MOJOFLY (one word; all caps; no meaning except their music)
MOJOFLY offers a more radio-friendly, pop-leaning alternative to the other Filipino rock bands of today.
Formed in '99 by bassist Ricci Gurango after his departure from Hungry Young Poets, MOJOFLY reeled in mainstream and alternative crowds alike with the debut album Birth Day (1999) and sophomore offering A Million Stories (2002), both released under Sony Music Philippines. Then-lead singer Kitchie Nadal helped propel singles such as Another Day and Scooter Boy to national recognition. But in May 2003, Nadal left the group to embark on a solo career.
Undeterred, MOJOFLY didn’t skip a beat and introduced Lougee Basabas as the band’s new frontwoman in only a matter of days. By year’s end the group joined the “indie” bandwagon with their self-titled EP, sold-out despite being available only in gigs. Thanks to the comeback hit Mata [Filipino for “eye”] and the revived, revv-ed up Lougee-version of Minamalas, the EP clearly defined the ambitious sound of the “new MOJOFLY”.
The band went on to release an LP aptly entitled MOJOFLY Now (June, 2005), still under independent label luKas Music of artist manager cum music publisher Karin Araneta. This time distributed nationwide by EMI Music Philippines, Lougee took over the reins in songwriting and gained MOJOFLY “street cred” through her novel, cutting-edge compositions.
Currently promoting MOJOFLY Now Special Edition (August, 2006), the 2-disc package marries the original ‘05 full-length and an A-VCD featuring live tracks from their first major concert at the Music Museum (September, 2005) and the 3D-animated music video of Tumatakbo.
MOJOFLY is the first local artist to venture into full 3D animation in Philippine music video history. The work was previewed at the 19th Singapore International Film Festival (April, 2006) and won “Best Animated Video” and “Favorite Indie Video” at the 2006 MTV Pilipinas Video Music Awards (August, 2006).
Apart from once garnering the much-coveted slot for MTV Lokal Artist-of-the-Month (March, 2005), MOJOFLY also boasts a list of celebrity endorsements from Del Monte Pizza Sauce to Penshoppe and Cream Silk Conditioners. The theme song Choose and vast multi-media exposure from the Cream Silk “Pink Power, Girl Power” campaign brought MOJOFLY’s sound and Lougee’s vivid image into every household.
Completing the astonishing line-up that makes up today’s MOJOFLY are Allan Elgar on guitar and Ali Alejandro on drums. If their names ring a bell, that’s because both of them belong to their respective families of tested musicians.
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LOUGEE (Vocals)
The reincarnation of MOJOFLY is marked by the advent of the band’s new vocalist during the second quarter of 2003.
Maria Lourdes Grace Basabas, or Lougee (“ Lou-G”) as she is fondly called, has been appearing in print ads and TV commercials since the age of 14. Her most recent ads include Mitsubishi, Pepsi, Jollibee, and Ayala Malls.
Just turned 20, Lougee is a Junior at Assumption College majoring in Mass Communications.
Before joining MOJOFLY, she was a member of Ryan Cayabyab's pop teen-group, Kaya, which released an album under BMG Records Pilipinas, as well as her very own band Superlooj.
Characteristic of MOJOFLY’s new and ambitious sound, the novel cuts composed by young Lougee included in the band’s new self-titled EP (under independent release) brought MOJOFLY back to life! --------------------
ALLAN (Guitar)
Allan Edward Chacon Elgar is no stranger to the business, or to MOJOFLY.
He struggled with various bands throughout most of high school and college till Loudwater, an underground band that played regularly at the notorious Club Dredd. In 1996, he joined the Jett Pangan Group with his younger brother Michael (present-day guitarist of Rivermaya). There he met Ricci, who briefly sessioned for the band prior to forming HYP. By 2000, the Elgar brothers formed 7Foot Jr. which was briefly handled by MOJOFLY’s manager, Karin Araneta. Despite the nocturnal lifestyle of band-life, Allan survived working at Star Records as Ad-Prom Manager from 2000-2002 and led homeroom classes at Ateneo de Manila Grade School from 2002-2006.
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ALI (Drums)
Although Angelo Alihaj Diaz Alejandro is a guitarist by heart, playing drums for MOJOFLY gives him the credibility of being more than just the son of two icons in the local entertainment industry.
Ali realized that “showbiz” was not his cup of tea when he appeared briefly in a local tele-novela on GMA 7. He has also played for several pop bands but MOJOFLY is his first major endeavor in the music scene. ===============
