1 day ago
1
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
MANILA, Philippines — “Close your eyes,” is the gentle command of keyboardist David Yuhico. “20 years old, you’re back at that time. I want you guys to remember the first time that you met your first love. Imagine yourself on the exact night or day that you guys met them.”
“Now, here, I want you guys to really bring yourselves back to that time when you guys were emotionally vulnerable and you know, looking for love,” he continues, and the room falls into a lull.
That’s how Lola Amour chose to announce their sophomore album Love On Loop — not with a loud reveal, but with an invitation to feel, introspect, and remember…along with a new single.
The seven-member act’s new song, “The Moment,” is a dreamy collaboration with KOKORO, a vocalist from the Japanese boy group PSYCHIC FEVER. Set against crisp bass, smooth synths, glossy strings, “The Moment” lingers in the sweetness of that first spark.
Clocking in at a little under four minutes, the song ushers in a new era for Lola Amour, whose efforts have culminated in what they describe as a concept album about the cycles of love.
Produced by Grammy-winning Korean producer Hyuk Shin, Love On Loop will feature eight new tracks written across borders during a whirlwind writing trip to Malaysia earlier this year. The album is set to drop on August 15.
After the storm
Eight years have passed since Lola Amour released their debut EP Don’t Look Back, and over a year since their self-titled full-length album cemented them as one of OPM’s most compelling live acts. In that time, the band has grown up alongside its listeners, who’ve seen the act grow from campus gigs to festival headliners.
Initially just a hobby for most of its founding members, the band says the ceiling lifted as soon as they began imagining Lola Amour as more than just a passion project. Once they started taking music more seriously, everything else followed. With the training wheels off, they’ve been moving full speed since, crafting standout singles like Fallen, and, of course, Raining in Manila.
“It’s never been our goal to replicate that. Raining in Manila is already its own thing,” says frontman and vocalist Pio Dumayas, reflecting on the unexpected success of the band’s breakout hit.
Released in 2023, the wistful anthem turned into a generational monsoon, flooding timelines and karaokes, reaching millions of listeners, and picking up major wins like Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the Awit Awards. At the 2024 Music Awards Japan, it even earned the band a Special Award for Philippine Popular Music.
But with that wave came growing pains and growth. In the time since, the band has come to embrace what it means to see the bigger picture. Their greatest lessons as musicians have been on giving space to each other, knowing when to hold back in the studio, and assessing the role of one’s instrument in songs.
Their individual polish and collective growth are apparent in the creative process for Love on Loop, maturity in tow as they set their sights on opportunities for creative growth internationally.
After noticing an uptick in tweets written in Japanese, the band began researching the artists and sounds that may complement their growing presence overseas. As the island nation had long been one of their musical inspirations, they were quick to connect with PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE, one of the acts that piqued their interest.
Now, that exploration bears fruit in The Moment, a collaboration with the boy group’s very own KOKORO. The song is smooth and reflective with an aptly city pop sonic and visual slant, marking a new tonal territory for the performer.
“It’s a style of singing and atmosphere that I personally haven’t really expressed before,” KOKORO remarks during a video interview in Japanese. “So that opening line makes me really feel the beauty of this collaboration.”
Love comes full circle
Love on Loop chronicles the full tale of a romance, from the dizzying beginning to the reckless post-breakup, and how, after all the exit wounds have been inflicted, one finds oneself right back at the start.
“This body of work is the first time that we were all in the same room from conception to finishing the songs. So all of us were on board with what we were writing — we were all very invested in what we were writing,” says David.
Each track recounts a personal tale of romance and heartbreak from a band member. Yet, what Lola Amour wants their fans to feel is the ultimate universality of falling in love, ripping your heart out, and mending it back.
Since the release of their debut album, Lola Amour has continued to perfect their musical persona, retaining their genre-blending techniques while exploring other soundscapes. “We explored a lot of different recording techniques. And, not just techniques, ‘yung workflow din (the workflow also),” shares Pio.
Within two weeks, the group made the upcoming album alongside award-winning Korean producer Hyuk Shin and Cuurley — their first time working with producers for the entire duration of an album.
“What hasn’t changed was the fact na ‘di mo talaga alam kung anong genre namin (you still can’t identify what our genre is). Every song is a different kind of song,” says Pio. “But what has changed is, I guess, the way we’ve been able to construct the songs. ‘Yung form niya, mas simple. Mas digestible (The forms are simpler. More digestible).”
Love on Loop is meant to be listened to from start to finish, as going through each song equates a different experience of love. “Kaya siya (That’s why it’s) Love on Loop, because it highlights the cyclical nature of falling in love, falling out of love, and finding yourself,” says Pio.
“I really would encourage the habit of album listening in the age of singles coming out left and right,” adds David. – Rappler.com
Mikay Tormon is a Rappler intern studying Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a Minor in Sociology at the Ateneo de Manila University, while Angela Divina is a Rappler intern studying Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the Ateneo de Manila University.
