Listen, Think, Feel, with the New Song from The Dawn

“Is love still a thing?”

This can easily be a line in a love song. But, this is a question raised by one of the country's original rock bands, The Dawn, in their new song "Earth."

Known for its anthem songs like "Salamat" and "Iisang Bangka," "Earth" asks the existential question especially amid all the political, social, and even personal uncertainties.

The Dawn frontman Jett Pangan explains, "We, as human beings, when we’re faced with troubles that seem insurmountable, we tend to look the other way. Maybe not to say we’re in denial, it's more of the fear of the unknown. It’s been a struggle to be a human being. There’s always the question, can we go on like this? Is this the way we’re supposed to deal with things? Is there a better way?"

He pointed out that it’s not condescending but, in fact he asks himself the same question. The pandemic also raised that big question. “We're all hoping that after all these we become better people," he said.

Trust The Dawn to come up with a song that is timely and relevant. The society has seen a rise in mental health concerns among the youth. In fact, in a study by the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI), it highlighted that between 2013 and 2021, there are twice the number of young Filipinos who felt loneliness, sadness, and being disliked.

One of the band’s guitarists Rommel “Sancho” Sanchez, emphasized that “Is love still a thing,” can also be read as “is empathy still a thing?” Sanchez said that with the mode of communications now, it’s easy to be snarky. Their hope is that through this song and with this one powerful line, people will pause, reflect, and hope that they can be a little kinder.

Apart from the significance of its lyrics, there are a lot of reasons that make “Earth” distinct.

It was recorded during the pandemic and every member of the group had to record individually. The Dawn drummer JB Leonor shared he made a story with the drum parts alone. There’s a reason for every note of the drum.

“Earth” is the last song that their bassist Mon Legaspi recorded before he passed away. And it was an ode to him that they committed to finish the track.

Sanchez was the last one to record the guitar parts. “I lost the recordings when my hard drive failed. We had to ask permission from Mon’s sister and asked a friend to help extract his parts. It was really difficult for me to record my parts,” he said.

The song itself went through a lot and now that it’s here, it is definitely a treat not only to the loyal fans of The Dawn but to everyone who appreciates great music.

The reception to “Earth” inspires the band to keep on going. Credit goes to Francis “Kiko” Reyes, one of the guitarists, who said that during the pandemic, the band continued to connect creatively. Pangan enthused that with all his rally calls and with the reception to the new song, all fingers point to a new collection of songs, or an EP.

Recognizing also how dynamic the music industry is these days, The Dawn wants to make sure they are a part of it. He added that the labels and genres now are blurred and people are more accepting when they listen to music. They do not specify if a song is too rock or too hiphop.

Through the years, The Dawn has been blessed with a platform to be heard and this time, it’s their new song “Earth.” There’s no line to cross now that music has melded in all genres. And The Dawn has a lot to offer and being a true rockstar that they are, they are just going where music takes them. No pigeonholing, just true love for music.

Listen to The Dawn’s Earth now on Spotify and YouTube.

BPI supports artists and art lovers anew in Art Fair Philippines 2023

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is back at Art Fair Philippines 2023 with more support for artists and art lovers alike.

BPI, a staunch advocate of Philippine Arts, supports visual artists through partnerships and art lovers through the provision of greater access to artworks in art events such as Art Fair Philippines, which is coming back face-to-face from a three-year hiatus.

“As we appreciate the value of artists and their works, we also see the significance of collecting and keeping great artworks, which is why we at BPI continue to provide our support as well to art lovers who, time and time again, visit Art Fair Philippines and acquire valuable artworks,” said Jenelyn Z. Lacerna, the Group Head of BPI Unsecured Lending and Cards, Product and Sales.

Art Fair Philippines 2023, which is happening on February 17-19 at The Link in Ayala Center in Makati City, will feature over 60 exhibitors from the Philippines and overseas as the art exhibition celebrates its 10th year. It is co-presented by BPI and Ayala Land, among other corporate supporters.

To promote art appreciation and further boost the local art scene, BPI offers complimentary access to cardholders of BPI Visa Signature, Platinum Rewards Mastercard, Amore Platinum Cashback, and Gold Mastercard.

“At BPI, we consider keepers of valuable art works as art investors, as the works they acquire become part of their investment portfolio,” Lacerna said.

BPI has been the caretaker of more than 1,000 artworks by many prominent Filipino artists, such as Fernando Amorsolo, Jose Joya, and Ben Cabrera. Most of these art pieces are the country’s finest expressions of Philippine culture and are reflective of BPI’s inherent values.

“The kind of support BPI gives to art lovers provides them greater access to exclusive events such as Art Fair Philippines, which continues to showcase the country’s vibrant local art scene and helps Filipino visual artists generate support and reach a wider audience,” Lacerna added.

BPI affirms its commitment to recognize and nurture the country’s artistry and talent through its participation in events like this.

One of the many galleries featured in the art fair is Art Cube, which provides a platform for talented young artists to showcase their works before an extensive roster of art collections. The gallery, which will be located on the 5th Level, Booth No. 5, will feature the works of father-and-son Renato and Guerrero Habulan, showing a glimpse of ordinary people: iconic images of the masses, their dignity amid hardship, and as an inspiration. Renato, a post-war and contemporary painter, is one of the most influential and award-winning watercolor artists in the country. Guererro, a recipient of the Thirteen Artists Awards of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, combines different figurative styles and approaches—from hyperrealism to pop surrealism to the “ready-made” images of silk screen printing.

Also featured in this year’s edition of the art fair includes Celine Lee, who has been recognized for her work, including the Juror’s Choice Award of Merit at the Philippine Art Awards in 2020. She has a diverse portfolio that includes paintings, sculptures, embroidery pieces, and multimedia works that show her innovative use of different materials and media.

Art lovers can also check out the works of Winna Go, a finalist in multiple competitions in 2018, such as the LRT Art Competition, Shell National Student Art Competition, Metrobank Art and Design Excellence Competition, and Regional Winner for Philippine Art Awards. In most of her works, she gathers inspiration from the history of the Chinese diaspora, the richness of the Chinese and Filipino culture, her identity and positionality in society, and the beauty of nature.

“We invite the art enthusiasts out there to come and join us at the Art Fair Philippines and discover the country’s artistry and talent. Check out the many participating galleries that showcase Filipino artistry at its best,” Lacerna added.

For more information, please visit the Art Fair Philippines website and follow Art Fair Philippines on Instagram (@artfairph) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/artfairph).

Why Should Businesses, Even SMEs, Invest on GenSet?

In the advent of economic and industrial transformation, businesses, even those small start-up ones, are already considering installing a ready power GenSet for their company. Most of the business plans created will attest to this. A more preventive and budget friendly model that will surely be a long term help for every company.

Power outage is one of those uncontrollable circumstances that should always be considered. Huge established businesses/companies already know its significance because of all the assessments and studies done, but for SMEs, for some, they consider this as ‘too-much’ for their available fund, therefore, taking the idea in the shelf.

The World Bank reports that the Philippine economy stays resilient (Philippine Economic Update, December 2022) despite all the reports about inflation and economic dowturn. All these current problems might affect our resources’ supply including power, if worse comes to worst. Therefore, to prevent these possible losses from happening and maintain our stable finances, we should invest in a power generator

Looking at long-term advantage and business efficiency are something that you should always take in consideration.

According to Market Business News, there are four compelling reasons why you should, as the business owner, consider purchasing your own generator set.

Maintaining the productivity of your workers

Every business, even start-ups, requires employees for assistance and to achieve your day to day business goals. You should ensure that these people are always productive at work to reach their quota and achieve those needed sales. Just like what mentioned, power outages are one of those that could hurt your business, especially if you’re using machines that need electricity (like bakeshops, canned goods producers and many others).

Clearly, a power generator set could avoid this. The generator will supply electric energy to your machines, resulting in continuous production of your employees. Power outages will not be feared anymore.

2.      Retaining customers

Getting new clients is hard for the business, however, retaining those existing ones is more challenging. These loyal customers help us gain new clients also through word of mouth or possible recommendations. And do not forget the power of the internet, these retained clients could also show their satisfaction by creating reviews on their social media accounts or even blog entries. With these, we can never afford to lose them just because we are affected by power outages. Closing your store during working hours should always be the last option in our mind. You wouldn’t want to see  them at the office of your competitor, right?

3.      Enhance brand reputation

You might fail to build your brand reputation if your store or office is closed because of an unexpected power problem. Remember that when creating a business, brand reputation should be established. This is established  by many different factors and should continuously build overtime. In a business point of view, this is very crucial since there are potential clients who are very keen on checking for business reliability. Most of them will check for all your available resources and if you don’t have your own power generator to assist during power outages, you will be out of their list.

A standby genset will give you that extra advantage in the competition. Full assistance to your client’s needs will gain you positive feedback that eventually adds up to your brand reputation.

4.     Boost security of your facility

To be able to achieve business success, business security (of all facets) should be ensured. Remember that attackers could take advantage of your facility’s resources when out of power. During power outages, the light, alarm and CCTV facility will not function, therefore, giving a huge chance for violations to happen.

To make sure that this will not happen, your power generator from a reputable brand should be put in place. Remember that secured business gives a better chance of success.

These are four of the many reasons that could push you to do the purchasing. If budget is too much of an issue, try securing a second hand electric power system  or Used GenSet for the meantime (but still  from a distinguished brand), again, for business security.  And when you get that business-boom in the future, do the replacing if needed.

Power problems are uncontrollable, so better think of ways to counter its negative effect on your business. #