Music ‘from within’

MANILA, Philippines - They are not a group that meditates or listens to some psychic phenomena. They are called InnerVoices or I.V. basically because they wanted to convey that the kind of music they are into comes from within and conveys what’s in their hearts. Their sound is felt by listeners and it is a reflection of their craft.

InnerVoices is not really new to the music industry. The group is not newly christened either. The members have been friends for 22 years now and they’ve been creating music for a long time.

The group actually disbanded in the late ’90s and the members pursued different careers. Last year, however, the three original members — Boying, Rene and Ruben — decided to do some home recording.

Subsequently, the guys took in new singers (Nants and Alvin) to fill the void left by former members who are abroad and currently unavailable. Nants, a neighbor and basketball teammate of Boying, was invited to render vocals although he was still a member of another band. Alvin, meanwhile, is a session musician who played alongside Rene in some gigs.

“While there are relatively two new members, we can say that we carried on the tradition of the same friendship that is bound by our consistent desire to create music,” Boying says.

The new “group” recorded its first demo of the song, Find A Way, and posted it on Facebook. “The reaction of our friends was really encouraging and that led us to record our second song, Paano,” Boying offers. “The rest of the songs followed suit until we came up with an eight-song compilation album. Find A Way is the carrier single.”

The album is a reflection of its preferred genre — ’80s, ’90s and early 2000’s classic contemporaries. “It’s all about love and everything that goes around it,” says Ruben about the album. “Right now, we are into pop and ballads, but certainly in the future, we will definitely explore other genres.”

Most of the songs in the album are for easy listening. “We feel that this album will certainly be a defining moment for all of us, not just as band mates but also as individuals,” Alvin points out. “For sure, a lot will change in our individual careers after the launch and we do hope that everything will be better for us.”

Original selections in the album include Hayaan, Please Stay, Shining Armor, Buti Pa Sila, Angel in My Dreams and Sige Lang.

Merk’s will launch the CD of InnerVoices, produced by Universal Records, at 19 East in Sucat, Parañaque on Aug. 17. Special guests are Richard Merk, Arthur Manuntag, Joey San Andres, Gary Perez and surprise appearances of other artists.

Repertoire of InnerVoices for the launch will include songs by Phil Collins, Al Jarreau, Mike Francis, Tears for Fears, Christopher Cross, Duran Duran, Matchbox 20, Coldplay and Breathe.

InnerVoices members count hitmaker Vehnee Saturno as one of their mentors who guided their musicality, harmony and over-all impact in performing. Vehnee supervised the recording of the CD (hence, he is their record producer) and endorsed it to Universal Records, which exclusively distributes the album. Their other mentors are Tito Cayamanda and Joey San Andres.

Today, the members of InnerVoices also have their respective professional jobs apart from singing. Boying who plays keyboards and does back-up vocals, is a customs lawyer. Rene, who does lead guitar, is a marketing executive for a telecommunications service provider.

Ruben plays drums, percussions and does back-up vocals. He owns a company that supplies, installs and maintains security systems. Nants, who does lead vocals, is a senior engineer for a Laguna-based semi-conductor trading company. Alvin, who plays bass and does back-up vocals, is a full-time musician, being the only music major in the group.

After the album launch, InnerVoices wants to do bar tours, mall performances and even road shows in the provinces to promote its musical outing. Bound by their desire to create music, the members want to encourage people not to give up on their dreams. It took them long to realize their dream to be recording artists, but they are willing to go wherever their music leads them, one step at a time.