Lola Amour on sharing the stage with Chris Martin: That was fun

Lola Amour, an OPM band, has taken their music to greater heights, performing from school events to sharing the stage with Chris Martin, Coldplay’s frontman.

During the two-day concert of Coldplay held at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan earlier this year, Chris surprised his Pinoy fans by singing Lola Amour’s song, “Raining in Manila,” while having Pio and his bandmates sing along with him.

In an intimate interview with Lola Amour held at the Fun Roof bar in Poblacion, Makati on March 8, Pio Dumayas (Lola Amour frontman) shared their reaction during the surreal moment.

“That was fun, it was really cool. Syempre Coldplay yun eh, bata pa lang kami, hindi pa kami marunong tumugtog ng instruments, naririnig na namin yung mga songs ng Coldplay,” Pio shared.

(That was fun, it was really cool. Of course, it’s Coldplay. We’re still kids, and we haven’t learned any instruments to play, we’ve heard some of the Coldplay songs)

Pio also added that it was a surreal experience for them to meet Coldplay and have them acknowledge their song.

“So, it was a really an experience to meet the actual people behind those songs, and for them to acknowledge us, it was really cool,” he added.

Aside from Pio, David Yuhico who played keyboards for the band was starstruck when he heard Chris Martin singing their song in Tagalog.

“For me, weirdly. The coolest thing wasn’t playing but it was actually hearing Chris Martin speaking Tagalog and it’s our song. Like when we were rehearsing, and his playing our song on the piano, he was singing in Tagalog, and I was like “What??”, David shared.

Although the other members of the band including, Lola Amour’s bass player Raymond King said in the interview that he was happy that more and more local bands are getting recognized by International artists.

“Ako, I think it’s great kasi music is part of the culture and kapag napapansin ang mga kantang gawa ng mga pilipino the culture is displayed for everyone to enjoy. Syempre it takes us to a wider audience and hopefully mas tumaas pa lalo yung appreciation for Filipino music,” Raymond said.

(For me, I think it’s great because music is part of the culture and when you notice the songs made by Filipinos the culture is displayed for everyone to enjoy. Of course, it takes us to a wider audience and hopefully, the appreciation for Filipino music will increase even more)

Lola Amour’s songs like “Pwede Ba”, “Fallen” and “Fools” became the audience’s go-to songs on their playlist and fan favorites during their gigs.

As a fan who has listened to their music, since college, seeing them now strive for more opportunities with their music and making a way on the OPM scene, felt like a full circle moment.

New album

Lola Amour has come a long way from their debut EP ‘Don’t Look Back’ in 2017 and they haven’t looked back since.

From dabbling songs and compositions from the past years, Pio and his bandmates kept their promise to their fans and they are finally releasing their self-entitled album on April 10.

“It took us five years, most of the songs were made within the last year. Pero meron kami na ginawa na kanta nung 2014, meron din isa nung 2018 but we all started in this current group. We all started to make it happen in the final form during last year,” Pio said.

From their hit single “Raining in Manila”, through their latest release “Namimiss Kita”, the band will feature seven unreleased songs from their album.

According to Pio, while creating the album, they wanted to be like a playground of songs, that shows their versatility as a band.

“The big thing about the album is maraming pang kind of songs. Hindi lang sa themes but also sa sounds, meron kaming disco, meron din kaming beastie boys inspired. But the whole idea of the album is para siyang playground. So as a band, that’s always been something that we’ve been doing, we treat our music as a playground, we just do whatever we want,” Pio said.

(The big thing about the album is that there are many kinds of songs. Not only in themes but also in sounds, we have a disco, we also have Beastie Boys inspired. But the whole idea of ​​the album is like a playground. So as a band, that’s always been something that we’ve been doing, we treat our music as a playground, we just do whatever we want)

It was indeed, a long journey for their album, although they are a team of talented musicians. They have also encountered challenges while doing the album.

“I think it’s getting stuck inside the box because sometimes we get used to our formula, and minsan nakakasawa yung paulit-ulit, so that was a challenge that we have to get over. So ang ginawa namin is we take opinions of other people, their ideas and we try to merge it para hindi kami stuck in one place,” Raymond shared.

( I think it’s getting stuck inside the box because sometimes we get used to our formula, and sometimes the repetition gets boring, so that was a challenge that we had to get over. So what we did is we the opinions of other people, and their ideas and we tried to merge them so we are not stuck in one place)

Creating music

Since their inception in 2016, Lola Amour has opened up further about their run in the music industry and how they have been riding the tides of success for the past years. From bringing new faces into the band and playing along with their music.

They also shared their secret to making it work after eight years.

“It may sound cliche, but we think that music keeps our group working because we all enjoy creating music. Syempre being in a band, it’s more than just the music, we also have other things like financing and getting gigs, but I’m sure yung nag unite sa amin is yung fulfillment of playing music together,” the band stated.

(It may sound cliche, but we think that music keeps our group working because we all enjoy creating music. Of course being in a band, it’s more than just the music, we also have other things like financing and getting gigs, but I’m sure what unites us is the fulfillment of playing music together)

— Carissa Alcantara