Who got Manila Soul?

Wonderblog

MANILA, Philippines - My first memory of Bing Austria was watching his band, Technicolor Dreamcoat, performing at Fete De La Musique in 2006. Then I became a fan of his distinct vocals through the country’s premier soul act, Juan Pablo Dream, which came out with hit singles like Yeah Yeah Yeah! and Nice Place.

So after being part of premier ska and reggae bands like Put3ska and Tropical Depression, Bing Austria is now busy doing his own thing with Northern Soul right smack in the middle of Manila.

We like it rare

The Northern Soul movement started at the Wigan Casino in Wigan, Lancashire, England. You’d think gambling, but it was actually a “discotheque” — a place for dancing.

Wigan Casino was one of the trendiest clubs in the world. Hundreds of kids would come in every day, in brigades of train coaches, and sometimes, chartered planes from as far as Manchester and the northern parts of England. Every Saturday, the dance floor, which was about as big as an ice skating rink, was packed to the sides.

The Mods would also go to the clubs to buy music. They went for the obscure and rare soul records that came from America. The Mods developed a need to keep the sound unique, so the records became like collector’s items.

The clubs used to play music from the Motown label, which produced artists like The Supremes and Stevie Wonder. But when they got famous, they eventually moved on to other tastes, which led to the discovery of the now-famous Tainted Love cover by Soft Cell.

The Wigan Casino became an escape for the Mod youth from the boredom of everyday life. So aside from being picky with their music, their only escape from dreadful reality was a great love for things like clothes and dancing.

Rebels of fashion

This Mod fashion trend started in Carnaby Street, a pedestrian-friendly shopping street in the famous Soho district of London. It was the British youth’s way of rebelling against the repressed and class-obsessed mentality and “naffness.” They took it out on the drab monochromatic London fashion of white, black and gray.

The Mods wanted to be colorful. They went for the immaculate dandy look. Narrow lapel, slim tie, Clarks’ Desert Boots. The Mod has three buttons in front, double vents at the back. The pants are always a little short at the ankle.

Though not as elitist as the original Mods, even Bing believes that your socks are meant to be seen: “If you pick a pair of socks that doesn’t go well with the ensemble, your being a ‘top mod’ is suddenly in question.” To be a top mod, you have to possess savoir-faire.

“Every scooter is individualistic,” Bing explains. “Everything is accessorized. When we see a Vespa, we’d know that’s the ride of a guy we know.” The scooter became such an extension of the personality that when the law came out in England requiring side mirrors, the Mod fraternities protested by exaggerating the number of side mirrors to four or six, sometimes going as high as 30 mirrors.

David Bowie was known as a Mod before he transformed into a glam rock star. The first supermodel in the world, Twiggy, exemplified the high-fashion mod look. Stanley Kubrick’s classic film A Clockwork Orange was heavily inspired by Mod fashion and culture. Even Heath Ledger’s Joker outfit in the The Dark Knight was inspired by Carnaby Street Mod fashion.

The dancing soul

Bing explains that the Manila Soul event is a dance all-nighter: “We are here to promote the DJs who play Northern Soul music. We want people to dance.”

Northern soul dancing is almost amphetamine-induced. It is breakdancing moves and disco soul movements rolled into one. It is peculiarly characterized by the use of the pirouette, a classic ballet move, except they do it in a frantic way. I saw this crazy video of this guy who just breaks into breakneck pirouettes that make you doubt if everyone else is dancing in slow motion.

If you want to check out the dance moves, search for the YouTube video “Northern Soul - This England.” The British movie SoulBoy is also coming out soon. It is the story of “how a generation found its groove, inspired by music, liberated by dance.” It looks like a fun movie so you should check out the trailer online.

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The second Manila Soul All-Nighter will be at B-Side (an old warehouse on Malugay Street in Makati) tonight, Oct. 2, from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. It features DJs Shane Cosgrove, MikeCons, Anthony Corre, Soundblasters with a live performance by Juan Pablo Dream.

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Follow me on Twitter @PingMedina.