Internet Boyfriend

Sad crooner MELLOW FELLOW discusses the dynamics of being a self-proclaimed internet artist and why existing solely online is a-okay

- Celene Sakurako

WHEN 22-year-old Ralph Lawrence “Polo” Reyes first enters the office in his basic striped tee, beige shorts, white Adidas kicks, and a fresh new semi-mohawk buzz cut, it’s easy for anyone to dismiss him as a regular dude dropping by to visit a friend. After all, no one really knows the face of this self-taught jizz jazz-infused dream pop artist going by the alias Mellow Fellow, who’s gotten himself quite a following online, as well as hundreds of thousands of views and listens on both YouTube and Spotify. Scour his SoundCloud and you’ll notice that there isn’t a single photo of him in any of his uploads, nor any indication of who or where the voice behind breakout slow tune Dancing is actually from.

Since he first uploaded his instrumental guitar song garage604 six years ago, Polo has somehow managed to conceal his identity throughout all three of his albums—“Mellow Fellow” (2014), “604 DIAMOND STREET” (2015), and most recently “Jazzy Robinson” (2017). He half-jokingly admits that it was a marketing scheme at first, perhaps even a jest that his location reads “Not from the Philippines,” when in fact he’s a Manila native hailing from Sucat, Muntinlupa City.

Polo confides, “You know, I’m not very photogenic. And quite honestly, I’m not really as confident as I should be. I’ve been playing guitar for like 10 years now, but I only started singing three years ago, and I still don’t consider myself a good singer. Plus, music to me is a hobby. It’s not really something I’d do career-wise. Yeah, sure, I’ll make a few bucks here and there, but to earn a living? Not really. It’s just a question of passion, and I love doing it. I mean who knows, I might not even be making music next year, but right now, it’s what I love.”