By Rome Oamil
Indie pop rockers Orange & Lemons launched their fourth and latest album La Bulaqueña at Teatrino Theatre in Greenhills last 30th of April. The album was inspired by the painting of National Artist Juan Luna of the same title. The album cover on the other hand, is an impression of Luna’s painting by Ige Trinidad.
La Bulaqueña features all-new 10 tracks sung entirely in Filipino and is the first new album in 15 years. It is also the first album with keyboardist Jared Nerona who joined vocalist and guitarist Clem Castro, bassist JM del Mundo, and drummer, Ace del Mundo in 2019.
The band left their audience with hearts moved by the message portrayed in the album: the importance of culture, love, and family.
During the show, Castro expressed just how much this album meant to him personally. “Personally, I consider this a tribute to my late father who died last year of Covid-19,” he said. “He was a Rondalla instructor for many many years and I owe a lot of my learnings of traditional Filipino music to him.”
He explained furthermore how the band’s goal for this album was to stick to their sound, without being influenced by the music we normally hear today.
“We wanted to pay tribute to the language and our culture. It’s been 14 years since we last released an album so tanders na kame. We didn’t want to repeat ourselves sa past releases and definitely not ride the with the current music trend. We also wanted to veer away from our Anglophonic influences. Although may hint pa din, mas emphasized yung liriko.”
They began the show in a very unique way. Each band member came out wearing traditional Barong Tagalog attire and recited a Balagtasan, or short poems that they wrote themselves.
“Being pure Tagalog, we are proud of our language,” Castro explained. “Sa Bulacan nag-start yung Balagtasan at ilang mga poetic and literary writers in our rich history also hail from the same province.
And so, this served as the kick starter to the concert.
The entire vibe of the show was cozy and intimate. They played songs from their previous album, Moonlane Gardens, that the audience seemed familiar with. And the songs from “La Bulaqueña” that they played live for the first time had the crowds bopping their heads and tapping their feet to the beat.
The concert was graced with other Philippine musical gems as well. Award-winning Filipino Soprano Lara Maigue graced us with her voice, first singing the Pambansang Awit, and then later joining the band for their song “Awit ni Maria Clara.” Sandra Lim-Viray, well known as the Queen of Philippine Jazz, also honored the evening with her presence. Her raw talent spiced up the stage during her performance on the intermission.
As the night went on, members of the band took the time to express their appreciation for their loved ones. Before the start of their second set, Castro proudly introduced the strings band by his right, who turned out to be his family members. And before starting their third song “Hele Para Kay Stella”, drummer Ace del Mundo shared how he wrote this song for his daughter Stella, from which he earned a series of coos and applause from the audience.
The night was filled with poetry and music. Stories of love and family were shared, and laughter from the band and audience echoed through the walls of Teatrino. The event could well be described as the epitome of Filipino Culture.
And even as Orange & Lemons closed their show with their final bow, the audience were still glued to their seats, waiting and asking for more.
Orange & Lemons’ La Bulaqueña is now available on major streaming platforms.