Joanne McQuarrie, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
Former Jasperite, Jonas Silva, loves the community so much he wrote a song about it called Where I Belong.
The instrumental tune pays homage to the town Silva called home for six years before moving to Calgary for a job in September of 2014.
"I was sitting in my backyard in Calgary, I was thinking about Jasper, what I was doing before. At the same time, there was this melody in my mind and it kept butting in," Silva said.
"I got my keyboard, brought it outside, and just started playing a note, and all of a sudden, there came the music."
Silver immersed himself in the world of music in Jasper.
He shared his talents with fellow musical artists in a band he formed called Brown Sugar. He played lead guitar with Jhay Acosta on drums, Joms De Guzman on bass guitar, Bem Pasagui on rhythm guitar and Charlene Tiotio as vocalist and playing acoustic guitar.
Brown Sugar's first performance was at a Filipino Christmas party in 2008.
"It was really good, everybody seemed to enjoy it," Silva said.
"We did cover songs - alternative pop music."
The band performed at Canada Day celebrations too.
"From time to time, we played at the Athabasca Hotel, sometimes at the Legion at the open mike sessions, sometimes at the De'd Dog Bar & Grill. We were busy, especially during the summer months,鈥� said Silva.
Now a solo artist, Silva composes and arranges his own songs under the name, Indio Project. He referenced a time when the Philippines was conquered and occupied by the Spanish and said that "pureblood Filipinos are called 'indios'."
He added, "I call my songs a project because I'm basically experimenting my music by mixing different genres in one song."
This deep passion for music has been inside Silva since he was very young.
"It runs in the blood, my whole family is into music," he said.
"I learned how to play the piano at six years old. I learned how to play the guitar at seven years old. It comes naturally."
His musical influences are wide-ranging.
"The music I'm doing, it's mixed - reggae, metal, rock alternative. Once I use a piano in my songs, it's gonna sound classical,鈥� he said.
And Silva doesn't let daily routines such as sleep interrupt his creative drive.
"I feel so at peace when I'm in my studio creating the music," he said. "All of the songs - it starts in a dream. I always dream the tune - sometimes it starts in the middle of the night. I wake up, then run to the studio and I record it right away.
"When I dream about the music or a tune, I can finish the song in one day. Once I start something I have to finish it. I'm not gonna leave the studio until it's done."
Silva has released two albums. His first, The Indio Experiment features 11 songs. The second album, titled Next, has eight songs. Silva is working on his third album, Relax, Everything's Okay.
Silva's tunes are on Spotify, iTunes and YouTube Music.
