Wake Up! Get a dose of Caffeine...and The John L.Session CDEP

If there is low-fi bedroom pop, then I can safely say that this one can be called backyard pop or living room pop at its finest. When I say backyard and living room pop...I meant it literally! For their debut CDEP, this band had a magnificent DIY moment one hot labour day in 2004 and decided to plug in and record some of their original songs in their singer's house. The band had set up and practiced on their backyard for most of the day and later on they set-up their equipment and recording gear in the living room in between beers and jokes. What some might think as a recording that's lacking in studio wizardry and effects, I can actually say that it captured the magic and spontaneous music of Caffeine. The songs from this recording spawned "The John L. Session EP" (in honour of their friend whose name is...er, John L., who did the production and mixing of the songs...a nice take on the title...ala John Peel Session...).

Caffeine is made up by Edward Luna (vocals), Malvin Magnayon (lead guitars), Emil De Leon (acoustic & rhythm guitars), Ludwig Valenzuela (drums) and Rommel Gonzales (bass). The band has been doing gigs in and around Manila and Makati since 2000 playing a good cross of new wave and guitar driven songs which leans towards their influnces -- mid-80s bands like The Ocean Blue, The Wild Swans and The Railway Children. You can say hello to the band here.

Anyway, the band produced a limited number of this 3 track CDEP and gave them away during their gigs. I hope to get a stronger dose once I hear their new songs and (hopefully) an album that they've been brewing for months. Since the band is currently in a short hiatus and its really a bit hard to find the original CDEP, here are two songs as samplers and appetizer...remember it's only here for a few days...so c'mon...go get your Caffeine fix....its good for you.

Caffeine - The John L. Session EP

(CDEP/Self Released/2004/PH)

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1. Stay

2. Call

3. My Tagalog Song