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FILIPINO pop rock band Lola Amour welcomed a guest to their concert Love on Loop last week — Kokoro of the Japanese pop group PSYCHIC FEVER — who performed with them onstage for two songs.
The concert celebrated Love on Loop, the band’s sophomore album released in August. In it is their joint single with Kokoro, titled “The Moment,” which they performed with him, alongside Lola Amour’s hit single “Raining in Manila.”
For Kokoro (full name: Kohatsu Kokoro), it was an enjoyable experience recording music and rehearsing with the Filipino band.
“What I learned from Lola Amour are the strong vibes of their music and the maturity of their sound,” said Kokoro at a press conference right before the Sept. 12 concert in Makati. His answers in Japanese were translated into English by a live interpreter.
“Before recording, to get the mature vibe of their sound, I experimented with my cup of coffee and pretended it was wine in my hand,” he shared.
Lola Amour frontman Pio Dumayas added that the collaboration was a smooth experience, thanks to the Warner Music team that brought both artists together.
“I was intimidated at first, but now Kokoro is good friends with all of us,” he said.
The band even joked that the recording process for “The Moment,” which was done remotely in Japan and the Philippines, kept up their image as “a serious band” — which shattered, of course, when Kokoro finally met them in person.
For the Japanese artist, the lighthearted demeanor of Lola Amour helped him enjoy the experience of concert rehearsals.
“They have a warm aura and were very kind to me, so I’m thankful for that. It didn’t feel like a job at all. It was fun,” Kokoro said.
Both expressed an eagerness to collaborate again in the future, be it with each other or with more international artists.
The band is already doing collaborations. Aside from Kokoro, Lola Amour’s album Love on Loop, features New Zealand artist Riiki Reid on the track “One Day Away.” Mr. Dumayas explained that their attitude to working with other musicians is always “why not?”
“With this album, every song was personal to us. We wrote it by sitting down, talking about each bandmate’s experience, then writing a song,” he said.
When asked which was his favorite, he pointed to “Dance With My Mistakes” because it “deepens in the context of the other songs.”
“We’re much more ‘adult’ as a band now,” said Mr. Dumayas. “Pre-pandemic, we were just college kids with a hobby. We had to learn to be adults and to be professional, and that’s where we are now.” — Brontë H. Lacsamana
