Born from spur-of-the-moment inspiration, the rock band Gaijin rolls forward with their antenna pointed straight to the sky, eager to recognize the sanctity of stereo. Inspiring each other to clash the sound waves and kidnap the temperature gauge, “Come with me, out on the Mindanao Sea. We’ll live together. We’re gonna live forever”...

Taken aback and awestruck by Manila’s potent live music scene, Jesse Grinter met Raymund Marasigan back in early 2008, after talking in a show. Both quickly discovered they were of the exact same mindset, in relation to all things expressive and musical.

A year passed by as the two kept in touch, all the while trading a few fanatical ideas back and forth.

In January 2009, the two decided to spontaneously pull the trigger and start a band.

Shinji Tanaka was brought in to play the drums, and the proverbial stage was set. The trio wasted no time, playing their first show as Gaijin the very same night. The next year was spent in every imaginable live music venue across Manila, figuring out the angels and straightening the curves. As the only common language between the three band members is music, this leaves no other option always be on the lookout for the elusive and inspirational moment of truth.

Heeding the call of documentation, the band was also using every available moment to begin and ultimately finish their debut album “Welcome Back Earthling”. While keeping true to the aesthetic of the classic power trio, the band refuses to acknowledge most rules. With the main one begin, if it sounds good and it feels good, then play it and keep it.

Beefy chords lined up in a row detuned, overturned and mystified all the while bringing the melodic. Shining effervescent, doing whatever it takes to expose every sonic color and invent new ones along the way. Making sure to take what’s been handed down over the ages and modify, like being inside the box with an outside the box mentality. Somehow skewed, alien and smart. After all, the wheel doesn’t need to be reinvented. The suprises lie within the music, and not without.