Chele Gonzalez, Samantha Nicole bring back 'Medium Rare' experience for 7th edition

MANILA, Philippines — Chef Chele Gonzalez and local artist Samantha Nicole join forces anew to stage the seventh edition of their "Medium Rare" event series bridging music, gastronomy and art.

Chele and Samantha started the event series three years ago as a way to blur the boundaries between cultural disciplines in a singular environment.

At a press conference in one of Chele's restaurants, Gallery, the chef shared being inspired by his passion for gastronomy and music, specifically calling them forms of expression.

He also broke down the event name's origins: "Medium" from the space where disciplines meet, and "Rare" for the desire to present something unique beyond the mainstream or outside commercial popularity.

"[We want] to create holistic experience from sunset to sunrise with something to talk about the next day," Samantha added.

A central focus of the event is debunking the stigma of electronic music, which both individuals stress is an accessible genre. Chele even noted that jazz and funk influence the lasting presence of today's house music.

The upcoming seventh edition of "Medium Rare" bears a "Kaleidescope" concept, inspired by how kaleisdescope rotations form new patterns with different elements — represented here in the music by neoclassic piano and hypnotic electronic.

The local line-up of artists is nearly complete, Chele and Samantha said, as they will be joined by a number of special international guests.

First among them is Spanish electronic music producer Pablo Bolivar, founder of Seven Villas Music and Avantroots Records and a friend of Chele's, having grown up together in Spain's Cantabria region.

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Chele credited his admiration for techno music to Bolivar, describing the latter's artistry as "techno structure meets ambient soundscape."

Bolivar's participation is supported by the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, a longtime partner of "Medium Rare."

Also joining the event is the Italian creative collective Bosco Studio, represented by composers and pianists Lorenzo Travaglini and Davide Semmarchi.

The two creative immersive musical narratives move between classical sensitivity and contemporary sound design.

Bosco Studio's participation is supported by the Philippine-Italian Association and will actually be the collective's first-ever performance in Asia.

"Medium Rare" will take place on May 9 from 7:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. at Salon de Ning in Makati's The Peninsula Manila.

This marks a new location for the event as "Medium Rare" previously took place in Gallery and Chele's restaurant in The Westin Manila Cantabria.

Samantha did note that she and Chele were gently exploring venues outside of Metro Manila to see other local music scenes.

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