Shhh, listen up! It sounds like Rayyn! (Part I)

"Do we really wanna give that? Do we wanna give the showbiz age?" chortles Rayyn, when asked to give us his age – among other specifics.

Rayyn (that’s "rain") is 29 years old, is local music industry’s latest recruit into the indie fold and is anything but showbiz. He doesn't have the artista demeanor, the prefabricated answers, the grandstand declarations of doing it all "for the love of God and music." Instead, Rayyn is soft-spoken but the edge is in his words. It’s hard to miss the intelligence and wit in his conversation. He has something to say btu would rather make his expanding list of musical accomplishments speak for itself.

With no formal musical training, he formed the band Rayyn. Its first album was released last August, with him playing all-around roles: lead vocals, bass, keyboards, as well as being the resident lyricist, composer, and producer. He has a consistent group to work with, like guitarist Eric Villadelgado and drummer Boyet Aquino, but Rayyn has the leeway to play with other performers. The setup is like that of Sting, who has his own music and can perform as a solo artist but can also work and collaborate with other musicians if he wants to.

Rayyn comes from Raymond, and is spelled "Rayyn" for good luck—some feng shui and numerology thing. His self-titled album is a collection of 15 original songs that tackle personal issues that everybody can relate to. It is pensive, thoughtful, yet not too contrived that it alienates the audience with too much heaviness or philosophy. For the sake of labeling, his music is in the genre of indie-folk-pop-rock. Indie, pop, these are loosely-used terms nowadays. It would be so easy to get lost in the sea of aspiring musicians all trying to woo discerning listeners and consumers. So what makes Rayyn, the man and the music, different? Read on and you decide.

Give us a brief background of yourself.

After graduating from Ateneo in 1994, I left for London to work in an insurance company. After the year ended, I decided to come home because I really missed the Philippines. From there, I dabbled in advertising, and then when that didn’t work, I joined the family business. But my underlying love for music just had to come out eventually.

How did you start getting involved in music?

I was already very interested in music when I was around 14 years old. I started out playing the drums when I was in 7^th grade. My older brother Mike got me to start playing drums for his band and from there, I started to pick up the electric guitar, and then eventually, learned to play piano. The funny thing was that I’d really get tamad to play the drums but brother would force me. Eventually, I got into it and I guess I got better because I was the youngest member of their band. Different members would come and go, this went on til he was in college. My brother met Francis Brew (Reyes of The Dawn) and he formed a band with Francis and some of their friends. I’d play the drums for them while I’d be in high school and they were in college.

Why didn’t you pursue it as a career early on if you were really into it?

It was treated more of a hobby, more for fun, playing in school concerts, stuff like that. Even when I was in London, on weekends I really got bored; I’d jam with these English musicians. I’d go to rehearsals but I never played in actual gigs because I went back home, I didn’t stick it out with the bands.

What are you influences?

I got more influenced by the music I heard growing up in the ‘80s more than anything else. I’m like a sponge, I absorb different kinds of music, I remember all the notes of a song. I may not know the title of the song, but if you play it for me, chances are, I’ll be able to play along, whether it’s the guitar part, the bass or the drums. I can’t read notes, but I guess I have a good ear. I hear music in my head all the time—if I’m lying in bed, or at night-time, morning, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t have to hear any external stimuli, like other writer. The challenge for me is be able to record or lay down the ideas I have in my head faster than I can think them up.

(To be continued…)