Shades of Native: On musical diversity and the tambols of Bukidnon

Founded in what’s known as the South Summer Capital of the Philippines, Shades of Native is a five-piece indie folk-rock band that delivers both diversity and unity.

Wally Allegado, who is the male vocalist/guitarist of the group, said that the band first came to be on a special evening in YAKĀ – a well-known resto-bar for artists in the city of Malaybalay, Bukidnon.

“We met in 2017 or 2018, where we got together. In Malaybalay, we decided to have a live gig and it was a small gathering for my high school batchmates,” he said.

Despite coming from Dumaguete, sisters Anna and Maria Dizo, the female vocalist and the cellist of the band, respectively, happened to perform at the same event, which later inspired Wally to introduce the idea of forming a band.

“We decided to collaborate and it was just meant to be,” he said.

It wasn’t long until the trio met percussionist Jaq Lopez and bassist Aaron Sumampong – still in the same resto-bar. From then on, they formed what is now known as Shades of Native.

“We always like to describe ourselves as different kinds of Filipino. We were all from different places. Some of us grew up abroad and from the Philippines. We’re all different kinds of flavors,” said Anna. 

As diversity and unity were central aspects of their music, the five-man band decided to marry contemporary music with folk music. 

“In our latest song, ‘Bamboo,’ we used a Bukidnon instrument called tambol, which is a percussion instrument made from the Talaandig Tribe of Bukidnon. It gives it the spirit of Bukidnon sound,” Wally said.

The tambol is a hollow, round wood cylinder with the skin of a goat or a cow stretched upon ring-like frames fitted over its end. It’s often used during festivities and played by beating the end with a drumstick.

“When fused together, it kind of inspired the whole music we made, a contribution of where we came from,” said Wally.

Shades of Native decided to take things to the next level in 2019, when they competed in Wanderland’s annual battle of local independent bands, Wanderband.

The band made it to the semifinals of the competition and took a flight to Cebu to perform the fan favorite, “Bamboo.” 

While the band did not make it to the final rounds, the members of the group still pursued other gigs and wrote new songs like “Sirens” and “Static.”

In August, the indie-folk band officially signed themselves with Hyphen, a consultancy and music label organized by industry veteran Mike Constantino for independent artists.

Now taking big steps as a signed band, the band hopes to be able to perform live soon and to work with fellow artists from all over the country.

“Before the pandemic, we were hoping this would inspire people to come over to Malaybalay and share in our music,” said Maria.

“We’re hoping to share more of our music soon. Aside from encouraging, we want to work with Mindanaoan and Visayan artists and more artists outside the mainstream Manila area,” said Anna.

‘Bamboo’

Officially released on the streaming platform Spotify in September, “Bamboo” was the first song to be conceived by Shades of Native in Malaybalay.

According to Wally, the song actually came from a line that was blurted out by his wife: “We may bend but never break.” This happened as the couple was gathering bamboo for a fence they were building.

“She just said that and it got my attention. When we got home, I just grabbed my guitar and came up with the chord and the melody and even the words in the chorus,” he said.

After showing the song to the Dizo sisters, they immediately worked to finish and complete the piece, and they named it “Bamboo.”

“It just came out naturally. The sound came out naturally. When we played together, that was the sound that came out,” said Maria.

The same song brought them to the Wanderband stage in 2019 and has been a fan favorite ever since.

You can listen to the song here:

‘Sirens’

A while back in 2017, martial law in Mindanao was declared by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, and it was at this time that the members of the band heard the curfew calls ringing every night in Malaybalay.

“Maria found out she could make the same sound on the cello and got a few laughs at the time. Later on, while practicing in the studio, Wally added a melody and chord pattern with some lyrics to that siren sound,” said the band on their official Facebook page.

While the song’s sound was taken from something seemingly ominous, the band made a sweet song about lovers looking for an adventurous escape. 

Listen to the song here: 

‘Static’

Coming in as their second original, “Static” is a rock and roll song about remembering and holding on to the past.

“My wife was away and I was just alone in the house. We had this broken door and the wind kind of made it have a creaking sound and I don’t know, I just grabbed the guitar and thought about a story right away,” said Wally.

According to Wally, the song started out with only a few of his lines, and much like in the previous original “Bamboo,” the Dizo sisters hopped in to add their own lyrics, and Jaq and Aaron complemented the rest of the musical elements.

Check out the live acoustic version of the song here:

– Rappler.com