Good vibrations

MANILA, Philippines - It started off as your typical jam. When The Collective-based Ukelele Philippines and Ukelele Underground Philippines got together to play good music, what happened was a three-day musical festival that placed the offbeat musical instrument under a much-need spotlight.

The ukelele, an often overlooked member of the guitar family, originated in Hawaii as a version of the machete, brought to the island by Portuguese immigrants in the early 19th century. It eventually became more than just “cheap exotica or comic prop,” as the New York Times describes it in an article chronicling the uke craze in the United States. It now permeates culture, “turning up in Top 10 pop songs and fashionable indie-rock bands” — Train’s Hey Soul Sister and IZ’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow being among the most prominent tunes to draw from the unique sensibilities (and sensitivity) of the uke’s warm, fuzzy sound.

Amanda Palmer, formerly of the punk cabaret group Dresden Dolls, shares: “It symbolizes everything that the grand polished machine of the music industry is not” — which, safe to say, ushers in a kind of tactile humility to a generation that has thrived on listening to heavily produced hits and rock ‘n’ roll.

Filipino-American stage and film actress Jennifer Blair Bianco, who was one of the uke enthusiasts who performed with her husband David Bianco at day two of the event, shares, “I think the magical thing about the ukelele is that it is an easy instrument to learn and that it instantly draws people together.” Having developed her loved for the uke more than a year and a half ago, she soon found herself composing music with the simple strum of its strings. “It creates a warm and inviting sound and I think everyone should learn how to play.”

It was this same passion that enveloped the three-day festival which kicked off at the SM MoA Music Hall last Oct. 25, followed by an intimate dinner-concert at Buddha Bar on day two, and an uke workshop conducted by several of the international acts who flew to the Philippines on day three. Some of the world’s best uke virtuosos, including Hawaii-based Filipinos Aldrine Guerrero, Kalei Gamiao, and Derick Sebastian, and Japan’s Kyas Ryo, as well as Apirak Sirinanthakul from Thailand were onboard to lend their talent to the event. Indie singer and songwriter Manskee Nascimiento and young up-and-comer Kai Honasan also performed.

Kai, who started playing the uke at 21, says “I was a classical pianist all my life and when I started discovering the band scene, I wanted the most convenient instrument to bring and jam with.” At MoA, she performed two of her original songs — This City and Liwanag, a track she produced on the recently concluded Rock Supremo by Rock Ed and Ballet Philippines.

Eizel Nocon, marketing manager for Ukelele Philippines, shares that while the uke scene in Manila has yet to grow and gain traction (“Some people think it’s just a toy and you can’t really play music with it”), she feels the instrument’s ease of use might make it less of a novelty and more of a passion among musically-inclined Filipinos. She says that a second uke festival is in the works, not to mention an ongoing podcast called Uke Sessions where local artists go on air to perform “ukelelized” songs.

As to the growing influence of the ukelele and where it might be headed in the next few years, Kai put it best. “It’s an instant feel-good, pick-me-upper instrument. Even the saddest songs sound a little more hopeful when played on the uke.” God knows we can all use a little hope, positive vibes, and these days, some good vibrations.

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Ukelele Philippines is located at The Collective, 7274 Malugay Street, San Antonio Village, Makati. — Christopher de Venecia