Boat Liberators (outside of canon)

iBoat Liberators are a Filipino band from the St. Dwynwen Academy of Bocaue, Bulacan in 2019. Since their reunion in 2023, the band has comprised of Martin De Jesus (vocals, lead guitar), Vince di Mattia (rhythm guitar, keyboards), Ollie Carranza (bass guitar), Theo Nicolas (violin), and Rowan Floriano (drums).

## Formation

In February 2019, De Jesus was acquainted with Kevin Vergara, ages 11 and 10 respectiely, who formed a music project after discovering Vergara's drumming talent. De Jesus purchased a cheap mini Stratocaster and instantly got to learning. They later recruited Adrian Florentino and Ollie Carranza as keyboardists, completing the original lineup for the band, which De Jesus named "Boat Liberators".

## Studio album

### Producer

Marcus Lombardo

Initially, the band played covers around Bulacan and Metro Manila, garnering a small local fanbase.

Later in July of that year, Marcus Lombardo, a friend of Carranza and Vergara, offered to record an album of their covers for them in his room after he acquired a basic audio mixer. They recorded 12 songs in his bedroom, 10 of which would be released as their eponymous debut album, colloquially referred to as the Lavender Album.

## Studio album

### Producer

Marcus Lombardo

The Lavender Album was a major success within the Academy, and also gained popularity across the Philippines. The band went on a brief tour around certain areas of Luzon over their Christmas Break, returning in January 2020. Around this time, Florentino picked up rhythm guitar after receiving a mini Jazzmaster from De Jesus.

Lombardo pushed for the band to start recording their sophomore album, which was released in February as "Baby Let's Experiment".

## Hiatus

COVID. Enough said.

The band was forced to split after the members lost contact due to the COVID 19 pandemic, and subsequently, having to do online classes.

It seemed like Boat Liberators was gone for good after Vergara and Florentino switched schools in 2021 to ISM and Pisay respectively, having to leave the band.

## Studio album

### Genre

Orchestral rock, modern rock, psychedelic rock, post-punk revival

### Producer

Richard Floriano

Even after onsite classes returned, Boat Liberators remained inactive throughout 2022 and early 2023. Carranza learned the bass guitar and tried to record music as a solo artist around this time but was unable to successfully produce any music.

Until October, when De Jesus and Carranza met Vince di Mattia and Rowan Floriano, who joined Boat Liberators as rhythm guitarist and drummer. Floriano kickstarted production of the band's third studio album in December after recruiting his cousin Theo Nicolas as a violinist. di Mattia and Floriano had a major role in building the sound of the album, taking influence from The Last Shadow Puppets and Radiohead. The band also split up with Autotainment and signed with Lounge Records the previous month due to personal issues with Lombardo.

Clever Comebacks was released in February 2024 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. The Dwynwean Press described the album as "a successful left turn, absolutely and unarguably the most incredible album of their career so far, taking a much darker turn from their old records by combining baroque-esque strings with an airy, modern sound."

## Members

* Martin De Jesus (lead vocals, lead guitar) (2019-)
* Vince di Mattia (rhythm guitar, keyboards) (2023-)
* Ollie Carranza (keyboards (2019-2020), bass guitar (2022-))
* Theo Nicolas (violin) (2023-)
* Richard Floriano (drums) (2023-)

### Past members

* Adrian Florentino (keyboards (2019-2021), rhythm guitar (2020-2021))
* Kevin Vergara (drums) (2019-2021)

## Gear

### Current members

* De Jesus - Squier Mini Stratocaster (2019-2021), Squier Contemporary Stratocaster (2022-)
* di Mattia - Epiphone Explorer, Casio CT-S410
* Carranza - Squier P Bass (2022-), Casio CT-X700 (2019-2021)
* Nicolas - Tower Strings Entertainer
* Floriano - Alesis 8-Piece