Geoff Mabasa Talks About Transitioning his Tech Superstar Status to Becoming an Actual Rock Star in the Philippines

One of the golden boys of the tech startup community in the Philippines, Geoff Mabasa, who won CNN’s Shark Tank-like reality show: The Final Pitch in 2018, is now a free-spirited lead singer ready to once again step into the spotlight, with a plethora of sonic experiences under his belt, he’s gearing up to become one of Manila’s rising artists.His unique blend of music gets listeners to explore a new genre of music with him.  His musical inspirations coming from artists like Omar Apollo, Troye Sivan, Frank Ocean, Miley Cyrus, Børns, and Southborder inspire him to be this versatile wildcard that cannot be caged by one genre.Another significant influencer is K-pop; Having been a part of a cover group of the vocal boy band BTOB or Born to Beat, his vocal prowess has been trained from participating in local K-music events. These experiences molded him to be who he is today as an artist.His music goes back to when he started his dream as an artist in the early years of his studies in De La Salle – College of St Benilde, majoring in Music Production, also at the same time garnering a lot of attention on different platforms such as SoundCloud and YouTube with his talent in doing covers as well as releasing original music from time to time. “I’ve written songs for other artists, I co-produced, but nothing else brings more joy to me than being able to write from my own experiences and perform them” mentions Geoff as we talk about fast forwarding to 2024 when he released his debut single “brave;”, marking Geoff’s very first step in pursuing his lifelong dream. Brave has been an inspirational journey to him as he collaborated with a producer from Sweden, to craft a song in which he could truly express his thoughts and emotions, all the while inspiring his listeners that they also can overcome any adversity.

“brave;” talks about the challenges he faced after being diagnosed with Bipolar disorder, this song speaks of clarity on his resilience, and gratitude to all those who supported him during his time. Geoff intends to launch his career sustainably by paying it forward as he pledges 100% of all streaming royalties coming in from his debut track “brave;” throughout the year to be donated to the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing depression to light through education.

Entrepreneur and Musician Geoff Mabasa proves you can excel with business and art with upcoming single “Killing Me”

After the debut of “brave;”- an anthem of resilience, advocating for mental health last March, Geoff Mabasa is headed back to his roots in alternative rock with new single “Killing Me”. Wearing a magenta suit, with his shiny, dark hair pushed back on the visuals he released for this new single, Geoff prepared to deliver a suavè and slick psychedelic listening experience.

“Killing Me is a phase when you’re infatuated.. It’s this concept of doing favors JUST because you want to please someone. And it kills you that you still do it anyway no matter how crazy it might seem.” Geoff explains the meaning behind his upcoming single. To Geoff’s benefit, his performance also kills it with an alluring and sensual touch reflected through his unique vocals, as he switches vernacular between English and Spanish in “Killing Me”. This song is the perfect summer anthem, bringing in another batch of the already very intense heatwave in Asia. Though to be fair, this can also be the perfect track if you’re looking for the music to vibe with for the rainy, cuddle season.

“(I’m) blessed and stoked to be given the opportunity to work with some of the best in the local industry today.” Geoff as he casually mentions the track was mixed and engineered by Nik Amarnani, who also worked on Juan Karlos’ mega hit Ere.

Geoff has long considered music as a hobby, but it’s been his lifelong dream to be able to hear people enjoy the songs that he writes. “You know how casually and randomly people would hum really popular songs because they can’t get it out of their heads – that’s the dream”, Geoff mentions as we ask about why he decided to release tracks that’ve been in the vault for so many years. Outside music, you can see how holistic and occupied Geoff can be, as he spends his days working full-time, still shining in the tech industry, as well as completing his Masters at the Asian Institute of Management. 

“Killing Me” comes out on May 10, available on all music streaming apps. Keep in tabs with Geoff’s music journey on Spotify, Apple Music, and his socials: Instagram & TikTok: @samjopsal