''Rivermaya'' (stylized as ''RiverMaya'') is the self-titled debut studio album by Filipino

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Rivermaya, released on November 1994, by

Bertelsmann Music Group Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music com ...

. The album received positive reviews from critics, who praised the songwriting of keyboardist

Rico Blanco Rico Rene Granados Blanco (born March 17, 1973) is a Filipino singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actor, endorser and entrepreneur. He began his career as one of the founding members, and served as the chief songwriter, ...

. The album sold well upon release, due to its hit singles like "214", "

Ulan Ulan may refer to: Places *Ulan, New South Wales, a town in Australia *Ulan County, in Qinghai Province, China *Ulan District, eastern Kazakhstan *Ulan, Iran, a village in Zanjan Province People * Ulan, politician from Inner Mongolia, China Mil ...

", and "Awit ng Kabataan". ''Rivermaya'' has been certified triple platinum by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI). With 120,000 copies sold, the record is one of the best-selling albums in the Philippines.

Background

Xaga formed in 1994, and were managed by Lizza Nakpil and

Chito Roño Chito may refer to: *Chito Calvo (1903–1977), Filipino basketball player, swimmer, and coach *Chito Garcia (1924–2015), Mexican baseball outfielder and manager *Chito Gascon, Filipino lawyer, civil organizer, and human-rights activist *Chito J ...

. The band's original lineup consisted of Jesse Gonzales on vocals,

Kenneth Ilagan Kenneth Ilagan is a Filipino musician who was the guitarist for the rock band The Dawn. Before assuming guitar duties for The Dawn, Ilagan also played guitar for Violent Playground, True Faith and Xaga (who then became Rivermaya). Ilagan is a ...

on guitars, Nathan Azarcon on bass guitar, Rome Velayo on drums, and

on keyboards. In the process of grueling practice sessions, Gonzales and Velayo were respectively replaced by Bamboo Mañalac and Mark Escueta, both of whom were invited by Azarcon to join. Ilagan had also left the band due to personal reasons;

Perfecto de Castro Perfecto "Perf" de Castro (born August 14, 1974) is a Filipino musician currently based in Los Angeles, California best known for having been a celebrated fixture in the Philippine alternative rock scene during the 1990s. During the course of ...

was added to fill in his role. Shortly thereafter, Xaga disbanded to form a new group that came to be Rivermaya.

Release and promotion

''Rivermaya'' was released on November 1994 on

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

and CD format. A few months after the album was released, the band released the album's first single, "

/ Awit ng Kabataan". The two were separate songs (tracks 5 and 10 on ''Rivermaya''), but were released together as a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

single. It was then followed by "214", the second single. It received heavy radio airplay and achieved massive popularity, and remains as one of the band's most memorable hits. The last single from the album was "Bring Me Down".

Reception

Critical response

The album received generally positive reviews from critics. David Gonzales of AllMusic gave ''Rivermaya'' four stars out of five, calling it a "self-assured debut effort". He praised the tracks "Revolution" and "214", and noted that it encompasses the band's sound. He also commented on "20 Million", remarking the track is an "elaborately produced vehicle", containing piano and a wonderful string section. Gonzales enjoyed the album's melodic nature as well as Rico Blanco's songwriting, saying: "The plaudits must go to keyboardist Rico Blanco, who wrote six of the album's ten songs, and participated in the writing of the other four songs."

Commercial performance

''Rivermaya'' received gold certification status a few months after being released. Eventually, sales grew and the album was certified triple platinum by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI), denoting sales of over 120,000 copies.

Aftermath

The album's success catapulted Rivermaya into one of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

' premier rock bands of the

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, along with the

Eraserheads Eraserheads (sometimes stylized as ERASƎRHEADS or ƎRASƎRHƎADS) are a Filipino alternative rock band formed in 1989. With a line-up comprising Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala, Marcus Adoro, and Raimund Marasigan, the band became one of the most ...

. The band frequently held live performances, appeared in television programs, and embarked on extensive tours around the country. Despite the popularity that established the band's status, it also bought conflict and disagreements to the members and managers. In 1995, Perfecto de Castro left the group, citing creative differences with managers Lizza Nakpil and Chito Roño as the reason for his departure. He went on to form a

power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quartet ...

called TriAxis. Even with de Castro's exit, Rivermaya decided to forge on, and began working on their second studio album.

Accolades

* denotes an unordered list

Track listing

Personnel

Track numbers noted in parenthesis below are based on track numbering. ;Rivermaya * Bamboo Mañalac –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

–

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

, vocals *

–

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, backing vocals * Nathan Azarcon –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, backing vocals * Mark Escueta –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

;Artwork * Dave Yu – design * Mario Joson – art direction * Raymund Isaac – photography ;Additional musicians * Francisco Llorin –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

;Production * Rico Blanco –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Perfecto de Castro – production * Buddy Medina – executive production * Rudy Y. Tee – executive production * Arnold Jallores – mixing,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* Lizza G. Nakpil –

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Chito S. Roño Chito Sarmiento Roño (; born April 26, 1954), also known as Sixto Kayko and Chito S. Roño, is a Filipino writer, producer, and director. He is known for his expansive vision and special-effects-heavy films. He came to prominence in the Phi ...

– management * Vic Valenciano – A&R

In popular culture

* The song Ulan & Halik sa Araw are included in soundtrack of the movie "Pare Ko". * The song "214" was covered by JM de Guzman for the theme song of the 2019 romantic drama film '' Alone/Together''. * The song "214" was covered by

Jeremiah Tiangco Jeremiah Christian Castor Tiangco (born August 5, 1997) is a Filipino singer, dancer, host, vlogger, and entrepreneur. He is the second grand champion of GMA Network's singing competition ''The Clash''. Tiangco is currently a mainstay performer ...

for the theme song of the 2022 TV series ''

Lolong Lolong (died 10 February 2013) was the largest crocodile in captivity. He was a saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') measured at , and weighed , making him one of the largest crocodiles ever measured from snout-to-tail. In November 201 ...

.'' * The song "214" was covered by

Luke Mejares Michael Luke Mejares (born June 26, 1975) is a Filipino singer and songwriter of African-American descent. Life Mejares was born in Manila, to a Boholana mother, Elvira P. Mejares, and an African-American father named Robert Davis. His biologic ...

and was featured on the special edition of his Solo debut album "Stop, Luke & Listen". * The song "Ulan" was covered by Janine Teñoso for the theme song of the 2019 romantic drama film of the same name.

Notes

References

{{Authority control 1994 debut albums Rivermaya albums