My first encounter with Bontoc was through Google maps. Our intention of going to the area was for Sagada and Maligcong, Bontoc was the entry point to our destinations. I didn't know what to make of it then except that it's small and has a huge river in between. Arriving, I was half-asleep that I didn't see the bus enter the city until the driver stopped and said we had arrived. It was only when we got to walk around a bit did I get an air of nostalgia. It was was as if I was walking in the streets of Luang Prabang, Laos. The city is situated in the middle of a valley surrounded by mountain ranges with a wide river passing through its center, dividing the city into two. The low and laid-back population gave it a charm, but their habit of spitting chewed up betel nuts made the streets look unhygienic as blots of red are stained all over the city. It sort-of became our game, to spot the biggest spits and just laugh at figuring out how huge some got. Two main streets cut through the heart of the city, and at its center is the plaza. At most, it's a walking distance to everything you need to see within the city center (just a lot of incline walks though,) and just beyond are smaller barangays that possess a quaintness of their own.
I've always had a love-hate relationship with OPM's; it's either I hate it or I love it. This, I absolutely love. The collaboration of the three beautifully-voiced-artists is something that makes me excited about the local music scene. Johnoy Danao is someone I admired since I first heard his voice on a commercial. His songs has this quality that hits home, you know, the one that makes you say it's Filipino music. His melodies and voice makes you want to chill on a hammock made of rattan, and sway yourself under a mango tree. Ebe Dancel is also another singer who I most especially liked during his first Sugarfree album way back in high school, and is actually the brother of one of my former bosses...I just didn't get to connect the dots as to why they sort-of look alike and have the same family name until I left the company. One day I saw an FB post of the two together, and that's when it hit me. Shunga! As for Bullet Dumas, it's the first time I heard him sing in this video...and I have to admit I hated his voice at first because it's so different from the two that I sort of didn't get it. That was until I peeked into his solo performances that I got into learning to really like his voice. His style is unique, and quite frankly hard to blend with other singers, but when he sings solo, it sort of has this ethnic-shaky-vibe to it that resembles with old folk singers. Something to appreciate, the uniqueness of his tone. As for the song Burnout, it simply talks about love that's falling apart because of a relationship burnout. And of course, there's always one who will hurt more than the other.
