential albums to you growing up?
Growing up as a punk rock kid, I’d say the biggest influence to me is Rancid’s “And Out Come the Wolves”. Marty Friedman’s music is definitely a huge influence to me as a guitarist and in how I see instrumental music especially his album Loudspeaker. And very recently, bands like Vulfpeck. So I’m going to say, Vulfpeck’s “The Beautiful Game” is a killer of an album. Obviously there’s a lot, but those are the top 3 that I can think of that I always listen to from a day to day basis.
Which other Wellington musician (s) would you most like to work with?
I’ve been working on another project with Seth (the same guy who featured in Apollo). Seems like we have a lot in common in terms of interests so will be definitely involved in a few projects with him or his band. Other Wellington acts that I really like are bands like Chocolate Thunder, Ghost Who Walks, General Vibe, Scorn of Creation, Dark Divinity and Into Orbit. I’m quite into a wide and various range of music.
What’s your favourite Wellington venue to play in?
Moon Bar and Valhalla. I really enjoy taking part in the jam nights there as well.
In your songwriting or composing (or the band’s songwriting) how do the compositions and songs take shape?
I pretty much do most of the songwriting and make adjustments from there with the band. I usually start with a rhythmic idea and then chord progressions. That is where the rest of the elements take place, based on the rhythm and the direction of the song chords-wise. I write the guitar melodies last since I like to take time in coming up with the best melodies to my ears considering it is instrumental music.
Where/when is your next gig?
As of the moment, the band is still doing rehearsals, writing songs and will definitely be playing out there soon. However, I plan to perform some of these songs in Valhalla’s open jam night which takes place once a month. There’s one just around the corner which is on the 7th of August. I’ll be filling in bass guitar duties for Scorn of Creation on the 15th of August at Valhalla opening for Disentomb.