Up Dharma Down‘s music has evolved since their debut with Fragmented over a decade ago, cutting through genres, to their latest release “Sigurado” from their forthcoming eponymous record. It becomes a bit of a thinker to consider what bands mirror them, sonically or lyrically. Whether it’s their ability to marry electronic and organic sounds or create hooks that get stuck in your head for days on end, UDD have this unique perspective no other band can seem to muster. Behind each song is an honest writer, letting the world see their vulnerability and their thought process, exposing their inner selves for the art. And although he often lingers along the shadows of the stage and barely says a word for most of their performance, bassist Paul Yap has a lot to say in the songs he writes. With the three full-length offerings UDD have released, Yap has written eleven tracks, including “Lazy Daisy,” “Sugarcoats and Hearbeats,” and “Luna,” and will likely add more to his catalog on their fourth studio album. Here are the 11 songs Yap wrote on every Up Dharma Down album. From their 2006 debut album Fragmented: From Up Dharma Down’s 2008 sophomore album Bipolar: From Capacities, Up Dharma Down’s […] Continue Reading
Last Sunday (Nov. 27), the day began with a silent calmness as toe fans appeared at the doors of Samsung Hall in SM Aura as early as noon, hoping to score tickets to see the Japanese post-rock act for their third time in Manila. Unfortunately for those who didn’t make the effort to buy their tickets earlier, organizers had to turn down the number of hopefuls at the door. “Sorry, it’s sold out,” security had to tell fans. Some decided to stay behind to at least get a glimpse of the instrumental quartet through the glass doors, and the persistent ones were able to steal a few photos of the band just as they entered the hall for sound check that afternoon. Behind the mixing board was Jay Eigenmann, who was beyond ecstatic to be back in Manila. Now based in New York, Eigenmann has been working with toe over the past year as their touring FOH engineer outside Japan. “It’s not really very often that you get to work with people you look up to,” he says. “They’re the sweetest guys. They’re such talented musicians. It really makes my job easy. They’re really amazing to be on the road with and they […] Continue Reading
When she isn’t writing the next heart-wrenching song capable of drowning listeners in tidal waves of emotion, you’d find Up Dharma Down frontwoman Armi Millare in a corner devouring a book. Though Millare has yet to write a song based on a book, reading about social sciences and how the brain works gives her a better understanding of human emotions and relationships by exploring the realms of non-fiction. “It’s nice to observe from afar and also dive deeper through books, because there’s always a new development especially in these fields,” she tells BillboardPH. “Sometimes certain people respond to stimuli because of their genetic limitations or disabilities, but also the expanse of human emotion and psychology sometimes validates many things we’ve experienced—and to know more gets us to understand better.” With a penchant for non-fiction over novels, Millare’s vast collection mostly covers topics from empathy to fields in neuropsychology and sociology. “I just got into reading these kinds of books, because I wanted to know why or how I felt certain things.” She notes that it isn’t safe to self-diagnose, take these books too literally, or to base everything on them, and to see them merely as guides. Here are the books that […] Continue Reading
Carlos Tañada has been working hard, and with the storm raging outside his window, it looks like he’ll have to kick back for the day. The recording session for the new Up Dharma Down album at bassist Paul Yap’s house has been postponed, and between trail biking in the rain or finishing Uncharted 4 on PlayStation, Tañada settles for the latter in his bedroom. There has been a lot of progress on their fourth studio album UDD, so a little me-time is called for. Armi Millare is in the studio recording vocals, three of Ean Mayor’s drum tracks are on file—it’s now up to Tañada and Yap to fill the songs with rhythm. And this time around, there’s nothing but groove popping in Tañada’s head. Up Dharma Down have been around for over ten years, and releasing a self-titled album has finally come to the table. According to Tañada, they also want to establish more to people that they can call the band “UDD” for short. “It gets tiring to explain,” Mayor admits. “Some events just can’t get the name right. It’s Up Dharma Down—not U.P. Dharma Down, Updharma Down, or Up Dharma. So we’re looking at repacking and rebranding […] Continue Reading
