Up Dharma Down celebrate 'strengths and weaknesses' in 3rd studio album

Four years after their last studio album, Bipolar, Up Dharma Down is back in fighting form with their new album, Capacities. The band has been going around the country this month promoting it—first at Route 196 in Quezon City, then at Handuraw Pizza in Cebu City, then on to Albertino’s Bar in Davao City, and finally at Saguijo in Makati. Fans who attended these gigs were given the opportunity to pre-order special editions, which include a limited edition Capacities CD, a limited edition Up Dharma Down T-shirt from Artwork, a band poster, and two passes for the album launch on Nov. 28, at One Esplanade, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City. Physical and digital copies of the album will be available in the first week of December in all major record bars and on iTunes and the Chrome store. Up Dharma Down bassist Paul Yap explained why it took them so long to come up with a follow up to Bipolar. “We didn’t want to make an album that sounded like the ones we’ve made before,” he said. “We really planned and fought over what we wanted for this album, focused our efforts into writing for the songs and not for ourselves. Our writing is still instinctive, but also more disciplined and mature. We’ve known each other for a long time and really took advantage [of] each other’s capabilities. We understand how those capabilities can be our strengths and weaknesses, hence the title of our album.” At their Davao gig, Up Dharma Down fans were treated to “Oo,” “Tadhana,” “Pag-agos” and more of the band’s well-loved songs. The venue was maybe too small to hold all the fans in attendance, but that didn’t stop Yap, Armi Millare, Ean Mayor, and Carlos Tañada from performing as though they were in a stadium. The showmanship was there but in between songs, they took advantage of the intimate setting to interact with the fans. They even went out of their way to show how much they appreciated their audience by taking requests and indulging every fan’s request for photos and autographs. The band also gave their fans a glimpse of what the new album would sound like by playing their own rendition of the Hall and Oates classic, “One on One.” “We were heavily influenced by ’80s bands like Tears for Fears, New Order, and Kraftwerk, so fans can expect a lot of synth. We really liked their timeless, classic sound,” said Paul. Despite the heat and some technical difficulties, Up Dharma Down’s strong, passionate performance was greatly appreciated by their fans. — BM, GMA News