In High Spirits

STATUS Magazine July 2011

Note: Published in STATUS Magazine's July 2011 issue.

Allan Lumba, also known as the one-man band MULTO, is more freaked out by cockraoches than his namesake. But he's not really talking about the floating specters when he thought up his name.

Having spent most of his life in San Francisco, it was only when he moved to the Philippines that he started learning Tagalog, and one of the words that struck him was "multo" (ghost). "I always loved the idea of haunting," he says, "the way the past can never really be left behind." Like most ghosts, too, he was uncertain where to move forward to.

But that doesn't mean he isn't going places.He's currently under Number Line Records, a fresh record label capitalizing on free digital releases to launch Filipino music artists and their music worldwide.

Reminiscent of the early 2000s pop music era,  Multo's lo-fi pop is influenced by the likes of Built to Spill, Quasi, and Modest Mouse. A literature geek himself, Multo is greatly affected by paradoxes. Most of his songs are generally upbeat, but the lyrics reflect his somber side. His EP, Footnote to Youth, is based from the National Artist Jose Garcia Villa's last piece before switching to poetry , and trails along its themes like desire, doubts, nostalgia, and Allan adds, "the inability to communicate...what one's feeling."

As seen in STATUS Magazine's July 2011 issue with The Misshapes on the cover.
The artists under Number Line Records are fairly young, but rest assured,
they're bringing Filipino music to new heights.

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Last I heard was that Multo held his last gig in the Philippines in BigSkyMind shortly before leaving for Portland. I told you he was going places. 

He was the first local music artist that I've ever interviewed and it was really nice to have a conversation with such an intellectual person. Here's an outtake of my interview with Allan Lumba aka Multo: http://statusmagonline.com/features/multo-coming-to-haunt-interview

Check out his artist profile on Number Line Records' website: http://numberlinerecords.com/artists/multo-ap

Also, take time to listen to this single of his, entitled "Leave the Garden Growing." It was on loop for some time on my iPod. Yup, it's that nice! Perfect soundtrack for those random road trips.