Half Life Half Death

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Half Life Half Death in 1995, Pet, Bimbo, Rain, Ramil, aLfie

Half Life Half Death, or The Halves, was an obscure Filipino Alternative Rock / New Wave band that existed from 1988 to 2003.

1 Formation
2 Style
3 Recent Updates
4 The Halves
- 4.1 Original members
- 4.2 Ensuing members
5 Discography
6 External links

[edit] Formation

Half Life Half Death was originally formed in 1988 by five highschool students of Sta. Clara Parish School in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

[edit] Style

Half Life Half Death inevitably derived its musical style from its main influences, mostly British bands which became popular in the Philippines, especially in Metro Manila, during the members' highschool days, in the 1980s; bands that included The Cure, Depeche Mode, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Lotus Eaters, The Smiths, U2, Violent Femmes, and The Wild Swans.

Many Filipino Alternative-music enthusiasts fondly remember Half Life Half Death for its quirky remake of "High School (Life)," a '70s Pop song written by the Filipino composer George Canseco for the Filipina actress/singer Sharon Cuneta. Half Life Half Death's version of the song was a concert favorite among the underground-music crowd of the late 1980s. It eventually achieved commercial popularity when the band recorded it for a compilation album released in 1995 by Vicor Records. The song enjoyed heavy airplay on various FM radio stations, further helping Half Life Half Death gain some more following and land a record deal with Viva Records.

Half Life Half Death attained commercial popularity among Filipino Alternative Rock enthusiasts when their independently recorded single "Alimango" became #1, in 1994, on the now-defunct FM radio station DWLA 105.9, which promoted unsigned Filipino Rock bands. This achievement paved the way to the band's inclusion in four compilation albums: "Kapit-Tukô" for A Dozen Alternatives (1994, Viva Records), "Sa Paskong Darating" for Christmas on the Rocks (1994, Viva Records), "High School (Life)" for Mga Himig Natin Volume 2 (1994, Vicor Records), and "Nosi Ba Lasi? (Lala's mix)" for the original soundtrack of the movie Okey Si Ma'am (1995, Viva Records).

In 1995, Half Life Half Death finally recorded and released its debut album, Pymyth Prahn, under Viva Records. Despite the commercial quality and the lush concept of the album, the band failed to achieve commercial status and soon disbanded; with the members concentrating on each of their actual professions. The album spawned a few cult favorites that included "Butterflies," "Brother's Pen," and "We Are the Saints"; but "High School (Life)" remained their most popular song.

Half Life Half Death reformed and resumed activity in 2000 especially at Mayric's, a long-running club which served as a breeding ground for many important Filipino Rock bands which include Alamid, Sugar Hiccup, and The Youth. The band also began arranging new materials for a possible second album; but the plans were shelved when its vocalist went to Canada in 2003. However, before finally wrapping up a 15-year obscure career, Half Life Half Death released an independently produced double-CD compilation of all recorded materials plus a few demos, entitled The Halven Trilogy, the third part of which the band intends to finish and release on their vocalist's return to the Philippines in 2007.

Fans of the band regard Half Life Half Death as "The Cure of the Philippines," chiefly because of their strong and honest reference to their New Wave roots and certainly for the uncompromising style of their vocalist, whose sense of fashion virtually never changed from day one through the band's demise in 2003.

[edit] Recent Updates

Late 2005 saw interesting musically related developments concerning Half Life Half Death key members aLfie vera mella, Rainald Paggao, and Ramil Aznar, each of whom has embarked on a new musical project of his own.

[edit] haLf man haLf eLf

aLfie vera mella, now based in Canada, formed a band aptly named haLf man haLf eLf, which is currently finishing its first album, an EP entitled The Woes of Emong Payaso (independent label: eLf ideas / Kalabasa Records). This will carry the single "Parang karnabal--ganyan ang buhay ng tao." haLf man haLf eLf remains loyal to the style for which Half Life Half Death was known--New Wave with a touch of the technical instrumentation of Classical music and Progressive Rock.

[edit] The Rain

Based in the Philippines, Rainald Paggao collaborated with his brother, JB, and formed The Rain, releasing its first album, entitled Girl in Mind (2006, independent label). The Rain's music is reminiscent of classic '80s Alternative Rock / New Wave bands the likes of The Cutting Crew, The Railway Children, and Flesh for Lulu. Aside from involving himself on this project, Paggao remains to be the guitarist of Dead Pop Stars, another currently active Filipino New Wave band which many Alternative-music enthusiasts regard as "the ultimate The Smiths tribute band of the Philippines."

[edit] Dream Kitchen (Mark II)

Also based in the Philippines, Ramil Aznar is now the front person (vocalist/guitarist) of Dream Kitchen's reincarnation, whose current members include Dream Kitchen originators Aldrin Cardona (guitars) and Gilbert Tiongson (drummer), both of whom also became members of Half Life Half Death during its final days. Dream Kitchen's first commercial release, "16 Hours," can be found in the compilation album entitled 8 Track (2005). The band's music takes on the sound of Alternative Rock / Britpop bands such as Radiohead, This Perfect Day, and Weezer. Dream Kitchen's professionally produced music video of "16 Hours" was nominated for the "Music Video of the Year" category in the 2006 MTV Philippines Music Awards.

[edit] The Halven Story

In conjunction with the upcoming debut album of haLf man haLf eLf, vocalist aLfie vera mella intends to release this as an epic package (known as The Halven Story) which will include a newly enhanced and redesigned The Halven Trilogy music of Half Life Half Death (commercially released songs and previously unreleased studio recordings) and a redesigned Girl in Mind of The Rain (retitled as Songs for Moonlit Nights, which includes a version of Seona Dancing's "More to Lose," showcasing a long-distance collaboration of Paggao (who rendered the guitar tracks in the Philippines) and Mella (who recorded the vocal and keyboard tracks in Canada).