This year (and last year) as well I’ve gone to several gigs of groups and bands I started listening to. And there are local artists whose works have prominently been on my playlist. I mean, I think I’ve been mainly on a Korean electropop and Vocaloids binge while I’m at work but aside from those, I’ve been listening to the following Filipino groups pretty often. If you’re following me on Plurk, you’d notice how many times I write about Up Dharma Down, Urbandub and Taken By Cars. :p On to the list.
Up Dharma Down
No doubt about it, the group Up Dharma Down really got me hooked on them. It’s the combination of the lyrics, Armi’s voice, the way they combine the sounds of their instruments and whatever effects they use. Armi’s voice is just sooo awesome. Whenever I listen to Up Dharma Down I can’t help but feel the ups and downs of being in love. Whether it’s as if you’re floating on a cloud or your heart has been torn and thrown away and run over, they make it easy for me to feel all these things with their songs.
Most listened to tracks from Up Dharma Down’s albums: Sugarcoats and Heartbeats, Sana, Taya, Every First Second
Taken by Cars
I probably love them because of their upbeat songs. With this group I am baffled at how girly Sara Marco can sound and yet in some tracks she sounds, well, a bit androgynous to me. When it comes to live performances, I can’t help but enjoy how much energy Sara has when she dances. I really like watching them live. So far.
Most listened to tracks: Uh-oh, Shapeshifter, Neon Brights
Urbandub
Why do I love Urbandub? Amidst the electronica I’ve been listening to, Urbandub simply stands out. Haha. Well, when I’m getting out of the electronica binge I usually follow it up with Urbandub. I think that their music contrasts well with how smooth a lot of Clazziquai and Humming Urban Stereo’s songs are. When I want something that’s more rough than my normal listening music, I instantly listen to the songs from their earlier albums. Their new album has some songs with lyrics which could be interpreted in more than one way.
Most listened to tracks: A New Tattoo, A City of Sleeping Hearts, Soul Searching
Razorback
I used to not like Razorback. Mainly because the band was all the rage in high school aside from Wolfgang. I wasn’t quite into their sound back then. I think high school for me was defined by Color It Red, Side A (yes, I listened to Side A and I used to have the tapes), Joey Ayala, Eraserheads and Sugar Hiccup. Anyway, some co-workers and I went to the Eastwood gig of a radio station. Jam, I think. Razorback was there to perform some songs. They were simply AWESOME. I got the 2-disc thing they’re selling in record bars. And I ended up *cough*downloading*cough* their greatest hits album. I was happy to see them in another gig in Saguijo last June.
Most played tracks: Giyang, Payaso, Paghihintay
Anyway, here are two groups I’m watching too:
Techy Romantics
I think my friends and I first saw them in the Taken By Cars video launch. They were upbeat and more into electronica, the type I liked so I ended up watching out for their gigs and their album. Locally, I don’t really know many groups that have that electronica vibe that’s just right to my ears. (Drip’s trip-hop is pretty different too that’s why I love them!) They make me feel like dancing when I hear them so that’s one good thing, as far as I am concerned. Anyway, Dondi Virrey’s DJ set was pretty good when I went to Rock the Riles this year. They had their album launch last week and I was lucky enough to get my CD signed by all three of them. Haha. Fangirl mode. Aside from that, I’m looking forward to remixes of some of their songs.
Fave tracks in the album “Touch”: Out of My Mind, Get It On, 7 Years, Dance Like Lightning
Us-2 Evil-0
This group is fun to listen to. I love the way they play with words especially in the track “Mikey is the New Mong” *laughs* And then there’s the song, “Super Poke is Nothing Compared to True Love” which is quite interesting in the way Mich and Quark sounded like they overlap. Then again, for me, that’s the overall sound of Us-2 Evil-0: everything overlaps. Maybe like the way thoughts run so fast in our heads and tumble upon each other. And that’s why it’s fun to listen to them.
Fave tracks in the album “Dirty Debutantes”: Super Poke is Nothing Compared to True Love, Mighty Heart Attack, Our Weekends Dissolve, Mikey is the New Mong
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