We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

MAPAGKAWANGGAWA

by Ira Lawrence

supported by
Baker Legate
Baker Legate thumbnail
Baker Legate I saw this guy live at PG in Evansville. He was my favourite act that night and I got the chance to have a short conversation with him.

His vocals were reminiscent of Built To Spill and the instrumentals were very unique and bizarre. I am always attracted to musicians that use anything other than a guitar and not only did he do that, but he had pedals for his Mandolin that made it sound insane. Definitely catch him live if you can and download his album. Great guy. :D Favorite track: All My Fake Friends.
/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $7.50 USD  or more

     

  • USB Flash Drive + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of MAPAGKAWANGGAWA via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 14 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $13 USD

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 4 Ira Lawrence releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of AM I MAKING YOU SICK?, YOUNG & PARANOID, MAPAGKAWANGGAWA, and Elegant Freefall. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $10.80 USD or more (20% OFF)

     

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

about

"That mandolin does sound haunted in a very good way.” –Jens Lekman

Ira Lawrence is an internationally produced playwright who inherited a haunted electric mandolin from his estranged grandmother in 2014. After releasing his acclaimed debut EP "Elegant Freefall" (Independent Clauses #9 Best EP of 2015), he left Brooklyn for the Philippines with his AustraliAmerican Theater Collective EVERYTHING IS EVERYWHERE (2 Aussies 2 Americans 2 gals 2 dudes 2 goys 2 Jews 2 legit 2 quit) to write, teach, and perform at Sipat Lawin's Karnabal Festival of performance and social innovation.

WATCH SIPAT ON CNN: cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/arts/2016/09/14/independent-theater-in-the-philippines.html

While in The Philippines, Ira visited bombed out hospitals on the island of Corregidor, a sunken cemetery on the island of Camiguin, and almost got cast as a lead in a Filipino soap opera. MAPAGKAWANGGAWA, his debut album, is a self-recorded 11-song musical travelogue informed by Ira’s adventure abroad- exploring alienation from friends, the excitement of being immersed in a new culture, and America’s tenuous history with The Philippines (which at one point was on track to be America’s 51st state).

Ira’s theatrical work has been performed at The Kennedy Center, Flea #Serials, Samuel French OOB, Ensemble Studio Theater, Short & Sweet Sydney, Collaboraction (at the Steppenwolf Garage), F*It Club, Source Festival, Single Carrot, The Australian Broadcast Corporation, and The Chicago New Media Summit (among many other places around the globe). In 2006, City Paper voted Ira “Best Playwright Of Baltimore”. In 2009, Dated: A Cautionary Tale For Facebook Users was a New York Innovative Theater Award nominee for best short play. Ira has received playwriting grants from the Maryland State Arts Council and Chicago Union League.

MAPAGKAWANGGAWA is also a Tagalog word for charitable and philanthropic. So, upon the album’s release in Fall of 2016, one dollar of every album sale will be donated back to The Sipat Lawin Ensemble- the vibrant and audacious Filipino theater company behind Karnabal. The album was self recorded in Brooklyn at Ryan & Molly's apartment between Christmas and New Years 2015 and mixed and mastered by John Jagos aka Brothertiger in Greenpoint.


NO SYNTHS
NO GUITARS
NO DRUMS
ONLY IRA LAWRENCE'S HAUNTED MANDOLIN

CRITICAL PRAISE:

“A stringed instrument on an acid trip, being played within a haunted house.”- Soundwaves Review

“MAPAGKAWANGGAWA, is an album of unique and unforced style that cements Lawrence as an artist to be watched“- Artist Direct

"There’s a lot to be proud of on this album: the rhythm, mixing, and the many, impressive sounds Lawrence is able to create using just one instrument are all reason for exuberant celebration. That experimentation is a force to be reckoned with." - The Knockturnal

"These homemade quirks are not merely for show – rather, they help inform the impressive songwriting and musicianship that has gone into this entire work, which speaks volumes of Lawrence’s genuine artistry. Indeed, the lyrics are simple yet poetic, full of meaning to which anyone can relate. Meanwhile, the music is full of hooks, buzzy distortions, and memorable melodies. Accompanied only by his haunted mandolin, Lawrence’s vocals are strong and clear; unaffected and blatant, yet somewhat bent, biting out catchy tunes and anxious, angsty, and optimistic lyrics...It somehow feels old and new, familiar and other worldly, all at the same time. "- NY Theatre Guide

"Fuzzy Mandolin-folk which nestles into the corners of the room a like a happy pet dog gazing in the hope of supper."- Emerging Indie Bands

credits

released October 7, 2016

The album was self recorded in Brooklyn at Ryan & Molly's apartment between Christmas and New Years 2015 and mixed and mastered by John Jagos aka Brothertiger in Greenpoint.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Ira Lawrence New York

Haunted Electric Mandolin www.iralawrence.com

contact / help

Contact Ira Lawrence

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Ira Lawrence recommends:

If you like Ira Lawrence, you may also like: