Imelda, rock band

We listened to your album and we’d describe your music as “young but refined rock.” What fuels you?

DIEGO MANZANO, guitarist: Our music is in-your-face, full of angst, full of raw emotion. It’s the kind of music that when you just want to let loose, you can. I’d personally describe it as “hard rock with a touch of finesse.”

We try to do something different, sometimes unconventional, with every new song that we write. We try very hard to keep it sounding simple even if it really is somewhat technical so that people can still relate to it and head bang or mosh or dance to it. It’s always nice to see girls dance and guys start a riot during shows. (Laughs)

What inspires you to make your music?

Personally, what inspires me is that music is a kind of release. It’s that feeling you can’t verbally express; it makes you feel one with the universe, a cosmic relation between man and everything around us.

As a band, we love to play, we love to write and simply the rush of “the next gig,” people appreciating what we’ve written also inspires us to do better, to do things we thought we couldn’t do.

OPM. Some say it’s dying, dead. What do you say?

We say that people should come out to shows since there are a lot of great bands out there doing the rounds and putting on great shows. After going to these shows, we’ll let them decide for themselves.

What can we look forward to from Imelda in the coming year? 

We’re hoping to release our first full-length album mid-2014 and hopefully, more features and bigger and better shows in and hopefully outside of Manila and the Philippines.

— Damien Aldeguer and Lei Angelique Cruz