Rannie writes Digitation - SOUNDS FAMILIAR by Baby A. Gil

Rannie Raymundo is a singer. He made hits out of Why Can’t It Be?, Hanggang Kailan, Ating Bawiin, Nag-iisang Bituin and has recorded three albums. Rannie is a composer and arranger. In fact, he wrote and arranged most of the cuts in his albums. His song Ang Awit Mo won third prize in the Metropop songwriting competition. Rannie also plays the drums and other percussion instruments plus keyboards, bass, guitar, harmonica, flute and others.

Rannie graduated from De La Salle University with a degree in Political Science. He took up a course in Recording Engineering at the Los Angeles California Recording Workshop. He has been honored by the Young Achievers Awards and the Guillermo Mendoza Foundation and has received nominations from the Awit Awards and the Star Awards. He has won two Awit trophies for Best Dance Recording and Best Male Recording Artist.

Rannie is an actor and has appeared in various drama anthologies on television and in the movie Puwera Biro, Mahal Kita. He is a program host with experience derived from Hard Hat and Relax Lang. He is an all-around performer. Aside from singing and dancing, he is an impersonator and magician with sleight of hand tricks as his expertise.

You may now also add author to Rannie’s list of accomplishments. The pop singer recently came out with his first book, a slim volume titled Digitation: The Hand Book of Life, which was launched at UVA restaurant on T. Morato St., in Quezon City. The book is published by Earnest Tan through Spiritus Works Publication with foreword by Jim Paredes of the pop group Apo Hiking Society.

Take note that the title says Hand Book. Although Digitation can very well serve as a handbook for life, it is in truth about the language of the hands. This was doubtless inspired by Rannie’s deft way with musical instruments and magic tricks. He knows first hand what the hand and its fingers are capable of and those are the things he chose to write about.

Rannie sees the art of digitation as "the process of learning how to cope with, accept and grow with other people." This of course, is possible through the right use of the hand. The hand and its fingers can do a lot of things. The hands can be useless extremities but cupped together, they can turn into a bowl. The hands can beg, play the piano, caress, heal, steal, slap, strike, pull the trigger of a gun, give solace, a hearty massage or a simple handshake that can denote friendship or change the world.

If you want to learn more about what your hand can do and what Rannie Raymundo has to say about it, get a copy of Digitation. It might just change the way you look at people and how you deal with life.

Viva’s new Disney album

Feelings of Love, a romantic collection of ballads features well-known Filipino artists together with some of international pop music’s best. A first of its kind and expressly produced for the Valentine season, the album is made up of immortal songs from famous Disney movies and recent recordings from Viva Records’ leading talents.

Those of us who grew up singing songs from Disney animated flicks will be glad to get their hands on these excellent renditions included in Feelings of Love. Some were lifted from the original soundtracks of films like Toy Story 2 and Winnie the Pooh. Others though are interesting new versions that put a new pop spin on the old favorites.

These Disney songs are A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes by Linda Ronstadt, When She Loved Me by Sarah McLachlan, Reflection by Christina Aguilera, Your Heart Will Lead You Home by Kenny Loggins, So This is Love by James Ingram, Someday by Eternal, He is in You by Tina Turner, No Importa La Distancia, the Spanish version of the theme from Hercules, I Will Go the Distance sang here by Latin heartthrob Ricky Martin and a soulful So This is Love by James Ingram.

The Filipino talents featured in the album are Freestyle, who performs This Time; Zsa Zsa Padilla who has One Chance with You; Regine Velasquez with I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing and Holiday; Pops Fernandez with Just When I Needed You Most; Kuh Ledesma and her version of Miles Away and Lani Misalucha with One More Time.