In the Philippine Alternative Rock music scene, the bands Orange and Lemons and The Camerawalls were among those whose outputs may be regarded as fine examples of well-written, well-presented, and well-produced music in the genre. And behind much of these was the songwriting passion and skills of Clemen Castro, the co-vocalist and co-writer of Orange and Lemons and the primary songwriter and vocalist/guitarist of The Camerawalls.
Soon after the disbandment of Orange and Lemons in 2007, Castro formed his new band, The Camerawalls, which was able to release a full album before also dissolving. In 2013, Castro started to develop yet another musical vehicle which came to be known as Dragonfly Collector, under which he already released a single entitled “There Is No Remaining in Place,” which featured cello parts from Winnipeg’s very own Christine Mazur of haLf man haLf eLf. Mazur and Castro were introduced to each other by yours truly in 2012, when I with my family went to the Philippines with Mazur for a vacation, both musicians being good friends of mine.
Mazur and Castro’s musical collaboration began in 2013 when Mazur went to the U.S. to join Castro in his solo tours that year. Currently, Castro as Dragonfly Collector is in the United States once again to do a number of performances to promote the name’s first full-length album. Mazur is there also to join him for the second time around. The two have also spent some time there with another Winnipeg artist, Dan Frechette.
The forthcoming album (‘The World Is Your Oyster’) of Dragonfly Collector is in the works; and in support of this project, Castro and the rest of the production team is imploring the aid of his music’s enthusiasts via Pledgemusic.com. So, to those who are interested to be a part of this wonderful musical project, you may pledge your contributions and reserve for yourself copies of the album among other merchandise—http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/dragonflycollector. You may watch the official video of Dragonfly Collector’s first single here: http://youtu.be/eydrpF3U3kM.
One of Castro’s plans is to do a number of shows in Winnipeg next year with Mazur and the rest of haLf man haLf eLf. By that time, haLf man haLf eLf would have been finished too with their own album which is also in the works.
