Reggae artist Dominic Gamboa, also known as Papadom, founding leader of the band Tropical Depression, passed away Wednesday morning. He would have turned 48 this Thursday, December 19.
According to his friend, InterAksyon Infotek Editor Jing Garcia, the family did not disclose the cause of Gamboa’s death and had requested for two days of privacy before announcing details on how friends and fans can pay their last respects to the singer-songwriter.
Papadom started his musical career as one of the members of a short-lived punk band called Absolute Zero that was one of the performers of the “Brave New World” concert series organized during the early 1980s by punk musician turned talent manager Tommy Tanchanco.
Gamboa became more well-known as the frontman of the seminal punk band Betrayed after original lead singer Eddie Siojo left the band to migrate to the US.
From Betrayed, Gamboa later moved on to front the ska band The Skalawags where he penned an original tune called “Hoy Juan” that became a cult classic among fans.
But it wasn’t until he embraced reggae and formed Tropical Depression that he established his niche for most of the 1990s. Among the albums the band recorded in various incarnations are “Kapayapaan”, “Aabot Din Tayo” and “Paraisong Pinangako”.
At the height of their popularity, the band also scored hit singles like “Bilog Na Naman ang Buwan”, their remake of a folk song originally written and recorded by Isagani Ibarra, and their best known song, the anthemic “Kapayapaan”.
The song best exemplifies Gamboa’s propensity for writing socially conscious songs, which was similar also to the musical direction taken by his reggae hero, Bob Marley.
source: interaksyon.com
