Rivermaya, “The Pambansang banda” returns with its first single in four years.
The new track titled “Casino” finds the trio of lead singer-drummer Mark Escueta, lead guitarist-vocalist Mike Elgar and bassist-signer Nathan Azarcon dabbling in upbeat dance-y sounds that recall grooves from the 80’s.
For a retro-themed song, “Casino” sounds right in place for a 2022 track, what with the fascination of music acts from all over with everything 80’s from grooves, hooks and sounds.
“It’s also the first Rivermaya track with a four-on-the-floor feel all throughout,” said Escueta describing “Casino.”
He added that the lyrics and melody for the band’s new single were written before the pandemic. The drummer then shared that “it was just a matter of looking for chords that fit the melody.”
“Once I had a rough arrangement down, with just drums, keys and chorus vocals, I started the verses around the story,” revealed Escueta about his songwriting process for this particular tune.
Escueta, who has since taken over the reins of the storied band, mixed and co-produced “Casino” with musician Paulo Zarate. This while guitarist Mike Elgar worked on and recorded his guitar parts at home, while bassist/guitarist vocalist Nathan Azarcon worked on the “remaining elements of the song.”
The band shared that “Casino” was “born through online collaboration” and was “never jammed in one space” referring to how the band pieced their new song together.
“This sets the tone for what’s to come on Rivermaya’s future music-making endeavors,” the band said.
Rivermaya is aiming to finish an album soon.
“It’s been 5 years so we really miss putting out new music,” Escueta said, adding, “It looks like we are gonna be able to do this a lot more often this year.”
A music video for “Casino” directed by Joan Lopez-Flores and Froi Fabella was also released on YouTube last May 8. The new single is released by Sony Music Philippines.