On my turntable... Cinema Lumiere's Will You Catch Me?

 

An Appreciation for Bruce Springsteen

 

Did you watch Springsteen on Broadway?

That was amazing especially for an old time fan like me.

I was in seventh grade when I got into Bruce Springsteen. In Rolling Stone and Jingle magazine, he was constantly lionized.

When I was in seventh grade, I was talking with my classmate Ben Reyes who was the first person I knew who swore by the Rolling Stones. We spoke about Bruce's new album at that point which was The River.

So I got the seven-inch single of "Hungry Heart" that had a blue Columbia/CBS-Sony label.

Sometime that year, the concert film, No Nukes, was shown in Metro Manila. My classmates and I, Hec Garde, Bam Quimson, Al Rono, Ben, and Jun Neri went to the old Quad in Makati to watch No Nukes. About two weeks later, when I had saved enough for the double LP that was The River, I got it.

And I backtracked, getting Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ, and Born to Run. It was because of Springsteen that I backtracked all the way to Bob Dylan and Van Morrison. And this was the time, I got into the Beat Generation writers Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, and Allen Ginsberg. Those three, Dylan, Springsteen, and then Ernest Hemingway had a profound effect on my poetry and writing (this one it took a while to shake off).

I was hugely an impressionable young man during that time... soaking in punk, new wave, metal, and what is now known today, as Classic Rock. Writing-wise, I still hadn't discovered my style. It would take a great many years before I figured that out.

These are my few records by Bruce -- Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., Born to Run, The River, Born in the USA, and the five-LP live album. Not in the picture are Tunnel of Love (the last I got from the 80s) and his most recent, Letter to You.

Watching Springsteen on Broadway was like hearing an old friend and re-reading an old book. It took me back to days when I put myself on Thunder Road and wanted to go on an endless drive. It sure helped that back then the first Mad Max film had come out so I wanted to drive out to these Wastelands and Badlands.

Like Bruce, there were moments -- the stories he recounted -- that moved me to tears. I guess, the pangs of growing up do that to ya.

And yet, I have embraced all the good and bad hurt as it has defined who I am today.

No matter what it was at that time, I found myself smiling and nodding as I watched Springsteen on Broadway.

It felt so good, I had to pull out my old records.

Now I'm on fire.

Cinema Lumiere’s debut EP out from indie Indonesian/Chinese/Greek/PH labels

 

Cinema Lumiere’s debut EP out from indie Indonesian/Chinese/Greek/PH labels

By Rick Olivares

 

This is music that you must listen to in this time of pandemic.

 

It’s wistful boy-girl harmonies set to jingle-jangle guitar pop that evoke bicycle rides in the countryside.

 

Lend your ears to the pop music alchemists Cinema Lumiere who are releasing their first extended play single, this February from a joint production by indie labels from Indonesia (Shiny Happy Records), China (Boring Productions), Greece (Mellotron Recordings), and the Philippines (Catshelf Records). 

 

The 10-inch lathe cut EP takes its name from the track, “Will You Catch Me” with its album design deliberately showing the ring wear of vinyl.

 

“This is our love letter to Sarah Records,” quipped drummer Manny Gallo who designed the package. “We just love that jangly guitar-pop sound that the English label produced.”

 

Sarah Records was famously based out of the unlikely place of Bristol, England, from 1987-1995 by Matt Haynes and Clare Wadd, who both put out records by noted acts The Field Mice, Heavenly, The Hit Parade, Boyracer, Brighter, and Blueboy among many others. 

 

Sarah records made a huge statement in 1995 when they deliberately shut down their label after putting out their 100^th release, a compilation album, There and Back Again Lane.

 

The four songs that make up the EP – “Love,” “London Tears,” “Will You Catch Me,” and Dreamcatcher,” were written and sung by Xavier Emas who recently migrated to Canada. 

 

Cinema Lumiere is now four-piece with guitarist Jon Tamayo now handling lead vocals along with bassist Sue Torrejon with Tan Evangelista on guitars, and Gallo on drums.

 

“The original plan was to record a full album,” bared Tamayo. “But when we learned that Xavier was leaving, we prioritized those songs because it represents an era of the band.”

 

Even if the songs harken back to a bygone era, Cinema Lumiere’s songs sparkle and shine more so in this pandemic and a musical climate so different from Sarah Records’ 90s heyday. Thus, they stand out.

 

“Even without Xavier, we have enough songs written from the past few years to fill up a full-length album,” clarified Tamayo. “A lot of us write songs as well.”

 

“We’re excited about this release given the label and the bands we were inspired by,” added Torrejon. 

 

“Of all the bands I have been with, this is the only one where we’ve gone to a level where we will have our music out on both vinyl and cassette (there is a limited version of it on tape). So it is exciting and I feel that we’re well on our way to following our musical heroes.”

 

Cinema Lumiere’s “Will You Catch Me” will sell for P950. Inquiries can be made through their Facebook page.