To whom shall we draw our strength from? The story behind our song "Strength I Need"

 

 

This January 16, 2025, we are set to release a new song. A 20th Anniversary re-recording of our song called "Strength I Need". Strength I Need is one of the hidden gems from our debut album that features an upbeat melody with some funky guitars thrown in. It wasn't given much attention because back then, single releases were only limited to a couple of songs that you send to mainstream radio to help promote an album. And we settled for the songs "My Love Song" (carrier single), Earthbound Angel (a fan favorite), and A Brand New Day (which gained radio charts placement in our hometown Cagayan De Oro City). But with the advent of Digital Music Streaming, now we don't have to be limited to mainstream radio submissions for the song to be heard by a larger audience. So this accords us a much easier opportunity to give each songs a space to shine. And we believe Strength I Need is one of those songs that deserves the spotlight. 

The song is one of two songs in the album that I wrote that came from one of my personal conversations with Jesus Christ wherein I visualized myself traveling to the past during the passion and death of Jesus Christ (Repentance was the other one). When I wrote the lyrics of this song, I was kind of talking to Jesus during the time of his flagellation when he was condemned to die on the cross. Back then, I visualized my self to being present in the moment that led to his eventual crucifixion and death. I needed to understand the gravity of his sacrifice so that I would have a deeper understanding of how much he loves us. Of course, there are moments in the testimonies in the Bible when Jesus himself questioned God, the Father, why he had forsaken him. And this conversation was my attempt to tell him that there was a bigger meaning for his sufferings. And that God has a greater plan for him. Hence, if you would read the lines of the song, you'd see that I was trying to give Jesus (not that he needs it) encouragement to go on. 

But while the words I wrote here are clearly conversation that I had with Jesus, I also would like to emphasize that the message of the song also relates to our friends and the people at large who are carrying their own crosses. Because while some of us might be struggling in the lowest point of our lives, our personal stories and resilience can also be a source of strength to another. And just as when God redeemed Jesus in the end, when we put our complete trust and faith in Jesus, he will also carry us and redeem us through his love and the life that he gave up to save all of us. And this should be what keeps us going. That we should be able to remind ourselves that all these trials and sufferings that we are facing in our daily life is something that Jesus also once faced (albeit in much harsher conditions). And he had redeemed us all by dying on the cross. We could choose to carry our own personal crosses no matter how heavy it is, and triumph over it and make it as our testimony of God's love for us. Which can also become a source of strength and inspiration for another. But one will always wonder how? How can we redeem ourselves from the sufferings that we face?

And that's where this line comes in:

I didn't write these lines. These were late additions done by Wilbert as he was composing the music of the song. This is one of those perfect examples wherein during my shortages of words, Wilbert can be that complimentary voice who knows how and when to complement my deficiencies in songwriting. And I believe these lines was what eventually proved to be the heart and soul of the song. While it will always be human nature to rely on our own strength and capacities. And during moments when we are having our own tough times, we'd easily yield and surrender. We should only look up to Jesus and how he lived his life. To find strength and inspiration from it. And have a firm foundation of our Faith in Jesus. To truly believe that only Jesus can redeem us. And all it takes is to come and accept him as the only master of our life, then we can easily deal with our problems in stride. And utilize our personal testimonies of our encounters with God's love to help inspire our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. That the only truth that is worth believing in is that God loves us and that he has already foretold his promise of redemption.  

I think that's the only goal why I decided to share this personal conversation that I had with Jesus and turn it into song form with Thoughts And Notions. Now 20 years later, we're giving it a new life by re-recording it and making the song more beautiful than the original version (though I have some personal favorites from that old version). I truly believe that this new version will bring out the best of the message that we wanted to share. So we hope you could pre-save the song and give the song a listen. And join us as we declare that only in God shall we draw our strength from. And this is one story that is worth sharing to everyone that feels all hope is lost.

Pre-save the song here: https://bfan.link/strength-i-need   

       

Looking back on the year that was...

This year, one of the things that we sought out to do was to build our Youtube Channel by releasing lyric videos that you could sing along to. We have always been about the heart of the message and we feel that being actually able to read the words itself will help impact the message that we wanted to share thru our songs. So we asked for Mary Ozaraga's (a very talented Christian Artist herself) help in creating beautifully produced music videos that suit the song's mood. With her help, we were able to release three lyric videos, namely, Savior, A Love So Real, and Brand New Day. Countdown to Forever was self-made. And I kinda accepted that my video editing skills are limited and it would be better to commission someone to produce one for us. And you could plainly see the improvements done when we asked Mary to help us produce our lyric videos. So we're hoping that we could build on what we started this year on our YouTube channel as we look forward to 2026. Hopefully we can upload all of the lyric videos from our full song catalogue so that you guys can sing along to our songs.  

To recap, early this year we officially released the comeback single with our long-time vocalist Thrina Dimaano Escaño. “Countdown to Forever” was the song that marked our longtime vocalist and co-founder of the band Thrina Dimaano’s formal return to the band. While the song is devoid of the energetic sound that was a staple of our old songs from when we were younger, it nevertheless showed a glimpse of the maturity of the band’s new musical direction. Calmer, introspective, and perhaps wiser? The song would be the first song that Wilbert Raagas Tan and I have written in years with Thrina in mind to deliver the vocals. I wrote the lyrics of the song just when I was in a personal crossroads if continuing to write and produce music was still something that I wanted to do. And I wouldn't have made the decision to continue it without the co-founders of Thoughts And Notions making a joint decision to re-join me in this pursuit. Personally, there's no other way to continue Thoughts And Notions if it wouldn't be with Wilbert and Thrina. “Countdown to Forever” is a sort of declaration from the band that we are back for good and here to stay for the long haul. The song is a back to our roots approach, drawing influences from the era when we started the band while also updating our sound with a modern twist. We also took a conscious effort to double down on our positive themed Christian Faith based lyrics that aims to uplift wounded souls with our brand of music. And the song expresses that firm resolve to commit our life to God in spite of the turbulent waves coming our way. We believe that the song is the perfect comeback vehicle for us as we are reinvigorated to restart the mission that we've started 20 years ago. 

But instead of releasing new songs, we decided to revisit our debut album from 2006 called "In Awe of His Amazing Love". Since it's going to be the 20th anniversary of the album next year, we decided to re-record the album and give it an updated version. And the first song that we decided to re-record was the song "Savior". “Savior” was one of the first songs that we’ve ever written when we started this Thoughts And Notions project. At that time, there were no expectations or any plans except to just write this song as our way for praising and worshiping God. 20 years later, we decided to update the song by improving the sound elements and added new textures to the song.  We released the updated version of the song during the Holy Week this year while hoping that the song will live on for a new generation of listeners to discover… and hopefully to find God during their times of trouble and uncertainties. The original version had a more edgier sound to it. Giving it a more "rock" music feel with the heavy electric guitars. The new one however featured a lot more layered keyboards. Giving the praise and worship song more at home for Praise and Worship use in churches. We took inspiration for this direction from the time when the original version was used in different churches for their Praise and Worship activities. So we're hoping that this new version would be even more conducive for Praise and Worship use.  

 

The next song we released was “A Love So Real”. This was the song that surprisingly made it to Spotify’s New Music Friday Philippines Playlist. And we are thankful for the opportunity that this playlist placement gave it a wider audience reach. “A Love So Real” is a song that we hope pierces through the heart of our listeners as we speak about the truth that we have always been loved. That our failures, inadequacies, dark days, could not match the love that was promised to us by our savior Jesus Christ. That is the gist of the song, and we hope that the song would heal wounds being experienced by the loveless and the hopeless. The song is the third song that got featured on Spotify’s Official New Music Friday playlist (Beloved Savior and What Real Christmas Means to Me were the previous ones). With another song called “FREE” being featured on Spotify’s Fresh Finds Philippines Playlist. This 20th anniversary re-recording of the song features improved production and musicality that doubles down on our 90’s pop/rock roots. Drawing influences from popular female pop/rock acts of the late 90’s to early 2000’s, the song is like a time machine ride for our listeners who had grown up to the music of their youth as they head on to their mid-life adventures. I think this song would basically represent the sound that Wilbert is going to produce for the other songs in this album. Because while the songs in this album's basic melodies were from 2006, there's a conscious effort to modernize the re-recordings. Perhaps make it sound nostalgic while also introducing some of the best music influences that we had from that era to the current audience.

 

And that's where "Brand New Day" comes in. This was the last song that we released this year. We were supposed to release the song this December as a bridge to the New Year, which we feel the song is a perfect theme. But we encountered some delays in the recordings of our other songs due to the earthquake and typhoons that ravaged Cebu. Thrina, who is now based in Cebu, had to delay the recordings as she focused on her family after all the calamities subsided. And since "Brand New Day" was already finished, we decided to just release it last September. This was also during the time when our country was facing with the flood control corruption scandal. So the devastating events of the typhoon and the calamities coupled with the corruption of the ghost projects and substandard flood control structures felt so deflating. So we thought that maybe it was the right time to release the song. At least to help remind our fellow Filipinos that there will always be hope that a Brand New Day brings. I also guested on Jam 88.3's MONDO Manila program to reintroduce the band to the radio listening public. It was a decision I made as I feel it was the right time to talk about our music to Manila's radio listeners. And we submitted Brand New Day for their radio's regular playlist consideration. And months after the song premiered on Jam 88.3, and after being on their radio's regular playlist rotation, we've been getting quite a considerable number of SHAZAM's for this song. So I guess we've made a successful attempt at making this song relevant and interesting to the current generation.   
 

So what's in store for 2026? We're diligently finishing the recordings for the 20th Anniversary Edition of our debut album "In Awe of His Amazing Love". We're dropping a new single this January and followed up by another one on February. So you'll have to look out which song these are. We just can’t wait to finish the entire album and share it with you guys. So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for joining us in our journey this year. You guys continue to inspire us to write and produce more songs in line with our mission to “help uplift wounded souls” with our brand of music! We wouldn’t be here without your valuable support! Do revisit our full song catalogue on these links:

 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6i9X1vKsBAUjGqFPmRWXgy?si=cc8mUmiGSYC2NOx-9uZ0pg

 

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thoughtsandnotions?si=F5XVR1MlY1AgN2Cm

 

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/thoughts-and-notions/1590631542

 

 

To God be the Greater Glory!

PRESS RELEASE: Thoughts And Notions brings a new reason to hope with “BRAND NEW DAY”

 

Cagayan de Oro Power-Pop Christian Band Thoughts And Notions has released their latest single called “BRAND NEW DAY” a reimagining of their old song of the same name from 20 years ago. This is their third release this year that re-imagines old songs from their 2006 debut album “In Awe of His Amazing Love”. “Brand New Day” was released as our country is in the midst of a difficult challenge when all hope seems lost. The band reinforces their belief in their Christian Faith thru this song, encouraging their listeners to never lose hope and just look forward to another day where God has promised that his love will help see us through during our difficult times. And it will all start once we learn to acknowledge that the only key to a full life is when we start learning to tread the path that Jesus once took and to follow in his footsteps.

The original version of this song once charted in Cagayan de Oro’s 89.3 Killer Bee FM Radio’s (a local affiliate of Magic 89.9) Local Vocal top 10 charts. Formally introducing the band to Cagayan de Oro’s independent music scene. Now 20 years later, the core songwriters (Jasper and Wilbert Tan) had updated the song to feature a fuller sound (with Thrina's now matured vocals) with more layers added to the song. Making it sound new yet retaining the catchy melody that is a trademark of the song. Giving the song a worthy update that they hope could connect to a new generation of listeners. Just two months ago, the previously released single called “A Love So Real” made it to Spotify’s Official New Music Friday Playlist, giving their refreshed sound more opportunities to be heard by Spotify users. The band has built on that opportunity to continue making music and try to represent not only Cagayan de Oro, but also to introduce to Filipino audiences (and the world at large) that Christian Contemporary Music in the Philippines is very much alive and active.

The band had reunited earlier this year with their co-founder and chief vocalist Thrina Dimaano as they renewed their mission to “help uplift wounded souls” with their brand of music. That mission continues to be their driving force as they continue to write and produce songs that are rooted in their Christian Faith and their faith stories. There’s also an inside story of their song artwork that features a snap shot of Jasper’s family during their first outing post covid pandemic. An image that perfectly symbolizes our freedom from the dreaded pandemic. Truly encapsulating the meaning of the song thru the image where the whole world was offered a BRAND NEW DAY to live in freedom once more. To date, Thoughts And Notions has released three full length albums amounting to more than 30 plus songs. Their full song catalogue can be listened on Spotify, Youtube Music, Apple Music, and on all your favorite digital music streaming platforms worldwide!

 

A LOVE SO REAL debuts on SPOTIFY's Official New Music Friday Philippines Playlist!

 

With our third song released for this year, our latest one finally made it to SPOTIFY's Official New Music Friday Playlist! "A Love So Real" is an updated version of our classic song from some 20 years ago. We've updated it to suit the modern times as we sing about that ONE TRUE LOVE that we all should have in our lives. This 20th anniversary re-recording of our old track now features improved production and musicality that doubles down on our 90’s pop/rock roots. Drawing influences from popular female pop/rock acts of the late 90’s to early 2000’s, the song is like a time machine ride for our listeners who had grown up to the music of their youth as they head on to their mid-life adventures. We've recently made a comeback early this year, releasing new tracks as we continued on our journey to “help uplift wounded souls” with our brand of music. As our story goes, we started our humble beginnings as part of our Church’s music ministry before we decided to come up with an album full of songs and donated the proceeds to our Church’s youth ministry. The album called “In Awe of His Amazing Love” was recorded as a raw and honest love letter that talks about our journey with our Christian Faith. Since then we've been active in the local music scene (mostly in our hometown Cagayan de Oro) but went on a long hiatus in 2009, just at the heels after being nominated in the prestigious 2009 edition of the NU Rock Awards under the category of college band of the year.   

 

Now 20 year later, we are retreading our steps as we revisit that album. Working with a now matured Thrina's vocal chops and Wilbert's improved musicality that reworks the songs from that album for the new generation of listeners. “A Love So Real” is the second one on the list, and it followed from the recently released Praise and Worship track called “Savior”, which was also part of the aforementioned album. With the advent of digital streaming music, we are working to improve our production values as we work on expanding our national (and global) reach as a regional band from Cagayan de Oro. Banking on our mission to “help uplift wounded souls” with our brand of music, “A Love So Real” is a song that pierces through the heart of our listeners as we speak about the truth that we have always been loved. That our failures, inadequacies, dark days, could not match the love that was promised to us by our savior Jesus Christ. That is the gist of the song, and we hope that the song would heal wounds being experienced by the loveless and the hopeless. Which would also explain the artwork design of the song. Amidst the darkness and the hopelessness, one can only be saved when REAL LOVE is felt and experienced. Like the BIG BANG when the world began, or in Biblical history when God said "Let there be light", our song's artwork took inspiration from those stories. When light pierced through the darkness and life began. Along with life, HOPE was born. And a covenant was made.

As for the recording process, "A LOVE SO REAL" had been in constant evolution since its inception from way back in 2006. Originally titled "BETRAYAL", it was written as an emo song in the veins of Dashboard Confessional's emo charged songwriting, but was later on transformed into a more hopeful and positively charged song. Originally it bore the line "Betrayed by a love so real..." but was consciously changed to "I'm saved by a love so real..." It was originally a break up love song, but changes were made that rather than talk about the story behind the break up, the band's lyricist decided to talk about the process of how he was saved by an extraordinary love that one can only find in God. 20 years later, the message of the song still rings true to this day. As more and more people try to look for acceptance and love during this time of uncertainty and hopelessness, we decided to revitalize this song by improving its overall quality. Drawing roots from our influences of an era that brought about empowered female artists such as Natalie Imbruglia, Jewel, Chantal Kreviazuk, Paula Cole, and other such artists. We're still over the moon with how this updated version of the song turned out and sounded extra nostalgic. Apart from this being an updated 20th Anniversary version of the song, the 90’s pop/rock elements sprinkled all over the song is strongly influenced by the 90's to 2000’s female pop/rock artists. While the original version was more foreboding and darker (which drew inspiration from the original “emo” lyrics influenced by Chris Carrabba/Dashboard Confessional's songwriting). Which we then discarded and came up with a more hopeful lyrics. So Wilbert never really worked on blending the sound with the new lyrics.... until now! And this one right here fits perfectly.

We hope to take our listeners through a recipe of timeless songs that influenced us to come up with this song. Hoping that the song could bridge their journey from hopelessness to finding hope in this troubled times. So we'd really be happy if our listeners could join us in our journey with this new version of the song and ride the time machine with us.

You can listen to the song on this link: 

https://bfan.link/a-love-so-real

 

P.S. 

This is our third song that got featured on Spotify’s Official New Music Friday playlist ("Beloved Savior" and "What Real Christmas Means to Me" were the previous ones). With another song called “FREE” being featured on Spotify’s Fresh Finds Philippines Playlist.

We're re-imagining our first ever Praise and Music track for the Lenten season!

 

 

We are re-imagining an old song that we wrote from way back in 2005. Our first ever Praise and Worship track just in time for the Lenten Season. We've added new textures to the song as well as updating it for the current generation of listeners. Fresh from our reunion announcement and the release of our brand new single “Countdown to Forever” last January, we are gearing up for a special new song release this Lenten season. It’s been 20 years since the band started our foray in the local music scene and this latest comeback attempt inspired us to re-imagine our first ever Praise and Worship track called “Savior”. Savior was the first ever Praise and Worship track that we recorded from way back in 2004 for our debut album “In Awe of His Amazing Love”, a 10-track album that was intended as a fund-raising project for our Church. The album featured a then 15 year old Thrina Dimaano, our lead vocalist, making her first attempt at recording an album full of songs. Assisted by me (chief lyricist), and the band’s lead guitarist Wilbert Tan, the album was mostly an amateur effort from the three of us, mostly inspired by our background as part of our Church’s music ministry team. The album was supposed to be a stand-alone project only, until a Christian Music record label discovered us and offered us a distribution contract. This opportunity would encourage us to explore the local music scene and was able to release the album nationwide way back in 2006 in CD-format. For a time, the band became active in the CDO music scene until we went our separate ways in 2009, culminating in our nomination in the 2009 NU Rock Awards. Before we went on a hiatus, we were able to release two albums that we would later on release in the Digital Music streaming platforms last 2021. Savior is an updated version of our song from some 20 years ago. Adding new elements to the song to make it sound fresh while also highlighting our maturity as artists to ensure that the song will live on for generations to come. 20 years ago we recorded this Praise and Worship song out of our love and desire to praise and honor God. It was with no expectations but just an expression of our Faith and appreciation of God’s Love. This year, we revisited the song and re-recorded it. Giving it a fresh new sound for this generation of listeners. 

We formally reunited earlier this year, and we've decided to retrace our roots by deciding to re-record our first ever praise and worship song, as we've matured over the years. We have decided to update the song by improving the sound elements and added new textures to the song. This time with a much improved musicality and artistic maturity that sets this song for generations to come. Back then, the song “Savior” was being performed by various Churches in CDO and still enjoys radio play in Cagayan de Oro’s premier source for Positive Christian Music, The New J 103.3FM. We hope to reach out to our old listeners and reintroduce them to the rebirth of the band while banking on the nostalgia of being able to listen to an updated version of the song “Savior”. Of course, the full debut album, “In Awe of His Amazing Love” is still available for streaming and downloads on various Digital Music streaming platforms. The album as well as the new version of “Savior” is a perfect listening experience for those who are eager to celebrate their Christian Faith during this season of lent. And be reminded of God’s amazing love for us.

 

We’ve also been hiding under a rock for the past 15 years. And we’re slowly trying to come out of our shell and start performing (at least on pre-recorded videos like this video here) our songs once again. We’re trying out things which we didn’t experience back in our days (smart phones and social media wasn’t that huge yet). Hope you could join us in our next journey. Maybe encourage us more to start recording live performances. But this one here, we only did because we want to sing this Praise and Worship song for our Savior, Jesus Christ. As we remember him this season of Lent. The story of our band Thoughts And Notions started with this very first song that we wrote. And we’re retracing those steps as we move forward with our music. Looking forward to write and produce more songs not only for you, but for God as well!

Do follow our Facebook Pages for updates. Savior (the 20th Anniversary Edition) is now streaming on your favorite digital music streaming platforms:

bfan.link/savior-8

The long winding road that took us to where we are now... REUNITED!

 

Whatever happened to CDO’s Power Pop Christian Band, Thoughts And Notions?

They were one of the most hardworking bands in Cagayan de Oro, playing in small productions groups on various bar joints as well as huge concerts playing support act to some of our country’s biggest bands and artists. Then like a blip in radar, they disappeared.

The last post in their blog before the long hiatus was the news about their nomination in the 2009 NU Rock Awards under the U-Rock College band of the year category. And a few post before that, a supposed gig at Star Mall Mandaluyong before it got cancelled due to the typhoon Ondoy. Those twin events were supposed to be their introduction to Metro Manila’s music scene, perhaps a stepping stone of what’s to come next. They just had a very successful album launch in their hometown CDO a few months prior, with a record label ready to sign them and distribute their recently launched sophomore album (Love, Faith, Hope, Redemption). “I guess I pulled the plug back then because I was set to transfer to Manila and start my family there.” Jasper, the lyricist/manager of the band recalls the circumstance behind the hiatus. He would be separated with the band that was just in college in CDO back then. Like how he treats the band as a family, he would choose to prioritize starting his own family. Thoughts And Notions is very personal to him, because this was a project that was very close to his heart. As their story goes, he started the project with Wilbert Tan and Thrina Dimaano back then as a fund-raising project for their Church when they decided to record and produce a 10-track album called “In Awe of His Amazing Love.” Little did they know that a Christian Music Record label would took interest on it and signed them to a contract. Starting a Christian band wasn’t the plan, but they were encouraged to start one once a record label took interest on them. 

Wilbert however was committed to start his own sojourn to Manila with another band, but he committed to be still involved with the band at least as Jasper’s songwriting partner and the band’s producer. And while Thoughts And Notions stayed active in CDO, he would forge his own path in Manila, playing for various bands and even played/collaborated with such established rock artists such as Dong Abay, Mike Hanopol, Basti Artadi, Louie Talan among others. During the hiatus of Thoughts And Notions, Wilbert would be kept busy playing for other CDO bands that are now based in Manila. However he would also face his own uncertainty in the music industry when the pandemic hit and the live music scene was shut down. Even with him just starting his own family, he was lost and alone with his music, uncertain if he would still be able to play music. So he experimented on going solo and just release instrumental tracks on Digital Music Streaming platforms. Jasper would soon discover this and thought about releasing their back catalogue too. But his time away from the music industry made him clueless on how things are being done. Fortunately, during a random conversation with Mark Escueta of Rivermaya, Escueta would encourage Jasper to release all their songs on the Digital Music Streaming platforms rather than let it gather dust on the CD stockpile. He introduced Jasper to an aggregator who was actively looking for artists with back catalogues, thus setting up the return of Thoughts And Notions at least on the digital music space. Their release enjoyed early success when the carrier single (Beloved Savior) of their sophomore album’s digital music debut made it to SPOTIFY’s New Music Friday Philippines Playlist.   

However, there was one more missing link. The band’s chief vocalist Thrina Dimaano couldn’t commit to a full on return to her vocal chores yet. Since the dissolution of the band, Thrina was the only one left in CDO to continue singing for other bands. I was kind of curious how it was for Thrina back then if being a frontwoman of a band that doesn’t shy away from their Christian identity was more fulfilling than to sing for other bands post-Thoughts And Notions.  “Performing as a Christian band in a non-Christian gig was initially intimidating and challenging. But I always kept our mission as a band in mind, and that kept me motivated. And whether a gig was a Christian or non-Christian event, it was such a fulfilling experience to sing for an audience that appreciated uplifting and faith-driven music. It felt amazing to share our love for God through music, and to connect with our audience is truly inspiring.” she reminisces. Thrina eventually would move on from singing with other bands and settled down and started her own family. When Jasper and Wilbert came knocking on Thrina’s door to restart Thoughts And Notions, a return wasn’t in the cards as she prioritized her budding family. This left Jasper and Wilbert in a quandary. So just to test things out in the new look Digital Music industry, they decided to continue writing songs but this time to settle on collaborating with different artists to interpret their songs. This resulted in the experimental compilation album called Thoughts And Notions: PLUS, collaborating with different independent artists from across the archipelago. Again, one of the songs in the album (What Real Christmas Means to Me) made it to SPOTIFY’s New Music Friday Philippines playlist. This only encouraged them that there is still a place for them in the music industry after all. And to prepare for Thrina’s eventual return, they decided to release an unreleased old track that was cut from the second album’s final track listing. Featuring Thrina on vocals, the song “FREE” debuted at number seven on SPOTIFY’S Fresh Finds Philippines playlist, staying on the playlist for close to two months. For Thrina who was experiencing some doubts about returning to her vocal chores, this was confidence boosting news.

Now 15 years later, they are set to reunite with a new song. Aptly titled “Countdown to Forever”, the three of them are back to making positive themed and Christian Faith inspired music. It took them this long to restart their so called mission to “help uplift wounded souls with their brand of music”. So I asked Wilbert, as a well traveled musician writing for other bands, what makes it different with his songs with Thoughts And Notions. He only has this to say: “My approach to Thoughts And Notions songwriting is different in the sense that I take into account what we've done before while ensuring there's palpable growth in both our music and spirituality. As a Christian band, music and spirituality go hand in hand and it's my job to show to our audience that we have not only grown as musicians, but as God's stewards as well.” The concept of Thoughts And Notions is not actually new, as we’ve heard of similar opm artists such as Barbie Almalbis, Kitchie Nadal, Acel Bisa to name a few who oftentimes write songs that are inspired by their Christian Faith. However, it’s amazing to know that a band exists outside Metro Manila toiling the independent music scene in their locality with an audience that might not be as huge as here in Metro Manila. And yet, they stuck by their songs’ message. “For us, that’s the only reason why we are giving this another go after the long hiatus. We’ve agreed that we are not doing this to please anyone but God. And at the same time we wanted to leave a legacy to our sons and daughters and that maybe they can continue to share our Faith stories for generations to come.” Jasper succinctly says.

The new single Countdown to Forever is now available for streaming on your favorite Digital Music Streaming Platforms worldwide!