Get dressed. Get a drink. Go dance. Rinse. Repeat. For someone who parties for work (one of the perks of being an editor here at When in Manila) and for fun (because who doesn’t?), parties start to bleed into each other—and not just because of the Grey Goose. All your supersaturated groupfies from last week look exactly like your supersatured groupfies from last month. Some guy calls your number, saying you met last night, and you’re not sure if he’s the half-Iranian football player or the drummer from the band playing at the gig.
So, imagine my surprise when I was invited to attend a party at the Cove Manila that promised to be “a collaboration of artists with unique passions” and will “involve people making decisions to shape the party.” Because I’m not known for jumping out of my comfort zone, I called my friends and asked them to join me that Saturday night.
DECIDIUM: A Collaboration of the Country’s Best Creatives
I first heard of this event when we did a feature on the artists involved with the project. Kookoo Ramos, an urban street artist, and Treb Monteras III who made a film called Respeto, were talking about a party they were throwing together with a couple of their friends from WSK, urban shaman Kalel Demetrio, and celebrated chef Miko Aspiras.
“You should come,” Kookoo said. “Help us set it up.” Considering the last party I tried to throw with my friends almost got half of us crying, I told Kookoo I’ll just show up and help Kalel serve drinks.
Apparently, Decidium—what they’re calling the concept—doesn’t work like that. Everything in the party is a form of collaboration between the guests and the artists, and every step of the way, your decisions make things happen.
“You have to experience it to get it,” Treb added. “You should see the new stuff I made up. It’ll star YOU.”
How Passions Taste, Sound, Look
Upon arriving at the venue, we had to pass through an installation by the sound wizards of WSK Collective. No ordinary pathway, every beam of the series of arks played a musical note. The effect foreshadows everything going to happen that night: one of constant delight and decisions.
This entire party is the manifestation of how passions taste, sound, and look. From the fish-flavored floss to the sonic playground that makes you “see music” that you create yourself, everything is about you making these decisions to pursue your passions.
“Come on, I want to hear Ransom Collective,” I said, tugging at my friend’s sleeve. She had been skipping on the steps of Soundwalk since we arrived. Another friend I have lost in Treb’s video cube, an installation where you dance your heart out and create a music video using visions made by Treb. For sure, no one missed the gigantic wall of Kookoo Ramos. A gravitating art piece spread in a canvas made of more than 2000 tees. I went home with my own exclusive piece of that wall.
We couldn’t move a few feet without bumping into someone making something. I saw an ex-boss busy coloring in a sketch by Kookoo on a large touch screen. A group was pounding on a multi-surfaced drum called the Soundbeats, whipping their hair to the rhythm blasting through the headphones linked to the installation.
I caught up with Kalel Demetrio, one of the passion collaborators, in the Flavorium—the zone dedicated to different tastes and flavours co-created with Miko Aspiras. Before indulging in the scrumptious feasts, a series of decisions you made will create an insignia—each one uniquely personalized to your decisions. Your insignia, symbolizing all your decisions, will determine the passion-crafted dessert you will get at the end of the gustatory adventure.
“Nowadays, people just eat and eat,” Chef Miko said. I was keeping up with him, but I kept getting distracted by the bowls of nuts, fruits, berries, cheeses, and other flavours on the buffet. “What I want to do is create an experience where your bowl, your plate, is something you created yourself. You decide what goes into your bowl,” he added.
“You are what you eat,” I agreed, in between mouthfuls of grilled lamb and drinks concocted from foraged ingredients.
I would have stayed longer with Kalel, he was after all, the guy in charge of the alcohol. But Miko’s King Prawn tempura and salted egg fondue was calling my name. Apparently, Miko thought, hey, why don’t we take these giant prawn tempura and dip them in silky smooth salted egg sauce? Just saying those things together bring memories of perhaps the only true culinary innovation of the new millennium: tempura, salted egg, together, on a stick. Game over, man.
Your Decisions Today Will Shape Tomorrow
The passion creators gave us an experience of what it’s like to live a life powered by our passions, enabled by the decisions we make. Your decision to pick up a can of spray paint, or to skewer a pound of beef, or to film a lover under the moonlight, will determine your life. Your decisions will help you unlock rewards you will enjoy in your life. Deciding to pick up a guitar will lead you to the centerstage. Deciding to open up to new challenges will lead to new memories.
Just like deciding on what to wear this evening will lead you to an exclusive hang-out with rapper Jeremih, the surprise guest for the night.
You may have missed on the first event this June, but stay tuned as we announce their upcoming events. You may even join the passionate artists like Kookoo, Treb, Miko, Kalel, and the WSK collective in their future projects. To know more and score invites to next collaboration events, check out decidium.ph.
