MANILA GREY: Vancouver's Rising R&B Duo

The Filipino-Canadian duo from Vancouver has been releasing new tracks left and right, and they are known for their most streamed songs on Spotify, “Timezones,” and “Silver Skies.” Previously known as “Gentleman’s Vibe” in 2014/2015, MANILA GREY rebranded to represent their culture and Filipino background. The R&B duo has gathered over 400,000 monthly listeners on Spotify since they started as MANILA GREY in 2017, creating music that has inspired many Asian-Canadians. 

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Soliven Blame (left in header image) has always expressed his love for songwriting and said so himself in an interview with HYPEBEAST, “I’ve always wanted to create something from my imagination that people can get lost in.” He notes that his biggest music influencers come from artists like Musiq Soulchild and City & Colour. Neeko (right in header image) says his music influencers are Outkast, Bow Wow and Usher. 

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The two combined have shown their impeccable work by expressing their culture and identity through their music. You might think they’re almost like brothers but they both grew up as childhood friends. Both Soliven and Neeko expressed the lack of Asian culture growing up in Vancouver and that’s what drove them to write songs to bring a community together. 

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MANILA GREY has successfully released 3 new singles in late 2022 to early 2023: “Hoodie Back” (featuring Guapdad 4000), “Comfortable in Silence,” and “Ube.” The duo has toured and performed in Asia, including places like Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. In 2022, they completed their Canadian and U.S.A tour. Over the course of their international tour, they performed at various music venues, such as VELD Music in Toronto and the Head in the Clouds Festival in both Los Angeles and in Manila. Head in the Clouds Festival is known for featuring many musical artists across the Asian diaspora. 

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MANILA GREY is one of the few Asian-Canadian artists that brings Eastern and Western culture together. Hence their stage name which combines “Manila” representing the city in the Philippines and “Grey” representing Vancouver weather. It’s a unique concept that the two have come up with. Their work has been well-recognized internationally and one of their songs called  “Backhouse Ballin’,” featured the FIlipino-Australian singer and actor James Reid. Many of their songs feature lyrics that show how they connect culture and identity. Notably, the beginning and ending of the song says:

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 “On the West side we gon’ party, 

Pull up to the East side we gon’ play,

On the North side that’s my first love,

Can’t forget the South side,” 

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These lyrics highlight the connection between the East and West through their latest collaboration with James Reid. You can read more about the backstory of the song from NYLON MANILA here. 

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MANILA GREY have slowly built up their spotlight in the music industry as they continue to write music. The endless support they receive from their Canadian and international fans shows the spotlight they deserve. Many fans are looking forward to their upcoming concerts and performances, one of which is set to occur in August 2023 in San Francisco for the Outside Lands Festival. 

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Check out their interview done by HYPEBEAST, discussing more about their music goals and career here. 

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You can also check out their latest music video for their single “Comfortable in Silence,” which invigorates an energy of love and comfort, below. 

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