Experience a night of vibrant Filipino music as Merge, Kelly, and Charlie 119 perform at The Fridge Warehouse in Dubai on January 19. Merge's farewell concert promises a mix of Indie rock and pop, inspired by their liking for Paramore. The band is bidding goodbye to their vocalist Marj, who is relocating to Canada but will continue working with the group as a songwriter for now.
“The showgoers can expect a wide variety of local music on Friday. We will put on a good show to kick of the weekend. It will also be heartfelt as we are saying our goodbyes to Marj from Merge,” Mac dela Pena of Charlie 119 band said.
Filipino indie rock band Merge originated from a spontaneous jam session before merging musicians from different backgrounds into a band. It was formed a year and a half ago, in the UAE. The band is currently in the process of recording an upcoming EP or extended play featuring six original songs, some of which will be performed at the show.
Most of these Filipino band members were born and raised in Dubai. While other Merge band members have been here for more than a decade, Margie also known as Marj has been in Dubai for eight years. She said, “Dubai is where I met my husband and found the love for creating music.”
Meet them and other Filipino bands performing tomorrow, January 19 at The Fridge Warehouse, Al Serkal Avenue, in Dubai. To get to know more about the other groups, Gulf News had a quick chat with the artists.
Describe yourself and your band members.
Margie Pablo: “‘Merge’ is made up of Margie Pablo singing, Viztoni Dela Pena playing rhythm guitar, Mark Pereyra on lead guitar, Michael Cruz on drums, Andrew Borela handling synth/keys, and Aaron Yamaguchi on bass.”
Maria 'Mac' dela Pena: “Charlie 119 is a tight knit band made up of siblings and cousins who were born and raised in Dubai from a family of musicians. I am the youngest, and it helps being surrounded by passionate members of Charlie, whom I proudly call family. Band members: Luigi Tam E. dela Peña - Lead Vocals, Lead Guitars, Mary Lorainne E. dela Peña - Lead Vocals, Keys, Guitars, Maria Lausanne E. dela Peña - Drums, Viztoni C. dela Peña - Bass Guitars and Melquiades Christian M. Abrera - Synthesizer.
Kelly Vibar: “I am Kelly Vibar guitarist and vocalist. Francis Alvin Ramos is the bassist of the band. Axel Florida is the drummer of the band.”
When and how did you start the band? How did you come up with your band name?
Pablo: “We formed the band a year and a half ago, kicking things off by jamming to Paramore covers at a friend's house. Most of the members were part of my husband’s band who performed in Expo Dubai. Then one day after celebrating the event I started jamming with them – mostly songs from Paramore. The band name is a wordplay for my nickname ‘Merjjj’.”
Dela Pena: We have formed a band when we were kids since we grew up in a household of musicians, however, we launched as ‘Charlie 119’ in 2018.
The band name dates to our old apartment where we have lived in for a whole 18 years – Building C for Charlie, room 119. We would like to believe that behind that washed-out, beige door is where we found our common passion as a band – where we built the first ever home for our music.
Kelly: The band is just me as a solo artist Kelly Vibar, my own name. I started off as a soloist writing and performing my own songs trying to make my way into the music scene with the help of the music community and decided to invite my childhood friend, Francis Alvin, to play bass for me, then was introduced to our talented drummer.
Describe your band? What genre of music do you make?
Pablo: “Our band started out to be a Paramore cover band but eventually move towards to exploring different types of indie sound.”
Dela Pena: “If I were to describe our band - it would navigate towards the essence of family and community, we trust we bring people together through our music. Genre would be indie rock.”
Kelly: “My music genre is contemporary soul pop. And songs are written of self-experience through love and that would be relatable to the people.”
Why Merge Farewell Concert?
Pablo: “I am a resident of Canada and I need to fly back, and I only have a limited number of days to be out of the country. I will have to be away for a while, but the band will continue performing with my husband (Viztoni) taking over vocals for the time being. The band is still recording an album and will continue to do so even when I am in Canada. Also, with all the available tools today recording remotely is possible and easier.”
Kelly: “This is a farewell concert for our sister band ‘Merge’ that will be performing for the last time in Dubai and we would love to be playing for them before we send them off.”
What do you love about performing in Dubai?
Pablo: “Dubai is a hub of different nationalities and has a lot of opportunities to explore new genres and musical style, which is fresh to different types of audience. Definitely a good playing ground to experiment with different types of music.”
Dela Pena: “Dubai is known to be a melting pot of numerous nationalities and cultures, and this certainly makes performing in different music platforms/community around the city, and the UAE itself, more promising and fulfilling. We cater to anyone who can relate to the music we make – no matter what their story is. Most importantly, we love raising the Philippine flag wherever we go – we are definitely proud of our roots.”
Kelly: “I simply love how the people in Dubai are easy listeners and are very open to diverse variety of music, which gives other musicians the platform to perform their music with confidence.”
Who are your biggest artistic influences?
Pablo: “Paramore, Lizzy Mcalpine, Billy Eilish, Aurora and Olivia Rodrigo.”
Dela Pena: “We grew up listening to 1980s and 1990s staples, and these influences have changed and will keep on changing over the years.
From The Corrs, Deftones, Smashing Pumpkins, The 1975, Cranberries to Nirvana, and many more. Each member differs when it comes to music influences, yet we try to find a common ground as it helps with our songwriting and music arrangements.”
Kelly: “I do have a lot starting off with Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars, Tom Misch, FKJ, The Weeknd, Mar Ayres and Earth, Wind and Fire.”
What is your favourite medium?
Pablo: “We love performing and interacting with people. But one thing we do love the most is performing in acoustic set ups – it’s more raw and very close with the audience.”
Dela Pena: “We are keen on performing live gigs – this is our favourite way of showcasing our music. However, streaming apps/radio stations also do wonders in reaching people across the globe.”
What motivates you to write songs?
Pablo: “It’s mostly from my personal experiences and being inspired from what other artists do.”
Dela Pena: “My siblings and I have our different approaches to writing although one thing’s for sure, we have the same goal. What motivates us is that we make music not to please, but with the hopes to inspire. Always to inspire.”
Kelly: “What motivates me to write is for people to enjoy the art of music, sing the songs that has been written and hopefully relate and resonate with it and just share the art of music that I have created.”
How many original songs do you have? What is your favourite and why?
Pablo: “We currently have six original songs. They’re all our favourite, we tend to view the songs as our own children since that’s something you create and cultivate to be a representation of you. We won’t be able to choose but all songs speak the stories we want to share.”
Dela Pena: “We have more than ten in line. My favourite so far is our newest single released under our management and the newest label in town; The Box Records, ‘Bad Girl’. Everything about it just screams Charlie for me.”
Kelly: “I have a total of eight songs and a couple others that are being worked on. My favourite would be my first song that I wrote, ‘Wish you were mine’, as it helped me out of a phase I was going through in my life, and has taught me that we can create music through what we feel.”
Where do you find inspiration?
Pablo: “It depends on what I’m feeling on certain days. But for most days when I do write songs, it’s like a signal just comes from out of nowhere and I get jitters that just pushes to try and write something. This can be triggered by a movie I have watched, a recent song I have listened to or books I have read.”
Dela Pena: “I am inspired by my own band, my siblings. They inspire me to show up, to keep going, keep creating.”
Kelly: “I find inspiration through experiences from life and just add music to it from other people with the same passion.”
How do you define success as an artist?
Pablo: “Success varies from one artist to another. But for us success is seeing the crowd sing our songs while performing. Having that moment when you know the stories you try to tell are heard.”
Dela Pena: “I trust success is the ability to inspire and resonate with people no matter the number.”
Kelly: “I would say success is when I know I am happy with what I have created and is being shared with others.”
Does music help you in other areas of your life? How?
Pablo: “It’s more than just a hobby. Music is our release, and it helps us mentally and emotionally de-stress. It is what makes us, we can’t imagine going through a day without listening to music.”
Dela Pena: “I would like to think without music, life would be dull. Whether you just like listening to songs, making songs, writing songs - music goes a long way in making you feel things you didn’t know existed. It helps me to move forward, always.”
Kelly: “Yes, music does help me in coping with every emotion in general, it keeps me calm and just eases me.”
How do you develop your talent?
Pablo: “Practice and exploration. Always practice and don’t be afraid to experiment with different types of music.”
Dela Pena: “Imploring to be better at our craft most often than not presents new opportunities – this fact requires to be okay with stepping out of our comfort zones, with being uncomfortable. We try to stay thrivingly dynamic and never stagnant.”
Kelly: “I was self-taught, listening to my favourite artists, getting inspired and being inspired by others friends that are musicians as well.”
What are the plans of your band?
Pablo: “We will continue recording our album even while I am in Canada. But the band will continue playing gigs in Dubai with Viztoni on vocals. But I will remotely write more songs and send it to the band for recording in the studio.”
Dela Pena: “We are working in releasing singles, and ultimately an album.”
Kelly: “I will continue writing and sharing what I love with everyone who can relate and enjoy my art.”
Songwriting tips…
Pablo: “Don’t be afraid to mimic your influences but add in your own personality.”
Dela Pena: “Start with the words – the melody will follow.”
Kelly: “Don’t be hard on yourself, just enjoy the process of feeling the music you create.”
Where to watch the bands
Get your tickets from The Fridge Warehouse, Al Serkal Avenue. Doors open at 7pm. Performance starts at 8pm – 11pm. Ticket price online: Dh60. Ticket door price: Dh70
