Often described as the The Beatles of the Philippines, the Eraserheads were more than just the country's seminal rock band of the 1990s. For more than a decade until their surprise disbandment in April 2002, the iconic quartet of Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcus Adoro composed the collective soundtrack of an entire nation, hitting a nerve in every Filipino youth.
"By the early 1990s, there was this new generation of young [Filipino] listeners who were looking for role models to call their own ... the 1990s was the antithesis of the 1980s, glam and anything flamboyant was out and the kids were craving for something more real and honest," wrote the entertainment journalist Bong Godinez, the author of the Eraserheads Saga: The Making and Unmaking of a Rock n' Roll Dream.
"And that's what the Eraserheads came to offer. Aside from the straightforward lyrics and catchy tunes, the image of Ely, Raimund, Buddy and Marcus wearing T-shirts, jeans and trainers held the young listeners captive. With [their] ruggedness and irreverent attitude, the Eraserheads were a breath of fresh air in the midst of well-groomed balladeers and suave crooners."
Taking their name from the American director David Lynch's 1977 horror film Eraserhead, the four band members met in 1989, during their college days at the University of the Philippines in Manila. In their spare time, the newly formed student group did the rounds of gigs at several local universities ("So we could attract girls," they admitted in an interview years later), playing mostly covers. Disillusioned by how poorly they remade the songs of international artists, they decided to write their own original music.
In 1990, Eraserheads landed a regular gig at the legendary nightclub Club Dredd, then Manila's live music hotspot, where they quickly established a cult following and an impressive fan base. But their hastily arranged demo album, Pop-U, faced continual rejection from the country's major record labels, until BMG Records eventually took notice of their catchy, hook-filled tracks.
When BMG finally released their debut album Ultraelectromagneticpop! in 1993, it was a smash hit - and Eraserheads mania was born.
In the span of their 13-year career, Eraserheads produced nine groundbreaking albums that sold more than a million copies, turned out more than 24 chart-topping singles and won every industry award imaginable - including the MTV Asia Viewer's Choice Award in 1997, making them the first Filipinos to receive the coveted Moon Man trophy.
What explains the band's enduring appeal? "The reasons are simple: no other band has made an impression and impact as big as [they have] on the [Filipino] music scene," says Eric Perpetua, the station manager of the Manila-based FM radio station Jam 88.3, who produced the band's 2005 tribute album.
"No other band has captured every colour - from A to D - in the demographic rainbow. No other band is as witty, cheeky, spunky and as Filipino when it comes to lyrics. No one comes close to the Eraserheads, then and now."
"From chasing an object of desire in Ligaya, to the bittersweet side of romance in Pare Ko, to the melancholy of losing a loved one in Ang Huling El Bimbo, their songs transcend time," says the music writer Severino Soriano. "For every Filipino who came of age in the 1990s, they symbolised our hunger to be heard. We could relate to their music. Their lyrics stirred our emotions. They were fun, sharp, somewhat cynical and very real."
Next month marks the 11th year since Eraserheads parted ways. But like any band whose bid for immortality has been hugely successful, their music continues to course through the veins of the Philippine generation they defined.
Eraserheads's reunion show, part of the du World Music Festival, will be held on Thursday at the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre. Doors open at 6pm and the show starts at 9pm. Tickets, from Dh125, are available at www.du.ae/wmf and www.timeouttickets.com
artslife@thenational.ae
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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