What you’ve heard is true: music is a universal language. The scenes at this year’s Vinyl Day at Green Sun Makati are testament to this old adage: People of all ages and creeds coming in droves to strike gold in the vast collection of LP’s, the verve in the sea of young people, losing themselves in throes of melodies and bangs and fuzzy guitar riffs. It is unquestionable. Like those of days past, this is a generation that values its music.
Vinyl Day, on its fourth consecutive year of reintroducing vinyl culture back into the mainstream, is hosted by Satchmi, a music outlet/distributor, aiming to influence and open the eyes of music listeners to an old medium one would have thought time had left behind. The annual shindig started as just a vinyl yard sale in Bonifacio High Street in 2013, but in the succeeding years, Satchmi decided to add performances by local bands and artists in Vinyl Day for the furtherance of their main goal: supporting independent local music, and to celebrate the spirit of which this event was established for.
That June evening, I took it upon myself to catch all the musicians slated to perform, and get a feel of this burgeoning subculture in the music scene for myself.
Courting the Crowd! – Over October
In all music events, there is the opening act, the getting to know stage of a gig, and the opening band, Over October, gave us more than what we bargained for as they set the tempo of the acts to come. Asking around the crowd, they described Over October as the courting stage of a relationship.
Affection Introspection – Conscious and the Goodness
Jazz has always been an important part of music, in general, and Conscious and the Goodness offered the first taste of diversity of musical acts that Satchmi had in store for us. You could say that this band after being courted, is the infatuation stage of Vinyl Day.
Rhyme or Reason– Ninno
The sole hip-hop/rap act of Vinyl Day 2017, Ninno shows off his creative flair and flow. To bring the audience to bop their heads to the beats and rhyme of the modern OPM rap/hiphop is no easy feat.
The 2000’s OPM Rock redux – NanayMo
Performing after the only rap act of the night, is the only pure OPM rock act, NanayMo. The band made their Kamikazee influence apparent, without a bit of apology. NanayMo displayed the archetypal energetic performance we all expect from an OPM rock band, and with Ninno even joining to spit out a few verses to make this performance epic.
Vinyl Day’s Ear Catcher – Tom’s Story
Call it what you want, Tom’s Story is one of the most refreshing bands to ever grace presence on the OPM stage. With their unique instrumentation, and musicianship on par with the likes of: tide/edit, A Series of Fractions, and Shutter Life in the local post-rock/math rock stage. It is truly an astonishing and revitalizing musical expedition seeing and listening to them live.
Tell me ‘bout your Day! – Oh! Flamingo
“Inconsistencies” is not one of the traits of this band; it’s actually one of their hit singles. Oh! Flamingo, one of the rising stars of indie OPM, gave us a set worthy of their title and pedigree. Being one of the sets to fall in love, and sing along to.
That lullaby in the middle- Outerhope
The Vinyl Day 2017 music acts, so far displayed vigorous amounts of energy in performing, however, Outerhope utilizes the slower, and mellower features of indie music, rendering the crowd a smooth lullaby during their performance, and removing us from our physical forms to ascend into a heavenly rest.
Vinyl Day’s Early Riser - Ben&Ben
Ben&Ben set was full of energy, and gave us a flavorful contrast to crave for; because it was the exact opposite of Outerhope’s mellow and relaxing cadence. The band introduces a unique mix of instruments, and use anthemic choruses to captivate the Vinyl Day crowd.
Build up that Heat! - Jess Connelly
To quickly transition from a genre to another genre has been the character of Vinyl Day 2017, we’ve seen Smooth Jazz acts turn to Hip-Hop to OPM hard rock. This is no different. Jess Connelly is a critically acclaimed RNB solo artist and performer, prompting the crowd into an infatuated frenzy as they sing along to “Wait”.
The Mystery Monster – Cheats
The mystery band of the night, hyping the band weeks earlier is Cheats. Being one of the most popular and highly acclaimed indie bands of modern OPM, Cheats undoubtedly gave us a night of performances to remember.
Hottest Part of the Night – Apartel
It would be a mistake to not mention Ely Buendia if we’re talking about OPM because of his extraordinary contributions as principal songwriter of the Eraserheads. Being his stellar self along with his band, Apartel, bestowing upon us, a taste of his musical genius, and influence.
Enduring and Overflowing - Ang Bandang Shirley
To end the night, we have Ang Bandang Shirley, to conclude the event. An indie band who is currently piercing the mainstream music scene, Shirley was indeed a mixture of sadness and happiness, of comparison and contrast; this last performer proves to us that Vinyl Day was successful as it was an enlightening experience, and celebration of all things unique to Filipino music.