The indie spirit and creative diversity are alive and well for local rock band Random Mischief. A band that has been quietly building since 2022, its members include Carlo Alvarez on vocals, Sean Tuesday on bass, Rose Bal on guitars, and Romeo Valdez on drums. With a couple of singles already under their belt, Random Mischief is still dialing its sonic palette. But that just means that the band is stylistically open and can cover a range of styles from wistful power ballads like “Nagbabalik” and the more progressive metal tinged “Gapos” which the band released on their debut year back in 2022, to something more grooving like the Pinoy alt-rock flavored “Simula” from last year.

It is obvious, though, that Random Mischief’s sound is rooted in rock. And just to hammer on that point, the band just went heavy on their latest single, “Shallow Water.” Just like ‘daggers that cut to the bone’ (a verse from said tune), the rhythm section is very much at the fore as heavy-sounding guitars and the bass–pounding in unison–and a trudging, kickbass-heavy beat drive and push underneath the singer’s musings that brood and question. It’s a tried and tested sonic formula, this metal quartet configuration that Alvarez, Tuesday, Bal, and Valdez are pushing, and they do it solidly.

Vocalist Carlo Alvarez’s lyric themes play out like there’s a movie in his head, which probably is the case, seeing as his day job is that of a director. Alvarez has helmed movies that include “Tres,” “Maniac,” and “Kolektor,” to name some. And as is often the case, the songs that he writes with Random Mischief end up being part of a movie soundtrack. As a multi-tasking creative, Alvarez said that besides directing films, he writes songs because he “always wanted to make music that connects beyond the surface.” He adds that “Shallow Water” is being prepped as part of an incoming movie project.

Alvarez also happens to be behind Blackbox Records, a label that he is co-heading with bassist Sean Tuesday, whose day job happens to be that of a sound and recording engineer. As Blackbox Records’ chief audio engineer, Tuesday is in charge of the sound quality of every tune that comes out of Blackbox/Random Mischief. “Every track we’ve released so far has been a learning curve, including ‘Shallow Water,’ which captures everything we’ve been working toward sonically,” Tuesday said, adding: “We’re proud of this one and excited for what’s coming next.” And what’s coming is a full album which Random Mischief is currently recording with new band member Derick Padilla who comes onboard to augment the band’s six-string firepower.

Viva Communications Inc. recently announced that it has partnered with South Korean entertainment group Milagro in a “strategic entertainment deal.” With this, ‘Boss Vic’ Del Rosario has added to his reputation as the main man and his Viva entertainment group as the go-to outfit for companies to partner with to break new ground in a promising region like that of the Philippines. The Viva-Milagro connection establishes an artistic exchange corridor between SoKor and the country, with Milagro’s K-pop artists being brought in to Manila, where Pinoy fans are one of the biggest and most appreciative in Asia. Likewise, Pinoy pop will have an inroad to South Korea’s massive entertainment industry. As the kick-off for this creative alliance, singer-actress Aubrey Caraan is set to collaborate on a recording project with South Korean singer-actor Daewon Lee. Viva bosses Vic Del Rosario, Veronique Del Rosario-Corpus, and Verb Del Rosario, with Milagro Korea COO Yoo Jisang, recently formalized the partnership.