Focus on Filipino Music
In the last decade, the Filipino community in Winnipeg has seen a surge in young bands that perform as frequently as they could at whatever festivals and venues became available to them, especially before Covid struck and rendered many people unable to stage musical gatherings. Despite this challenge, there remain a few bands that continued to persist, writing and recording original music; the notable ones are The 12/21, Humous, and Velvet Blitz.
Speaking of Velvet Blitz, they have just released their first full-length album—something that they painstakingly recorded amidst all the challenges and restrictions that the still ongoing pandemic has caused.
Formed in 2019, in Winnipeg, Velvet Blitz consists of Loloy (lead guitar / vocals), Mish (female vocals), Dri (bass/keyboards), and Eric (drums). Their first gigs included performing at the food and music festival dubbed as Food Trip, in September 2019; and a benefit concert, billed as 1Heart, in November of the same year.
In their few years’ activity, Velvet Blitz have already come up with several original compositions 10 of which made the cut to their first album, which they started working on in December of last year. Titled Blietzkrieg!, it is a good mix of Alternative Rock and Pop Punk with dashes of funky and bluesy sensibilities. Standouts were the infectious “Do That Thing,” the Filipino-worded “Habílin,” the guitar-oriented instrumental “Velvet Blues,” the timely metallic stomper “Vaccine Bomb,” and the apt album closer “Heartbeat.”
By June 2020, Velvet Blitz have started taking advantage of Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Deezer, and Pandora to promote their music. Support the hardworking band by checking out their songs on these platforms. More importantly, contact the band to buy a CD of their album. Hit Velvet Blitz on Facebook and drop them a message!
