Ely Buendia’s latest single “Bulaklak Sa Buwan,” the primary off his upcoming November album, Methodology Adaptor, tackles misinformation, propaganda, and in his personal phrases, how we “are likely to take all the things significantly, with out first seeing the proof.”
The context shouldn’t be a thriller to anybody: disinformation is a trademark of the occasions. Bulaklak is one artist’s response to that.
“Mayro’ng naglalako ng pantasya, ‘yan ay delihensiya, makakadena sa pusod ng makinarya,” the track goes.
(They peddle fantasy, an extortion scheme, chained to the navel of the machine.)
To ship his message, Buendia latches on to the central picture of a flower on the moon.
It varieties an alluring picture within the thoughts. Think about a flower in hanging shade rising out of a fully barren grey panorama. And only for its magnificence, you’d nearly wish to imagine that such a factor would possibly exist, regardless of a mountain’s value of science saying why it shouldn’t — , issues just like the ambiance and all the opposite nilly-willy necessities of life.
However with the best way folks might be made to imagine that the earth is flat these days, it’s most likely not unattainable to make somebody finally imagine that sure, certainly, there’s a bulaklak sa buwan.
That’s at the least a technique of decoding the track.
However whereas interpretation can tackle many shapes and varieties, listed here are some sq. and strong info on the track, straight from the artist:
- The title comes from a e book on misinformation, which contained a passage on “stuff being as uncommon as a flower on Mars.” He switched Mars to moon, as a result of he guessed it sounded extra poetic than Mars.
- The metaphor does revolve round how “there are issues on this world that should be, form of, vetted, when it comes to being factual.”
- For the general sound, Buendia wished the track to be as “tight” and “present” as potential so folks can “be targeted on what the track is saying” and never be “thrown off by the sonics of it.”
- Whereas Buendia was among the many many artists and musicians who supported former vice chairman Leni Robredo within the final presidential elections, which was marred by disinformation, the track isn’t a product of that, the artist says.
“No, probably not [it’s not a product of the elections]. I wasn’t pondering of the elections…though there was misinformation. There’s misinformation in all places till now. And [the song] is simply form of my opinion on the factor.”
Documentaries, the artist says, additionally performed a task within the track’s formation.
“And, I don’t know, I’ve simply come to the conclusion that loads of violence on this planet and struggling are attributable to folks form of blindly following ideologies — which aren’t dangerous, per se, however I believe it’s harmful when folks don’t query it, and folks don’t have an open sufficient thoughts to replace no matter they really feel about sure stuff, particularly about issues which can be purported to supply the reality.”
Buendia notes too how he was cautious to not sound dogmatic as effectively when he was writing the track, and as a substitute wished to ask significant thought: “I made positive it doesn’t sound like ‘that is what I really feel needs to be what the world is.’ It’s not truth…. But in addition, I wished to make folks form of additionally take into consideration the track they’re listening to… [that] there’s participation on their half.”
A private journey
Whereas “Bulaklak Sa Buwan” sees Buendia providing a tackle what’s, by many marks, a societal in poor health, the Methodology Adaptor album is definitely a private journey of kinds for the artist.
The final time he put out a solo album, the world was simply round a 12 months faraway from what had been that point’s personal largest societal in poor health: clearly the Y2K bug. The final time was about 24 years in the past, and even then, the songs have been initially written for Rico J. Puno, earlier than Buendia stated he fell in love with the songs.
“Na-in-love ako sa mga kanta, kaya naisip kong dapat siguro ako na lang ang magrecord nito,” he instructed Inquirer again when Kodak cameras have been apparently nonetheless being bought. (I fell in love with the songs, so I assumed, perhaps I ought to report these.)
Since then, Buendia has shaped a number of bands comparable to Pupil, The Oktaves, Apartel, all of which function throughout the boundaries of a sure style (trendy rock, RnB, and jazz in that order), and has collaborated with the likes of The Itchyworms, Cheats, and the late Francis M.
Methodology Adaptor, Buendia says, is his try at attempting to determine who he’s as an artist.
“I believe that’s the rationale why I used to be so impressed by [the new album], recording once more, and writing songs once more. You would possibly say that I did have form of an identification disaster as an artist and musician as a result of after the breakup of the ‘Heads, there was simply loads of noise, close to what an Ely Buendia track needs to be and the way it ought to sound like. And it was arduous to filter all that.”
To manage, he stated he needed to “adapt a methodology in my artistic course of,” Buendia stated, emphasizing the italicized phrases, which shaped the title of his new album.
“That’s why I discovered it simpler to work in genres. Like for Pupil, it was trendy rock on the time. So, that was the restrict I set for myself — that you could solely write songs that lend itself effectively to this style.
Identical factor with The Oktaves, which was like nation, rockabilly. And the identical factor with Apartel, which was R&B, funk, soul. In order that made it simpler for me to form of filter no matter form of course of I wanted to be able to write a track.”
Whereas his first solo try got here at fairly a busy time — in between the penultimate Eraserheads album (Natin99), and the final (Carbon Stereoxide), and to not point out, a new child in son Eon — Buendia’s second try at a solo arises from a way more methodical period, the place he was capable of observe defining, intentionally, the scope of his musical initiatives by the years.
That working fashion carries over to the brand new album.
“I’m very creative when there’s a lot of parameters, and for this album, [the parameter] was, ‘What do I believe an Ely Buendia album ought to sound like?’”
Prior to now, there had been a artistic motivation to insurgent in opposition to the viewers’s expectations, particularly coming from his and the Eraserheads’ largest launch, Cutterpillow, earlier than “they retreated to the experimentalism of Fruitcake and Aloha Milkyway,” as Inquirer had additionally written again within the day.
Buendia stated then, “Apparent na ‘yun ang gusto ng masa, ‘yung ganung tunog (Clearly, that’s what the lots wished, that sound),” so that they did the alternative.
Earlier than it was referred to as Methodology Adaptor, Buendia performed round with the phrase “amorphous” because the album title, seeing as how he has moved inside numerous musical areas together with his myriad bands and collaborations. However he finally honed in on one thing extra actual.
“As a substitute of being form of obscure with with that ‘amorphous’ album title, I made a decision to be extra particular and concentrate on what I’m good at, which is adapting, and the methodology of songwriting.”
Curiosity can be the “principal drive” for Buendia to start out making the album, to see how the songs that had “piled up over time would sound like.”
“And that was sufficient for me to start out engaged on them,” he says, admitting feeling some stress.
This 12 months, Buendia formally made the choice to assemble these songs, and do the album, additionally partly crediting a working London journey, and the legendary Abbey Highway Studios:
“I used to be in London for work. I used to be, form of, chaperoning Ena Mori on her UK tour. And I imply, that metropolis, it form of conjures up you to be actually artistic. And since I had stuff mendacity round, I simply determined, oh, why don’t I report this someplace? And Abbey Highway was proper there. So I booked some periods in Abbey Highway and tried out among the songs which can be on this album.”
“This album, form of, is me looking for out who I’m as a musician, as a songwriter,” the artist says. – Rappler.com
