There’s no question why they’re called flu: Their neo-soul, Motown music is infectious enough to make you want to get up and dance every time you hear it.
MANILA, Philippines – There’s a new groove maker in town, and it comes in the form of four-piece band flu.
Imagine quietly listening to music on your commute home when flu suddenly comes on shuffle. Through the low hum of the vehicle you’re on and the loud honks of the cars on the road, you suddenly get the urge to tap your feet or subtly bob your head.
There’s no question why they’re called flu: Their neo-soul, Motown music is infectious enough to make you want to get up and dance every time you hear it. This makes it all the more interesting to learn that flu was born out of a college thesis.
“As music production students, the three of us (Dits, Randall, John Rae) were supposed to make an EP for our finals. We were looking for a singer that would match the style or vibe of the demos. We then had a mutual friend introduce us to Deus who was also studying in Benilde taking Industrial Design. After finishing our thesis, we just kept making songs and here we are,” the band told Rappler.
Only a few years after that school requirement brought together the band’s members — Deus Vergel de Dios (vocals), Dits Bautista (bass), John Rae Rebano (guitar), and Randall Enriquez (drums) — they dropped their debut album, Time & Pace, and it’s an impressive fusion of vintage and modern sound.
On ‘Time & Pace’
The band’s first full-length record Time & Pace was several years in the making. Some of its tracks date back to four to five years ago but were just revisited recently.
“We seriously started studio work for Time & Pace in September 2023. So, it was a year of writing, recording, and post-production. It was fun and exhausting as we’ve become shut-in people because of it. We were also trying to get a ‘new song’ feeling from the older songs in order to match the new material artistically,” the band recalled.
Interestingly, the album is split into two parts — day and night. This creative decision was so the band could pay homage to their favorite musicians. Think old school artists like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Earth, Wind & Fire, Hall and Oates, and D’Angelo.
“We really imagined the album on vinyl. From taking the vinyl out of its case and to the player, hearing the first sound that comes out, riding throughout the whole journey of side A. Then taking a quick break to digest what happened. Then manually switching to side B to continue through the second half, until reaching the end. It’s really a whole story. It was the best way to reflect the music we love in our own music,” flu said.
Just as it reflects day and night, Time & Pace also tells the stories behind two different emotional journeys — something that becomes apparent when you pay attention to the general vibe of the songs in each half. While the daytime tracks are more upbeat, the nighttime ones are slower, but still have that groove everyone looks for in flu’s music.
“In terms of the lyrical topics, [the album] starts with the thrill and excitement of a new romance. But as it progresses, the songs slow down and get more serious in terms of emotions or feelings. And that’s where night time comes in. Lyrically, the songs talk about heavy realizations and failing relationships. The late end of the album just shows how an end of a relationship (or anything) could signal a start of something new as well. It’s a cycle,” the band explained.
Right in the middle of the album, there’s even a track to signify the transition from day to night: “Interlude,” which is a pretty important (and clever) buffer between each half of Time & Pace.
“We’re big fans of the vintage vocoder sound from Herbie Hancock and Daft Punk. It wasn’t easy trying to marry the vintage-sounding songs with the more modern ones. But that’s what this ‘interlude’ is for,” the band said.
Marking milestones
Beyond Time & Pace, the band has also marked quite a few milestones throughout their career, and that includes performing on big stages like the first-ever ASIYA FEST.
The band’s ASIYA FEST performance couldn’t have come at a better time. It happened just a week after Time & Pace came out, so audiences were able to hear songs off the album so close to its release. And for ASIYA FEST-goers, this meant that they could let loose as flu brought their music right to them in real life.
Rising OPM band flu aptly opens their #ASIYAFEST set with “‘93,” a track off their debut album, “Time and Pace”! | @rapplerdotcom @karposmm @KarposLive pic.twitter.com/dmGuGrtvyx
— Juno Reyes (@junoileanavr) October 12, 2024
It was amazing to watch the band having as much fun as the crowd, and the seamless jump from track to track was a big detail they really honed in on when preparing for the big performance.
“We think rehearsing the flow between songs is as important as rehearsing the songs itself. We think of it as a complete program or a show where you have to think about the production of it all,” the band told Rappler.
flu is just beginning to introduce its contagious sound to more listeners, one song at a time. As early as now, the band’s already made it clear that they’re one to look out for. – Rappler.com