Australia recently experienced the worst bushfires in its history. What had been referred to as the 'Black Summer' commenced in September 2019 through to March 2020. Various media accounts described it as "apocalyptic" and comparable to an "atomic bomb". Its impact was so great that the Bushfire Royal Commission was established to gather evidence about the coordination, preparedness for, response to and recovery from the disaster as well as proposing improvements in resilience and adapting to changing climatic conditions.
In addition to the loss of life of thirty three people, more than 10 million hectares burnt across Australia and 3,000 homes and 7,000 outbuildings were destroyed during the 2019/20 bushfire season. Millions of native plants and animals perished, along with 80,000 head of livestock. Of the fatalities three were Australian volunteer firefighters and three were Americans who crashed in a C130 Hercules while water bombing in the NSW bushland.
Thousands of volunteer firefighters put their lives at stake over the six month period battling ferocious fires. To pay tribute to the selfless courage of these men and women, the Heroes of the World CD was born.
Background of the Album
Heroes of the World is the Filipino-Australian community’s musical tribute to Australia’s 2019-2020 bushfire heroes. A selection of the best Filipino-Australian artists in Sydney lent their voices to the original music and lyrics of composer/producer Oliver Gadista for a 15-track collection of touching melodies for the tribute as well as for the listening pleasure of Australians.
Briefly, Heroes of the World CD was a project conceived in January 2020, recorded in February 2020 and released in April 2020. The album was a labour of love by volunteer performers to raise funds for the relief of those firefighters who put their bodies on the line.
In January 2020, Oliver approached Jaime Pimentel and pitched a possible charity project involving the Filipino Australian artists living in Sydney. With Jaime's his full support, within two weeks Oliver sent an invitation to several artists to participate in the project. The recording started first week in February 2020 and was completed at the end of February.
Mixing thereafter was started and was completed on 31 of March 2020. The mastering of the album started on April 1st and completed in the morning of 18 of April. Simultaneously, the album artwork was finalised on the 17 of April. At 5pm of 18 April, the album went live on Bandcamp.
The Songs and the Artists
Sydney boasts of many talented artists who are always prepared to help out in fundraising events.. The artists engaged for this worthy cause and the fifteen tracks are listed below in the order that the songs come in the CD.
- Walang Mahirap Sa Buhay - Jojo Sebastian - is an artist who built his reputation as a singer, performer, and host/emcee. As a singer his versatility and energy on stage is contagious which makes him a very good entertainer. Success for him in singing and performing, when he is able to effectively convey the core message of the song without having to compromise his own values and beliefs.
- Heroes of the World - Brian Anderson - is a professional musician/artist/songwriter and the former lead singer of the FirstCircle Band with their no.1 hit revival " Akoy Sayo ".
- Sanay Mapansin Mo Rin - Chelsea Castillo - one of the young artists in Sydney who is carving a name in the entertainment world. Chelsea has performed as front act to Filipino artists from overseas and who are based in Sydney.
- Life Goes On - Lillian delos Reyes - is much loved and popular entertainer and community leader. She celebrated her 50 years in the show business and 70 years of age in August last year. She has been touching many lives through her gift of music, which in the recent years involved being part of Six Pack Productions which does the club circuit in Sydney. She is also generous in sharing her talents in various fundraising and other community events.
5. Sinauna - Albert Prias - popularly known as Albie, is an Interior Designer and Real Estate Investment Consultant by profession. He is also an Event Organiser, Director, Host, Entertainer and a Community Leader. He is currently a TAFE teacher at Design Centre Enmore and a Sales Consultant at PIA.
6. Nurse’s song - Charles Chan - is more well known for his role in FLAGCOM's Mardi Gras events but he is also a talented emcee in community events and private functions where he also performs. He was part of the charity CD "One" which raised funds for the Sendong Typhoon victims in 2012 and also was a project of Oliver Gadista and some FILPRESSydney members.
7. Kailan - Jinky Marsh - a Filipino-Australian musical artist whose repertoire includes musical excerpts, operetta, show tunes, movie themes, contemporary pieces, nostalgic ballads, standard jazz, classical music, religious songs, songs from around the world as well as nursery rhymes and children songs. She has performed in various venues in Melbourne, Sydney as well as in the metropolitan Manila (Philippines) and New Jersey (USA). She had formal training in musical theatre, voice, character entertainment, stage and screen acting and community radio broadcasting for children locally, interstate and overseas.
8. 1100 Degrees - Marcus Rivera - is a versatile singer and actor whose career began when he was only 7 years old. Marcus is the recipient of the McDonald’s Sydney Eisteddfod’s 2012 “Counter Tenor Award”. In 2017 he was awarded “Most distinguished musician” at IBLA Grand prize, in Ragusa, Italy. He has performed in Classical music, music theatre, cabaret, film and TV. He is well loved in musicals such as the King and I, Miss Saigon, Anything Goes to name a few. He has performed the role of The Engineer in various productions of Miss Saigon, the most recent was in Christchurch, New Zealand. He also starred in historical type musicals such as Noli Me Tangere and Ned.
9. Pinoy Sa Abroad - Nathaniel Gale - started his musical journey in HS band in 1977. He was a college band member for a few years from 1981 and tried joining the choir as tenor to countertenor in 1982. He is the Lead Vocalist of Gale Force offering rock; mello rock; slow rock; rock ballads; power ballad; blues on their rock anthems.
10. A friend in need - Marianne Clare - is known for singing anime-related songs and worship songs. - Facebook: www.facebook.com/marianneclarec;
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/marianne.clare.c
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/marianneclare
- Walang Hahanapin Pa - Miguel Castro - was a regular singer for Aawitan Kita of the late Armida Siguion Reyna, HARANA of The Philippine Opera Company, and the pop classical group The Filipino Tenors. He is also active in musical stage productions and a tv and film actor. In between all these, he exhibits his works as a Papercut Artist.
- Start again - Hannah Natoli - Former Philippine University of Visayas chorale alumnus and a member of the BCA (Bethlehem Communities of Australia) singing group. She started singing at a young age at churches, schools and singing competitions. She has sung in different charities and loves to give back and use her voice as a platform to help others.
IG account : Hanbluz01 Fb: https://www.facebook.com/HaNbLuE
- Leap of faith - Cat Thompson - Singer-songwriter/recording artist http://catthompson.com/ ; CatThompsonLive (Twitter); CatThompsonOfficial (Instagram)
- We are Love - Zaebriel Orayenza - 11 year old ZaebrielOrayenza is a multitalented prodigy. She is currently in the School of Rock International The Musical, playing the lead role of Tomika, the singer of the band. She has won multiple awards in singing and in sports. She is very grateful for all her gifts and for all the people who who have always been there for her.
- Traffic Jam - The PedrOz - Acoustic trio band based in Sydney, Australia. Motown, Motown, reggae, pop and some jazz in between. FB page: The PedrOz Band
The CD would not have been completed without the involvement of a number of talented musicians. They are as follows:
Walang Mahirap sa Buhay - Dennis Mangabat (Guitars/Backing Vocals) - New Wave Tragic GearAddict Guitarist/Songwriter
KrissyAure-Canson (Backing Vocals) - 6 Man trio band. Direct, Authentic & Imaginative
Paul Noriel (Bass/Backing Vocals)
Start Again - Nelson Catig (Guitars) - Fahrenheit band and 6 Man Trio Band
Pinoy Sa Abroad - Mirasol Loyaga (Backing Vocals) - started singing at the early age of 7. Competed in numerous singing competition overseas. Currently sings with a few bands in Sydney.
Life Goes On - Rejoice Chan (Backing Vocals) - Lead Vocalist in various bands
Sylvia Estacion Gadista (Backing Vocals) - Winner of the vocal Solo Pop Literary Contest at Holy Rosary Academy Catholic HS. 1st place in interschool literary musical contest in Notredame of UpiMaguindanao.
Nurse’s Song - Joel Townsend - SweetMojo Band, Vampit Band. Proficient in piano and guitar.
Heroes of the World can be purchased through https://gadista.bandcamp.com . Individual songs are $2.50 whereas the album is $18. Oliver was glad to share that as of 6.30am on Friday, 24/04/2020 there has been 2431 plays, 65 puchases, 17 of those were album sales. So total is $584 excluding the fees and charges by the site. NARRA is partnering the initiative so regular updates for tracking and transparency will be provided to NARRA President Albert Prias, Oliver is hopeful that the Filipino-Australian and the wider community will give their support to the initiative.
The Man Behind the Heroes of the World
Popularly referred to as the ‘Groove Maestro’ Oliver Gadista of Merrylands, Oliver was born in Manila and grew up in Sta Cruz, Laguna. He and his parents migrated to Australia when he was 14. He attended Arthur Phillip High School in Parramatta. He completed a Diploma in Contemporary Music in 2001 at Narimba College, in Sydney’s West, where he was awarded as Outstanding Guitarist and Achiever for two consecutive years.
To pursue his passion for music, he has built professional sound studio in his home composing and recording more than a hundred songs which are performed by himself and local artists in various community events.
Asked what he likes best about Heroes of the World initiative, Oliver said: "Being able to give something back to the community and at the same time being proud of our heritage, in addition to raising some funds towards the firefighters and their families; regardless of how little the album would raise, it is our expression of our appreciation of their sacrifices and paying tribute to their bravery and love for the country."
What was the biggest challenge in doing the project? "The biggest challenge was time."
Oliver says of the 15 tracks : "I look at them as my babies and I love them all". However, when asked to select only three songs in the album, he nominated: " 'Heroes of the World' as it encapsulates the meaning of the CD; 'Nurses" which I wrote for the memories of my mother who was a nurse and '1100 Degrees', which describes the searing heat of the unforgiving fire that ravaged whatever was on its way."
It is certainly an initiative worthy of our support. Aside from raising some funds for those affected by the bushfires, it is our way to pay tribute to the thousands of firefighters who battled the bushfires to keep people, animals and properties safe. The CD also contains beautiful songs composed by Oliver and performed by talented and generous artists.