UP DHARMA down's balancing act

Spellbinding, hypnotic…I was left in awe, caught in the spell of Armi Millare's voice, the lead vox of the fast-rising indie band named Up Dharma Down.

Whew! Quite a long name, huh. At first, you might have a hard time memorizing their name-and consider it a tongue twister. The band explains Dharma as the laws of life-a law that connects everything no matter how different they are. While the words UP and DOWN are self-explanatory; try to recall the "life is like a wheel" logic-that simple yet longstanding philosophy of balance.

When asked about their genre, which I myself am quite confused of, it was funny that they hardly gave a specific name for it. Actually, they used to belong to different groups and bands with different musical influences that when put together result to, shall I say, a unique combination of beats and grooves. It's not the kind of music that you won't appreciate. You may call it weird, but their music is somehow a mixture of rock, neo-soul, acid jazz and electronic music. They met halfway in terms of musical interests, finally naming it "fusion" as a collective genre.

This quartet is composed of Carlos Tanada, who does the guitar riffs; Ean Mayor on drums, our very own Paul Yap who mans the bass; and of course, Armi, the frontwoman, who reminds you of Alicia Keys when she hits the keyboard. A bit of history: Paul and Armi were in the same student organization at the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P). They both happened to be participants in a poetry reading session, when suddenly Armi decided to sing her poem instead of reading it. She asked Paul to play the bass for her. Then…bang! I must have the same reaction as Paul's after listening to her for the first time. The song was entitled "Maybe," which was also included in their debut album, Fragmented. The idea of forming a band then quickly popped up after that. Ean, an old bandmate and friend of Armi since high school, joined in. Carlos admittedly was hesitant at first to hop in. He found it odd since he came from a metal band. His influences are poles apart from the band's genre. But then, they are big fans of music, individually, so it wasn't really hard to find themselves finally engrossed in the kind of music they are now producing.

During the Motorola's Rock Mo'to concert at the Gaisano County Mall parking lot last Saturday, UdD was the guest band together with itchyworms, and it was my chance to meet this impressive "IT" band. The first question I threw to UdD was about their impressions of Cebu. I then found out that Paul has Cebuano blood. "My grandparents are from Alang-alang, Mandaue. Nerisa Soon-Ruiz is my tita. We (with the band) will go to Mandaue tomorrow (last Sunday) for the mini gathering with my relatives," he gleefully imparted. As for Carlos, it was his second time to visit Cebu-his first was when he was only 10 years old, "Ang bata ko pa nun. Iba pa dati, ngayon, Cebu has improved a lot." Ean and Armi, being newcomers to Cebu, looked forward to touring the metropolis to be familiarized with the place. "When I was young, I've always wanted to be in Cebu. There were plans of going here pero nauudlot talaga after. I love to be here," Armi shared.

Paul and Armi write the songs for the band. I cited "Oo," as a personal favorite.

"Di mo lang alam/ Ako'y iyong nasaktan/ Baka sakali lang maisip mo naman/ Puro s'ya na lang/ Sana'y ako naman Isang kindat man lang/ 'Di mo lang alam O, ika'y minamasdan/ Sana iyo'y mamalayang di mo lang pala alam Oooooooo/ Malas mo Ikaw ang natipuhan ko/ Di mo lang alam/ Ako'y iyong nasaktan - Oo"

I asked her if she was "broken-hearted" (such a cliché) that time when she wrote it. "Medyo nakaka-relate ako sa kantang 'to. Also, I put myself in the position when I wrote that song. Grabe talaga ang emotion ng kanta. It is a song about someone that I can't have."

Paul also shared his passion for songwriting. He is much more interested in writing songs with metaphors-more on figurative writing that is, as he's a total book lover! Thanks to both of them whose writing abilities are tantamount to excellent interpretation of human emotions and experiences, the lyrics more than just make sense. As for Carlos and Ean, they take charge of the musical arrangement.

With the proliferation of bands in the Philippine music industry has today, UdD is thankful to all the bands that preceded them, whether they were the "pogi" rock bands or otherwise. They believe in this boom's positive effect, describing this breakthrough as the opening of a door so that young bands, musical geniuses in their own way, will have the chance to enjoy the limelight regardless of what record labels they belong to-whether indie or major record labels.

"Sana pantay-pantay ang tingin sa amin ng mga tao. Kaming mga indie bands, we don't have much airplay compared to those who are in the major labels. It's so overwhelming to think how we (with other bands) help each other to improve our music and just help each other grow. Sana the people will come to appreciate other indie bands," Armi articulated. "We hope we'll get respect from the audience every time we play, that everyone will welcome the outcome of every artist's creativity," Ean added.

When asked on what's their edge over other bands, UdD clearly emphasized their love for music. "We're here not for anything else but for music."

This technically gifted indie band launched their debut album Fragmented (under Terno Recordings, the company who also produces the albums and manages Radioactive Sago Project) January of this year. They intentionally settled for such a succinct name as the band's name is long enough. Also included in the album are "Pag-agos," "Lazy Daisy," "Malikmata," and a whole lot more.

Fast facts: UdD was featured in MTV's Advanced Warning, the first Filipino artist to be seen on the show which was aired in the other parts of the world. Last December 2005 they won NU Rock Awards' In the Raw award.