This weeks video features Master Diwa in his rendition of the Legend of Zelda theme, for all our fellow old-school gamers out there!
Today on Weekly Artist Spotlight, we feature a wonderful solo artist known as Diwa de Leon. Diwa is a Philippines based composer who focuses on television, video game, movie, and theater/stage music; uses a variety of mediums and instruments to express his amazing talents. One of Diwa’s current projects is to use one of his favorite instruments the Filipino Hegalong, a two stringed guitar also known as a boat lute. One string produces the melody while the other creates a static note, or drone. Diwa is currently experimenting with combing the music of the Hegalong with electronica and chill out music, as he calls it.
From the official Diwa de Leon website:
Diwa de Leon is a professional composer, arranger, ethnic instrumentalist, violinist, sound designer, recording artist, music teacher and all-around musician. He has worked with Joey Ayala, Grace Nono, Cooky Chua, Shaina Magdayao, Chin-Chin Gutierrez, Cynthia Alexander, Noel Cabangon, Bo Razon, Coke Bolipata, The Dawn, Dulaang UP and UP Concert Chorus to name a few.
He finished his Bachelor of Music degree, Major in Composition and Minor in Violin at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City under the tutelage of Dr. Ramon Santos, Josefino Toledo, Christine Muyco and Jonas Baes. He is also the valedictorian of Philippine High School for the Arts batch 1997 where he majored in Visual Arts.
In 1997, he and four highschool buddies co-founded Makiling, a world music band. They have been playing music locally and abroad since 1997. They have released 2 albums to date and an upcoming 3rd album in 2008.
In 2001, he was chosen to represent the Philippines at the ASEAN Youth Art Camp which was held in Kuala Lumpur and Pasir Salak in Malaysia.
As a composer and arranger, he is currently busy with freelance music work doing music projects for various clients, and the construction of his personal recording studio. He is also the main composer and arranger for most of Makiling’s songs.
As a violinist, Diwa has been performing with Makiling for 11 years to date. He also performs solo used to hold private violin lessons during weekends.
In 2007, he formed www.diwadeleon.com, a website to promote his services. He provides audio and music services such as composition, song/jingle writing, music scoring, and musical arranging for production companies on stage, television and film.
His most recent major works include the official theme music for Survivor Philippines GMA, the film score for indie films such as “Si Baning Si Maymay at ang Asong si Bobo”, “24K” by Ana Agabin and “Handumanan” by Seymour Sanchez, “5 Minutes” by Shandii Bacolod, “Himpapawid” by Raymond Red, “Kolorete” by Ruelo Lozendo, the musical “Ang Kiri” as commissioned by Dulaang UP, and numerous songs and pieces from Makiling’s upcoming 3rd album, Malakas at Maganda.
In 2008, he won the Cinema One Originals “Best Music Score” award for his work on the film “Kolorete” directed by Ruelo Lozendo.
In 2009, he was commissioned by Dulaang UP to arrange the classic sarsuela “Ang Kiri” with a reinvented style that suits the modern crowd. The play got standing ovations with a jampacked crowd. He also got nominated for “Best Original Music” at the 2009 Gawad Urian for his work at “Kolorete”, and a Cinema One Originals “Best Music” nomination for his work in “Si Baning Si Maymay at ang Asong si Bobo”.
For 2010, his projects include original songs for “Emir” a musical film directed by Chito Rono, ambiance music for the new Hotel H2O Manila, and arrangements for singer Jonathan Badon’s upcoming album. He also begin his dream solo project called the “Hegalong Project ” that focuses on the hegalong instrument fused with electronic music. He was also worked on his first Filipino mainstream film music score with “Mamarazzi” produced by Regal Films.
Diwa comes from a highly musical family, his grandfather Felipe Padilla de Leon, Sr. is a National Artist for Music. He is now on a quest to create his best music composition yet.
You can follow Master Diwa on
Facebook,YouTube, and Twitter!
Enjoyed his music on Krypton Radio? Support the artist! You can purchase the music from the following stores:
Diwa de Leon’s album: Emergence
Digital download at iTunes or at CDBaby!
Krypton Radio is adding new music all the time! If you have a suggestion for a song or group you think we should spotlight,or even add to our line up,just reply in comments to let us know what you think of the music on KR and what else you would like to hear!
