MONDO enters a new chapter with six-song EP rooted in real-life stories

For MONDO, music has always been less about chasing trends and more about turning lived experiences into songs. Now, the alternative-rock band is preparing to introduce a more mature side of its sound with a new six-track EP that reflects where its members are today—personally, creatively and musically.

Centered around vocalist and guitarist Mondo Castro and lead guitarist LC De Leon, with Rizza Arales on bass and Marco Raquiza on drums, MONDO has built its identity on emotionally direct songwriting, atmospheric guitars and melodies that move comfortably between Filipino and English.

In an interview, Castro described the upcoming EP as the beginning of another chapter for the group.

“This new EP is really a new chapter for MONDO. It’s very much about where we are as a band ngayon—mas mature na kami, pero nandun pa rin yung energy and honesty na naging identity ng MONDO,” he shared.

The project also marks an important step forward as the band releases music under DNA Music, part of ABS-CBN Music. For Castro and his bandmates, the partnership gives MONDO an opportunity to introduce its music to a wider audience while remaining faithful to the sound and storytelling that have shaped the group.

Behind the six songs are experiences that Castro knows intimately. Rather than building the record around a single concept, he drew inspiration from different seasons of his life—from relationships and personal struggles to mental health challenges, loss and the difficult process of beginning again.

“A lot of it came from life, honestly,” Castro said. “May mga songs na very personal, may mga songs naman na mas universal. Pero lahat galing sa something real.”

Some of the material had already existed before work on the EP formally began, but bringing the songs together and completing the recordings took roughly three months. The band deliberately avoided rushing the process, wanting the finished project to represent the MONDO of today rather than simply revisit what it had done before.

Among the six tracks, one holds a particularly meaningful place for Castro: “Kung Kilala.”

“There’s something about that song na very personal sa akin,” he explained. “It captures a particular feeling or moment that I think a lot of people can relate to.”

That personal connection also reveals MONDO’s philosophy when it comes to songwriting. While commercial success is something any artist would welcome, Castro said the band does not enter the creative process thinking about how to manufacture a hit.

“Honestly, we always start with the song. Hindi namin iniisip agad na, ‘Kailangan maging hit ’to,’” he said.

For MONDO, authenticity comes before numbers. The members first have to believe in the song themselves and feel that it has something worth expressing. Castro believes that concentrating too heavily on creating a potential hit can sometimes take away the very quality that makes music connect with listeners.

“Kung hahabulin mo lang yung hit, minsan nawawala yung honesty,” he added. “For us, kailangan muna namin mahalin yung kanta. Kailangan may masasabi siya.”

It is an approach that fits naturally with the band’s evolving identity: music that can be vulnerable without losing its force, melodic without surrendering its rock edge, and personal enough to come from one person’s experience while remaining open enough for listeners to find their own stories in it.

As MONDO prepares to share the EP, Castro hopes its six songs will travel beyond the experiences that inspired them and eventually become part of other people’s lives.

“Thank you sa lahat ng sumusuporta sa MONDO,” he said. “We’re really excited for people to finally hear this new chapter of the band. Sana mapakinggan ninyo yung EP, and hopefully may kanta doon na maging parte rin ng story ninyo.”