run dorothy

Math rock band Run Dorothy is giving the local scene a run for its money

THE WORD “sanguine” is an adjective that means cheerful— a synonym for positive, vibrant, and con dent. t is also nown for being one of the four temperaments, the representation of a person lled with optimism and hope. ee s after meeting them in an incredibly relaxed unday shoot at the of ce, eventually learned that ilipino math roc group un orothy had named their debut this very term. Sanguine.

t rolls naturally in speech when said out loud. repeat the word on my lips, and decide that li e it.

nd honestly, can t thin of anything else to better describe the band members— orothy “ ee” ru vocals , elix “ asi” asilio guitars , hristian “ ogs” el ey guitars , enesis “ no” iglao bass , ar “ epoy” antos drums — and everything that un orothy stands for. hey jo e around on set as easily as they catch each other s rhythm and vibe when they play live onstage. eople who ve watched them at gigs can vouch for the latter at the very least, the group s chemistry being undeniably present.

n the independent ilipino music scene, math roc is a genre that a few bands have only recently pic ed up. un orothy stands out even further by adding ee s calming female vocals in contrast to melodic, complicated guitar riffs in the bac ground. f there is any group on the rise to eep an eye on, it s this one. un orothy is ta ing the high road and there s no stopping them from going anywhere but forward.

From the naming to finding band members, how was Run Dorothy formed?

BASI: t s very complicated, but here s a bare bones version of our origin story. e started as a four piece indie pop band. e then transformed into a ve piece alternative pun band, then went bac to do indie stuff again. fter a year of genre changes, we decided to stop playing as a band until we really had a solid grasp on how we wanted to sound. e were inspired by the awesome stuff we discovered while on hiatus. decided to round everyone up, then we got bac to playing he only original founding members left are ee and me. ogs, epoy, and no are from different bands that ve played with before. lot of lineup changes have happened prior to this current incarnation, pero

‘eto na ‘ yong pinaka solid. e ve been playing together for about ve years. got the band name from ee s real name. added “run” kasi mas may dating ‘ tsaka bagay don sa dating sound namin. othing deep behind it, really. Did you already know what kind of music you wanted to play when the band started? Why math rock, out of all genres?

DEE: e ve been through different genres. ome of those never really felt li e home. e really were just jumping blindly on whichever genre we li ed until we landed on where we wanted to be. e actually never thought that we d end up playing math roc .

INO: y the time joined un orothy, it had a more indie and pop sound. he math roc element was from a different band which is composed of everyone in un orothy except ee. e decided to focus on a single band because it was weird to be playing the same gig with un orothy, only to see the same band without the vocalist. e just wor ed on how to incorporate that particular genre into how un orothy sounded.

Math rock has been gaining a lot of traction both locally and abroad as of late. Would you say that you’re one of the local pioneers of the genre? Which other math rock bands do you think have a lot of potential in OPM?

JEPOY: wouldn t say that, nowing that there s tide edit and om s tory in the scene. ut m still proud and than ful that we re considered as a part of the math roc scene.

BASI: eah, there s even usical who has that math roc vibe but doesn t even claim it as their sound. o guess being a pioneer would be a very bold thing to say. ut we really would want to be part of that local music movement. hat s to say, if there s any.

What is your songwriting process like? Where do you usually find inspiration to make music?

BASI: Sometimes, ideas hit me during the most inconvenient times and or at the most aw ward places. Sa , sa elevator, sa gitna ng tulog,

kumakain. Ganon. So, hum the tune that was in my head, record it on my phone, and then translate it with my guitar once get the chance.

Tapos ayon na, s im through the ideas, and if there s a riff that li e, build up on it then start lling the gaps and ma e it as cohesive as possible. then relay it to epoy for the drums, which will de ne and ma e sense out of all the mess came up with.

I: nce asi and epoy are nished with the main arrangement, ogs and color the spaces in between and ma e sure we don t drown anyone else in the bac ground. he common inspiration is usually pressure. (laughs)

D: usually write the lyrics separately. hen they re in the process of combining their ideas together, that s when try to gure out how to place the stuff wrote beforehand, ma ing adjustments to the words to have them sit better with the instruments. also, nd inspiration at random moments and places

BOGS: Sina asi and ee talaga pagdating sa lyrics, ‘ di na kami nangingialam doon kasi sila lang ‘ yong o ay sa writing. (laughs) What can fans expect from your new EP? D: t s entitled “Sanguine.” e are releasing it by the end of uly ut don t expect anything ust idding. xpect that it will be full of feelings, art, feelings, and feelings. I: n embodied with both art and music. xperiential. BASI: t s a ve trac with songs about what your heart went through on that certain phase of your life. J: say, wait for it and hear it for yourself. Who are some of your musical influences, both locally and internationally? I: his is a funny uestion because have so many in uences both locally and internationally but ve never been able to incorporate their style into our music because what they do is too damn dif cult (laughs)

BASI: ollectively, we share the same love for these bands angled air, , oe, ricot, merican ootball, olour, oals, oheed and ambria, ance avin ance, eftones, rbandub, p harma own. ut personally, a few favorites are ubelord, oneen, lexison re, he arly ovember, esu no iwami tome, and sian ung u eneration.

D: have a lot of musical in uences both in music and songwriting. side from those that asi mentioned, there s eath ab for utie, oxing, aughter, aramore, aramita, uterhope. Ang gulo ‘no?

J: marosa, ot i e irds, iatus aiyote, hon, aspitch.

BOGS: Hillsong United, Vasudeva, Underoath, uneral for a riend, u o. ost of them are the reasons why played in a band.

How do you guys work as a band? Can you give us an idea of how your group dynamics go?

D: e schedule practices and songwriting days depending on no and ogs s schedules, since they both have changing shifts. ut we always try to tal through our group chats to plan ahead for the band

I: ue to limited availability of the members, we don t get to write or practice as a whole for the most part, so it s usually in pairs or threes then practice it collectively once we nd a common schedule we can wor on. BOGS: ‘Pag may nabuo na, isa- isa na kami sa pag overnight kina asi para matapos’yong mga kanta. Do you have any pre-gig rituals? BOGS: Dasal lang, double chec gamit pero madalas may nawawala iss kay girlfriend. (laughs) I: t doesn t happen as of late, but we used to do last minute practices inside my car without amps J: o be honest, always get nervous before we play on stage. can t seem to switch it off so tend to down a bottle of beer before play just to calm myself a bit. BASI: Yeah, those last minute car practices are essential. Nasusuka ako ‘pag uminom pa ako ng beer eh, so a uic refresher ng parts ko ‘ yong pantanggal kaba talaga. nd ‘ yong “calm myself a bit” ni epoy— kadalasan hindi a bit, amats na talaga siya. (laughs).

What’s your assessment of the current state of our local music industry?

D: t is evolving nd there are now a lot of people who are eager to now and listen to new music

I: volving. he industry composed of performers and listeners is now more open minded. hen have more appreciation for different genres of music.

BASI: he audience is getting smarter. e re in this age where you really have easy access to new music and you can really personali e the content that you want to consume. nd with the local scene getting healthier and more versatile, ang dali mag explore. Sobrang daming

magaling, not just in the capital, mas madami pa sa labas. If your listeners could take away one thing from “Sanguine,” what would you want it to be? D: he experience. e want them to feel that it is their story. BASI: he comfort, nowing that we all went through the same thing. I: hat it felt that we tapped into a part of them they wanted to express but only recently found out how. What’s next for Run Dorothy? D: e will continue to write songs and play more gigs nd you never now, we might be ready for another launch I: Hopefully we get to release an that continuously expresses the love we have for what we do. BOGS: e re gonna write more stuff for the next . At saka team building (laughs) J: ell, this is just the beginning for us. So thin the plan is to ma e and play more music BASI: t ll be a long road measured by heartbeats.