Lola Amour on sharing the stage with Coldplay
OPM band Lola Amour has taken its music to greater heights, performing at school events and sharing the stage with Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin.
During Coldplay's two-day concert 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 15, 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 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 meeting Coldplay and having them acknowledge their song was a surreal experience. "So, it was an experience to meet the people behind those songs, and for them to acknowledge us, it was cool."
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 hearing Chris Martin speaking Tagalog, and it's our song. For example, when we were rehearsing, and he was playing our song on the piano, he was singing in Tagalog, and I was like, "What?" David shared.
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.
(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 broader audience, and hopefully, the appreciation for Filipino music will increase even more)
Lola Amour's songs "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 fullcircle 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 songs were made within the last year. Pero meron kami na ginawa na kanta noong 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 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 it to be a playground of songs that showed their versatility as a band.
Although they are a talented team of musicians, their album was indeed a long journey. They also encountered challenges while making it.
"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 we had to overcome. So ang ginawa namin is we take other people's opinions and try to merge it para hindi kami stuck in one place," Raymond shared.
(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 we had to overcome. 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)