It has been nearly 30 years since Dr Grace Nono released her first album on a new label, Tao Music, which she set up with her late partner, producer and guitarist Bob Aves. With her musical collaborator, she set about searching for her musical identity.
She travelled extensively in the Philippines, looking for storytellers, traditional musicians, oral historians, healers, and shamans. While recording her own songs — Opo was released in 1995 — she also recorded traditional women singers like Sindao Banisil and researched the social and cultural background of these musicians, healers, and artists.
She thus embarked on a long journey, which took her to New York University where she studied for a master’s and then a doctorate in ethnomusicology. I have her to thank…
