Posted on July 7, 2009 - by Mark Zonda

Lights over Philippines

Some kind of gentle indie-pop, the one played secretly in a room of some obscure town just in the inner life of a humble and simple existence just for some friends or maybe a cat, seemed to travel in time from America to UK, from Albion to Sweden, finally leaving its last coloured ashes and burned confetti in India and Philippines. One artist above others managed to catch my attantion for its secret world and its songs so sincere. The name of this so called project it’s “The Fantasy Lights”. We had a little talk with Patryk Gwyn

Mark Zonda: It’s hard to start an Indie project in Philippines ? How did you three started to make music with Fantasy Lights?

Patryk: There are challenges in starting an indie project in the Philippines . The scene here in the Philippines is not that big compared to other countries.   Most of us knew each other by acquaintances from gigs
held once in a month or in film festivals.   Mostly people that I got acquainted with became close friends and made a music project with them.   Gigs here in the Philippines just comes and go. Well for Fantasy Lights, it started around 1999. Well it all began inside the bedroom just for fun.  Created some beats with some crude
MIDI software and drum machine to accompany my guitar.   I started recording some songs using a tape recorder. Well it sounded ok on tape. After few weeks, decided to record some of my songs using a computer.  It was easier for me to record songs using computers since I can lay more tracks and adjust the levels at an instant.  I started to distribute some of my tracks online using IRC using dialup. It was painfully slow.  Fantasy Lights was not really intended to play live sets before. It was more of a project, for me to just make music and share it with close friends.  Eventually, I was convinced to play live by my friends, and playing a live set was quite a struggle.  I remember playing alone in front of people with only a guitar and a
drum machine or a discman (it was actually kinda nervous).  Then Lawrence and Chax came along to help me with the gigs.   Sometimes Lawrence plays the bass or the drums and Chax plays the guitar or the keyboard.  Lawrence and Chax are very good friends of mine.   We hang out a lot even if we’re not playing.   Go to gigs and listen to music.

Mark Zonda: Which are your main influences? Why Apple Orchard are so important for so many bands?

Patryk: Lawrence was more into Lo-fi music like Guided by Voices, Yo La Tengo, Pavement and Chax was more into shoegaze/madchester music. And as for me I have a long list going inside my brain.   But if I was to pick at least three bands that influenced me, that would be New Order, Field Mice and Joy Division.
Apple Orchard’s Ryan and Dale are very close friends with Fantasy Lights and we used to play in the same gigs. And Dale frequently contacts me if they have a project going on.

Mark Zonda: Why your musical project ended in 2002? Any chance to come back and play?

Patryk: Around 2002, Fantasy Lights stopped playing live sets since most of us have been very busy with work and other duties.  But mostly at times I still record and make music and upload it to friends. I really tried to just really end Fantasy Lights before but the love for making music prevents me from doing so.   And for us to come back and play, we can still definitely do that.

Mark Zonda:  “Cinema at Seven”. How that song is born and what’s the story behind that rack, if any?

Patryk: Cinema at Seven came to life because of this brilliant film called Brief Encounter by David Lean.   After watching it countless of times I was moved by their casual relationship turned into something else.
They often meet and go to a cinema house.   I always feel this certain longing and sadness while watching it.  So I decided to make a song that will always remind me how it feels like to watch it.

Mark Zonda: What about Cloudberry Records?

Patryk: A very nice guy Roque of Cloudberry Records was kind enough to release some of my songs last year. Very happy with the outcome.

The Fantasy Lights – “You ‘re my september”

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