I still can’t get over the fact that Lola Amour’s popularity has risen, and we can’t stop it.
I haven’t really thought about the first time I heard about Lola Amour; I think it was a few years ago, when I was scrolling for some new indie and rock bands here in the Philippines. Talking about the joy of youth and vibin’ with melodies will never be the same if it weren’t for this band. If we’re talking about range, then it must be Lola Amour’s discography.
The band has always been fun, Lola Amour said.
“It is and always will be a kind of passion project. While it is still the case, we have started functioning more like a business as well. Nowadays, there are more responsibilities for us internally and externally outside of creating music.”
What great and powerful music it is if we base it on experiences, am I right? Like, hearing the smooth sax and rhythmic drums, the mood’s just all over the place. And speaking about emotions and rawness, it has always been the younger generations (can be at least) the target market, but at the same time, all ages groove and just jive.
RAINING IN MANILA
From its title, yes, it has been raining here in Metro, but nothing can stop this season-perfect song from going viral and just describing our whole ass mood. With its timeless charm that is in sync with the local rainy season, Raining in Manila practically overnight flooded the charts. It’s been raining in Manila/Hindi Ka ba nilalamig is the song’s opening hook, which is probably well known by this point. From beats to lyrics, we just can’t actually believe how it came to be.
When asked about their creative process for Raining in Manila, the band said:
“The idea started in September or October of 2022 when the band got obsessed over a Japanese City Pop song called Sparkle by Tatsuro Yamashita. We really wanted to make our own version of a City Pop song so David got it started with chords and a melody. The structure of the song was also written in a way that our newest members, Raffy (drums) and Jeff (alto sax) could show off their skills, which is why the song had a funky groove and a sax solo. Raymond added a bassline and lyrics (originally in English, then in Tagalog with English phrases (“It’s been raining in Manila, hindi ka ba nilalamig”). When we started rehearsing, Zoe added guitar leads, Angelo and Manu added trumpet lines, then Pio rewrote the lyrics to the final form that we hear on the song.”
Fun fact: The band also wanted to thank their manager, Mika, for delaying the song until the start of the rainy season (they weren’t expecting 2 weeks straight of rain, though!).
And in that, we conclude that it was a smart move and, at the same time, timing. Getting the right feel in the right room The answer should be yes. On the other hand, K-pop idols also noticed how good Raining in Manila is. Period.
“It was amazing seeing the amount of support and love we got for our song. It all started when our fans asked ENHYPEN to listen to the song on Weverse. I think it was Jungwon who first noticed the song, but Jake was the first one to listen to it live, which coincidentally happened when we found out that the song hit #1 on the Spotify charts. As the weeks went by, even more ENHYPEN members listened and jammed to the it on Weverse and even P1Harmony covered our song.”
The band mentioned.
And this is where Filo fans got crazy: for both Enhypen and Lola Amour being discovered by them.
“We’re all still in disbelief that our song resonated with people so much and that it got to reach people around the world.”
They added.
Whatever the case, the breakout hit is still performing well everywhere. In addition, nobody seems to be “sick” of Raining in Manila, unless you count the last song syndrome.
The rising popularity of indie bands here in the Philippines makes the music community so ecstatic because of people’s constant support and admiration for the local scene. It just keeps improving—their own takes, perspectives, style, and the way they catch other people’s emotions. Lola Amour is and will always be that band—vibrant and diverse.
The indie scene in particular is where we came from, and it has always been a supportive community pulling each other up. It would be safer to say that OPM is more accessible than ever because of the wide reach digital platforms provide. Because of this, the demand for live shows has also increased, which is a big help, especially for the new artists in the scene. They said.
Speaking of diversity, the band members have diverse tastes when it comes to their music preferences or the bands they look up to as individuals. When asked about their dream collaboration, they said:
“Atarashii Gakko, Tom Misch, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Damien Rice, or Casiopea.
For local acts, it could be Playertwo, Urbandub, Gabba Santiago, Al James (again), Side A, and many more. Even with our own music, we love mixing genres, so adding another flavor of music through a collaboration with another artist would be a dream of ours.”
