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Following their return to Manila, the Filipino-Canadian duo reflects on their journey so far and new EP, "Spirits"
It was do or die for Manila Grey's Justin "Soliven" Villarosa and Neal Carlo "Neeko" Zabala in 2016.
The Juno-nominated duo had been working with their in-house producer Azel North since 2010, establishing what was to become an unbreakable brotherhood. Nearly a decade later, they knew they had to pursue their calling. "It was either we kept working dead-end jobs or come together and make music full time," recalls Soliven. "We wanted to be a voice for our people."
Six eventful years later, Manila Grey has become an important figure in contemporary Asian music with hit singles like Timezones, Silver Skies, and Raindance to name a few.
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Above Manila Grey's Justin "Soliven" Villarosa and Neal Carlo "Neeko" Zabala
Manila Grey's Justin "Soliven" Villarosa and Neal Carlo "Neeko" Zabala
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"With a handful of tours and festivals and four projects under our belt, things have definitely evolved from the team to our music, to our live shows," Neeko says. "We’re coming back to the motherland with more insight and experience."
As Asian artists who made international breakthroughs, it's easy for the world to view Manila Grey's Neeko and Soliven as merely two Filipino immigrants making music. But this portrayal often shifts the spotlight away from the duo's talent.
Photo: Instagram / @azelnorth / @sharadgadhia
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"At times media talks more about us being immigrants than the actual music we make," they admit. "But the art keeps us going, it’s a drug, we love creating and expressing ourselves. We’re grateful for the fans who resonate with our story, whether it’s from the immigrant POV or not."
With nearly 300,000 listeners all over the world, Manila Grey has released tracks that mostly delve into the realms of relationships, music, and the hustle that resonate with both fans overseas and in the Philippines.
Their influence is evident in mottos that have stuck with the fans such as "money dies" and "real ones only, no saints" which touch on the duo's philosophy on life and their career.
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The Island boys pay homage to their Filipino roots as well through catchy lines delivered by Neeko like "Island money stay converted so we can ball out" and "Had to give back to the real real 1z since day one".
Soliven makes his intentions clear in Again and Again from their latest EP titled Spirits. The lyric reads, "From the slums back home I knew it then (yeah) / That I can, took a chance, now we money dance (ooh, yeah) / For my people I took stand / For my mama and the motherland".
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They've also explored death and rebirth in the newly-released Spirits, with a crisp new sound that new and old fans alike will love to put on blast.
Soliven explains, "The theme of our journey as Manila Grey has always been connected to having a strong spirit. It’s about death, self-discovery and rebirth. We speak about lessons we’ve learned from our late grandparents and OGs and how that helped us navigate the pressure."
"Themes of being able to speak to the spirits of the past, destiny, death and rebirth, living life again and again, family trees, past and future. We set it all in the spirit realm where time is arbitrary, where we can revisit and speak on these thoughts." Neeko adds.
Photo: Instagram / @james
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They've amped up their voice by telling their stories with Filipino artists like James Reid, Nadine, and Grammy-nominated rapper Guapdad 4000 through collaborations.
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"James, Nadine and Careless Music are all fam. We’ve been rocking with them since we first flew back home in 2018. Our visions aligned with pushing the music scene in the Philippines. Real good people," says Neeko.
"We had the opportunity to bring Guap on our Canadian tour and a couple of dates in the USA," adds Soliven. "We all just connected on the music hustle. The homie is super genuine and smart. We’re always having insightful conversations with Guap."
Manila Grey will soon share the stage with other Asian artists for 88rising's "Head in the Clouds Manila", the biggest Asian-centric festival, where they can continue to share their stories through what they do best.
They share, "Music kept us out of trouble. It was an outlet for us to be creative even if we were cutting classes back in the day. We were all hanging out anyways so the studio became a place where the homies can kick it, get creative and record songs for our day-to-day come-up."
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Christine Andas is a features writer and the style lead of Tatler Philippines. She mostly covers style-related content but enjoys writing about space, sneakers, and her favourite stars. She acquired a master's degree in Creative Writing at the University of Santo Tomas and has written young adult short stories which can be read online.
