Folkerie

SB19 (From left to right: Stell, Josh, Pablo, Ken, Justin) Back in my teens, I was mostly updated with music. Music channels like MTV and Myx, which were available on free TV, and radio stations like NU 107 made it possible. But as I got older and priorities changed, my appetite for new music waned. I just listened to what I grew up with or whatever I came upon by chance, and what I found would set the tone for the next few years or so. I have had phases of folk, 90s hip-hop, and K-pop, but never OPM. My relationship with OPM was not as strong as I would have liked. For instance, my pre-teen mind shunned OPM rock at its height in the 90s. Then when I developed a respect for its artistry, music began to change its course. Many new releases were either formulaic, low-quality songs or just not my type of music. So my OPM playlist was sadly stuck in the past. That is until SB19’s 2021 EP Pagsibol . Boy Bands A friend once asked what my guilty pleasure was. I told him I liked boy bands. Wes...

What do the Middle Ages and 2020 have in common? One, there’s the pandemic. The second one, however, is rather unexpected — the production of medieval music, or some form of it. The past few months have seen the rise of a phenomenon called Bardcore , a music genre consisting of medievalesque adaptations of modern popular songs. It is coined from the word bard , a medieval storyteller and singer, and the combining form -core extracted from another music genre hardcore . Although medieval remakes of contemporary music already existed before 2020, most notably Algal the Bard’s cover of System of a Down’s Toxicity in December 2017, it was two viral YouTubers who finally pushed it to prominence this year: Cornelius Link and Hildegard von Blingin’ . The consensus is that this particular trend started on April 20, 2020, when German web developer Cornelius Link released a remake of Tony Igy’s Astronomia . He then followed it up weeks later with an instrumental version of Foster the People’s b...

PROJECT TYPE: Website Development URL: victorsecuyaart.com Victor Secuya is a Davao-based visual artist known for his vibrant abstract expressionist works on canvas and steel. Mostly self-taught, his works have been in 25 solo exhibitions and various group shows for the past 30 years. Victor Secuya Art, the website, is Folkerie’s first undertaking into web development. It highlights a portfolio of Secuya’s selected painting series and sculptures, while his love for the written word is given particular emphasis with sample essays from his books and quotes as accents across pages. Launched on March 22, the site also includes photos of Secuya’s studio — aptly called The Sanctuary — a place of peace and quiet within the bustling city of Davao.  

Martin Y. Pineda (left) and Kublai Millan (right) led the ribbon cutting ceremony of "The Birds of Davao City" exhibit at Abreeza Mall, March 13, 2019. A joint exhibit of wild bird photographer Martin Y. Pineda and artist Rey Mudjahid “Kublai” P. Millan and the launching of Pineda’s two-volume books on Davao City’s birds was held on March 13, 5 p.m. at Abreeza Mall, Davao City. The opening program started with an introduction on birding and wild birds from Alex Tiongco, President of Birders without Borders Philippines and Raptorwatch Network Philippines. It was followed by a short talk on preserving pockets of nature in the city by Dennis Salvador, Executive Director of the Philippine Eagle Foundation, Inc. From left: Alex Tiongco, Dennis Salvador, Martin Pineda, Kublai Millan Salvador said that “if we are to enjoy the many practical benefits of our green spaces, it also becomes a responsibility to help conserve them as well.” But that to want to conserve something, he emphas...

There are bands that you listen to in passing and there are those who engrave their mark so deep you can’t get enough of them. For the authors of this blog, The Head and the Heart (THATH) belongs in the latter. For years, The Head and the Heart has been consistently on our playlists, and while we have been on the receiving end of these rewarding songs, we’ve realized we have not even given a proper tribute to the band. To make up for that, and to celebrate THATH’s 10th year anniversary, two of us will be answering four questions about our journey with the band. How did you discover The Head and the Heart? Julienne: It was in 2013 when I registered on a music website called 8tracks and there was this one playlist that I really, really liked. Composed of 11 tracks, the playlist featured new releases that time of indie folk music. Because of its upbeat and happy sound, it became my go-to playlist while working in the morning. One of the songs was The Head and the Heart’s “Shake.” In tim...

  UCOG Davao 1st meet and greet (Photo courtesy Antonette Venzon) The Urban/Container/Organic Gardening (UCOG) Davao Team, which was recently formed, held its first meet and greet on Sunday, February 24, 2 PM at the People’s Park in Davao City. Fifteen of its members joined the event, with some bringing their own backyard produce to share. Seeds and cuttings of herbs, vegetables and other medicinal plants were given away such as serpentina, blue ternate, insulin plant, different types of radishes, cucumbers, okra, etc. Free blue ternate flowers and seeds. (Photo courtesy Antonette Venzon) The members came from different backgrounds. There were organic farmers and a farm owner who focuses on native trees, but most are backyard and container gardeners who have developed a love for plants and clean living. Other matters pertaining to the direction of the group were also discussed. While officers were not yet selected, it has been decided that the finalization and formalization of the...

by Lorie Ann HONG KONG—A red flag looks like that of a communist party at a distance. It has a sickle and, instead of a hammer, a wine glass. It was the work of London-based Filipino artist Pio Abad. Modern and contemporary art of Art Basel Hong Kong came in different forms and concepts that without looking at the artists’ names, one would not know which country they represent. “What makes an artwork Filipino is because the artist is Filipino,” said exhibitor Rachel Rillo at Silverlens galleries of the Philippines and Singapore that featured Abad’s works. Art is becoming global, she said, adding that the flag was a satire and a contemporary art dialogue, along with a Hermes scarf painting of the same artist. Silverlens also displayed the works of Filipino artists Maria Taniguchi, Leslie De Chavez, Renato Orara, Bernardo Pacquing, Gregory Halili, Patricia Perez Eustaqiuo and Frank Callaghan, and Yee I-Lann from Malaysia. Displaying at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on ...

Song One starring Anne Hathaway and Johnny Flynn This and the following years will be eventful for us folkies. Who wouldn’t be excited to have a bunch of singer-songwriter movies coming our way? The first one out, from director John Carney who gave us the award-winning movie Once , was well-received by viewers. Begin Again stars Keira Knightley as a musician left on her own in the big city who meets a disgraced record executive played by Mark Ruffalo. “From this chance encounter emerges an enchanting portrait of a mutually transformative collaboration, set to the soundtrack of a summer in New York City.” (The Weinstein Company) Watch the trailer below. In the next film we’ll see Anne Hathaway, but in a non-singing role. It features folk musician Johnny Flynn as a, well, folk musician. I am both curious and delighted because…Johnny Flynn, and I’ve never seen him act yet. The trailer for Song One below. This last clip is not a trailer, yet it may well be a preview of the coming Hank W...

Running out of Bon Iver tracks? Then add The Careful Ones to your playlist. An indie-folk band from Lakeland, Florida, The Careful Ones are Joshua Robinson, Benji Bussell, Steele Strader, Stephen Howell and Jon Santana. So far they have released one album from 2011 ( Moths, Flames, Etc. ) and two singles. Listen to Paper Knees below: Listen to Moths, Flames, Etc. on Spotify Buy the Album

Edward S. Curtis was a renowned photographer and documenter of Native American life in the early 20th century. His works, which include more than 40,000 photographs, are still widely used in different print and digital media: in books, web articles, even music album covers, that those not familiar will have at one time or another seen one. In addition, and this I’ve only recently found out, he’s also directed a 65-minute silent film on the Kwakiutl tribe in 1914 called In the Land of the Head Hunters . The following excerpts and photos are from the Edward S. Curtis collection in Shared Legacies : According to Curtis, his ambition was to photograph “The Vanishing Race.” He therefore embarked upon a thirty year undertaking to document Native American Indian cultures within the immensely ambitious project titled The North American Indian. This comprised of a set of 20 volumes of ethnographic text illustrated with photo-engravings from his glass plate negatives. By 1930 the modest popular...

Registration for Good Morning, Taka! is now open. Good Morning, Taka! is on August 30, Saturday, from 10 am – 1 pm . It will be in a small garden at the second floor of Crossroad Center in Quezon City. The exact address is #77 Mother Ignacia Avenue (in the scout area). Regular registration fee of PhP 700/head is until August 28. After that, registration fee will be at PhP 1,000/head. Fee includes the raw taka, painting materials and delightful taka colors-inspired snacks. To register , send an email to fun@quriocity.org or PM Quriocity, the workshop’s organizer, in their official Facebook page . Below are excerpts from Quriocity’s email: Some months ago, our team went to the town of Paete, Laguna to visit our local paper mache artists… In this trip, I and two members of Team Quriocity walked the streets of the peaceful and friendly neighborhood of the town central. Armed with an open-mind to discover something new and an excitement to mingle with the locals, we were exhilarated by t...

by Lorie Ann People swarm into a small village in Vientiane to see the Naga fireballs themselves despite others’ belief that the phenomenon is but a legend. VIENTIANE, Laos (MindaNews / 24 Octet) – Somewhere around 7 p.m., visitors and the villagers of Pakngum in Vientiane see hundreds of golden lanterns rising slowly beyond a full moon from Thailand’s Nong Khai province. Between Laos and Thailand, where the Nam Ngum and Mekong rivers converge, an intermittent exchange of fireworks conveys the people’s excitement at seeing the Naga fireballs shoot up from the deep recesses of the river. Locally known as “bangfai paya nak” and described as pinkish-red fireballs, they surge like rockets every Boun Ork Phansa at the end of Buddhist Lent, says Mr. Khamphuan Bouthsingkham, 65, who was the village’s chief 13 years ago, speaking in an interview hours earlier. He says that according to their ancestors, the Naga festival has been a 400-year-old celebration above and “under” the Mekong. “While...

Guardians of Tradition (2012, Adarna House) By Mae Astrid Tobias , Rommel E. Joson (Illustrator), Renato S. Rastrollo  (Photographer) Links: Goodreads // Publisher // Adarna Order Form // NCCA Book Info: Who are the indigenous and folk artists of the Philippines? Guardians of Tradition is full of facts about 11 of Philippine master weavers, folk musicians, performing artists, mat weavers and metal smiths whose talents and skills have earned them the title Manlilikha ng Bayan. Designed to help children recognize native Filipino ingenuity and creativity, the book includes fun activities to promote appreciation for culture and arts. Guardians of Tradition has a fun and colorful design that appeals to young readers. Join Banog and Kiko as they discover the Philippines’ National Living Treasures: Wang Ahadas, Hadja Amina Appi, Ginaw Bilog, Federico Caballero, Lang Dulay, Masino Intaray, Salinta Monon, Eduardo Mutuc, Alonzo Saclag, Darhata Sawabi, and Samaon Sulaiman . Read about the...

I feel the need to praise two works of art in this post. Last night I was sent a preview of Irish singer Róisín O’s music video for her upcoming song Hold On . With only a short text to introduce me to this new artist from Dublin, I didn’t have any expectations. So I put on my headphones and watched a moving short film. Yes, you read it right. Ever since outgrowing them, what I miss most about music videos are the stories they tell. This one brought me back to that time when everything felt younger, though what I was seeing on-screen was as old a story can be—about us in our everyday lives, reminiscent of Mike Leigh’s subjects. I couldn’t help that the film itself got my first attention. We see a man with a military haircut wake up at 6:30 in the evening. We suppose he is of Brazilian ancestry because of the flag beside his dining table. There’s something written on his door. He works the night shift… Ahh, the details! Kudos to the director, Simon Eustace , and the cast, Aaron Heffern...

Thought I’d never do a fashion feature, but these three sites, a blog and two shops, just overloaded me with all natural fabric goodness that I have to share them. First up is a crazy fashion blog by Paris and London aka The Mad Twins . They recently did a hippy shoot which I loved. Below are some of the photos. Next, the English lifestyle brand Cabbages & Roses . They sell clothes, home accessories and fabrics. I’ve never been to any of their shops, but they have collaborated with Uniqlo, a Japanese retail company that has branches here in the Philippines, and news is that they’ll be expanding to the provinces. So hopefully soon in Davao, too. Last but not the least, Folk Fibers is a little shop of naturally dyed handmade quilts. It is owned by Maura Grace Ambrose of Austin, Texas. Her “goal is to share the craft and folklore that prevails around natural dyes and quilting.”

I’ve been following Geninne Zlatkis’ art for about three years now and they never stop coming. She blogs here and sells prints on Etsy .