When I heard that Urbandub would be coming out with a new album I was very excited and determined to get a copy to add to my current OPM CDs at home. after all they are a band that Paul and I really like. Back in College we were so crazy about First of Summer - so crazy that Paul wanted to use it as music for their AVP for graduation. Yeah he's #medyobadboy like that. Unfortunately the First of Summer AVP didn't materialize, I don't think the nuns would have approved anyways.
We were also lucky enough to see them perform (and might I say get good photos of them) during the opening of the Flavors food market in Araneta you can see the blog post and photos here.
Esoteric is Urbandub's 6th album following their The Apparition album in 2009.
Esoteric was first made avilable for pre-order on iTunes you can click here to download the album on iTunes.
Esoteric was released last August 19 on iTunes and last August 26 in record stores nationwide. It was even number 1 in iTunes Asia - good job Dubistas and for everyone who chose to support the band by ordering it on iTunes. :)
While I am proud of my iTunes that has over 1,703 songs I still prefer purchasing the physical album (I'm kind of old fashioned that way) synching that in my iTunes and keeping the album who knows I might the chance to have the band sign it right? :3 I still have yet to have a photo taken with Gab since security literally swooped down on him and carried him away when we saw them, I was able to get a snapshot with Lalay and John :P
When I read on Twitter that the album was also available in Sonic Boom and I had some extra cash I went on right away to get a copy - for only P300.00! :)
When I first got my copy of the album - let's say that I listened to it for like 3 straight days and I love it!
At first listen I thought that it was a toned down album compared to their old hard hitting songs, however upon further listening to it and really taking the album in, I realized it was not a toned down but an evolution in their music as you can hear the new experiments that they added to both the vocals and the instruments that they used.
In the first track, Stars Have Aligned you can even hear trumpets being used at the start of the song. Additional instruments like flute/fife and trumpets were also used in the song Cold Hearted.
While the band experimented with new instruments to use in their albums they also collaborated with some well established names in music today. Aia De Leon, former vocalist of Imago lends her vocal chops to the song Between The Earth & Sky which I must say is such a sexy song! I swear it is like a bedroom song if not the bedroom song, you have to listen to it to see what I mean. :) Aside from Aia the master himself, Mr. Ryan Cayabyab lends his piano skills in the album in the song When Love Is Not An Answer.
Aside from experimenting with new instruments and collaborating with other artists for their new album, the band also took to changing up some vocal styles and delivery, especially for vocalist Gabby Alipe who showed new vocal techniques in the album, sometimes even having a throaty delivery, ala Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. There was also a lot of experiments with harmonies and some new styles from both Gaby and back up vocalist (and bassist) Lalay.
Paul has noted that much of the guitar work on the album is reminiscent of Tonic and Splender which brings him back to his College days. :)
For those of you who are planning to pick up the album you may want to go to the album launch on September 20 (this Friday) - in Teatrino Promenade Hall in Greenhills at 8pm.
To get in the show - all you have to do is to buy the Esoteric bundle which is the album (of course, a shirt and a ticket to the show) for only P1,200 - and I'm telling you it's so worth it! Dammit! I want to go! :P
Here is the track listing of the Esoteric album:
Stars Have Aligned
Hover
Never Will I Forget
Dim The Headlights
Cold Hearted
When Love Is Not An Answer
Sleight Of Hand
Between The Earth & Sky
Mantra
The Burning Taste
For more details and updates on Urbandub make sure to like their Facebook page here.
Here are some of our photos of Urbandub during the Flavors launch:
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| Gabby Alipe - Vocals/Guitar |
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| Lalay Lim-Geronimo - Bass |
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| John Dinopol - Guitar *Drummer JanJan Mendoza was not in this performance. |
About the shoot:
For the shoot, I thought of playing with the concept of fire, since there were a lot of lyrics in the songs in the album that talked about fire - here are some of those lyrics.
Let our bridges burn, let the embers die out
-When Love Is Not An Answer
Suddenly my wings burst into flames
-Between The Earth And Sky
I burn you, it's so good.
-The Burning Taste
We were literally playing with fire for this shoot - we lit a couple of candles and placed them on our make shift studio of sorts - our bed. Haha so any slight of hand (pun intended) would have caused our bed to go up in flames - don't tell Lola. :P
Oh and by the way how do you guys like the new white watermark?
Make sure to grab a copy of Esoteric! #SupportOPM
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