The story of Techy Romantics, told in a hurry

Ryan Villena had been jumping from one band to another since 1993. In 2008, he ended up in a five-man rock ensemble with Dondi Virrey, a self-proclaimed gadget freak who plays bass guitar and synthesizer.

Having shared an interest in various schools of music, Ryan and Dondi became fast friends. 

Camyl Besinga had been Ryan’s flame for seven years. An aspiring punk rock singer, she asked Ryan on many occasions to involve her in his numerous musical endeavors. At first Ryan didn’t want to mix his romantic life with his professional career, but his preference for keeping sections of his life apart from each other was not meant to be.

The three-piece band was born in a coffee shop. After tossing ideas together, the techy and the romantics went into their very first jam session.

Ryan Villena, the music industry veteran among the trio, provides valuable wisdom to the group.

Camyl was disappointed with the first few notes Dondi provided. She felt the dance music created by their newly formed band was a distance away from her punk rock dreams. Nevertheless, it was finally an opportunity to sing in a band and, even better, with Ryan.

Fast forward to a year and Out of My Mind — the Techy Romantics’ first single from their “Touch” album — is on the World Wide Web creating a buzz. 

The band has now successfully taken cues from other international acts that have established a following for themselves through online portals such as MySpace and YouTube. 

Their music, dubbed “chillectro” by Dondi, is a combination of the synthesized sound of lounge and electropop, a genre that combines electronic instruments with new wave and rock influences.

Dondi Virrey is the man behind the synthesizer, the MacBook and the creation of the Techy Romantics.

Moving from the Internet onto the stage became inevitable as fans of the Techy Romantics began to clamor for a live performance. 

This became a little bit of a challenge as the gadgets used by the Techy Romantics are alien to sound engineers at local dives, which are not normally equipped to handle more than the average garage band setup.

Though technical troubles sometimes occur, the Techy Romantics now regularly play crowd favorites such as Touch Move and 7 Years at venues around the metropolis.

In 2010, a couple of great milestones were achieved by this young trio: their Internet marketing approach landed them their first international shows in Singapore and Malaysia, and the year also marked the momentous bonding of Ryan and Camyl as husband and wife.

Romantic, indeed.

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The trio provides a multi-sensory experience that will make you tap your feet, bob your head, and dance the night away.

Watch out as the new Techy Romantics release an album in 2011. 

To know more, follow Techy Romantics on twitter.com/techyromantics or “like” their page on facebook.com/techyromantics.