MANILA, Philippines - An exciting "Old School meets New School" tandem is hitting the global music airwaves soon as US soul icon from the 70’s, Joe Bataan, ties up with dance music producers.

Joe Bataan and Latin Soul

Joe Bataan, a US music icon from New York City (NYC) during the 60s and 70s, is known as the King of Latin Soul. He was dubbed as the first artist to fuse Latin influences with popular soul music in the 60s onwards.

Many Pinoys are not aware of Mr. Bataan's Filipino blood and the success he had in the US and Latin American countries in the 70s. The Latin-African-American and half-Filipino was born in New York. Bataan can be considered the first Filipino-blooded global artist with chart-topping songs in US Billboard Charts.

Bataan was also responsible for several dance hits and a gold album such as Riot (the Gold Selling Album of over 1 million records), Rap-O-Clap-O (one of the first rap songs that hit the US Billboard charts) and many others.

The Producers

The producers were initially invited by the Malasimbo Festival organizers to be part of their remix competition and song compilation. The duo that worked on this project track are buddies from two different countries with diverse music backgrounds.

John Paul C. Tanchanco aka “JP” is an Awit Award-winning Filipino music artist-media producer-businessman who has produced music in diverse genres over the years. He has partnered with SonyBMG, Warner, Globe Telecom, Viva and many others. He is commercially known for his rock funk style and works with Manila Sound band Kala.

Alex Hindle, on the other hand, is popular in Europe as a DJ and French Electro producer in the name of FrancoPhilippe.

The duo is very happy to be working with the old vocal tracks of Bataan. "It's an honor to work on this project,” says Alex. “It's really great to know that one of the world’s soul icons is part Pinoy ...I didn’t know that there existed a Filipino-blooded musician that has already made a global mark before I was born," says Tanchanco.

The New Electro Dance Remix

The producers did a modern electro-dance music track that fused Bataan's original vocal tracks from the classic song Ordinary Guy (Afro Filipino) which was done in the 60's and 70's.

"Our collaboration single with Joe Bataan is just the start. We are coming out with more releases to hit the clubs, iPods and music players", says Tanchanco.

"We hope our track will touch the hearts of the many dance and soul music fans around the world," adds Hindle.

Malasimbo Festival

The track is part of the Malasimbo Festival Music and Arts Festival that will be staged on March 2 to 4.

The Malasimbo Music & Arts Festival is an international festival. Set in the lush rolling tropical paradise of the Philippines, flanked by coconut trees and verdant hills, it's hard to imagine a place so naturally spectacular as the Puerto Galera area, with Mount Malasimbo in the background.

The grass-terraced amphitheater, 250 meters above sea level, overlooks Puerto Galera bay.

Malasimbo will be featuring international artists such as Joe Bataan, DJ Kentaro, Shuya Okino, and many more.