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!

Meet the founding members of Thoughts And Notions!

A few more days left and our comeback song with Thrina back to her old vocal chores will finally be released. So let's get to know Thoughts And Notions this coming 2025 as we get back to our roots!

 

Thrina Dimaano - Chief Vocalist

Thrina started with the band when she was still 15 years old, making her a co-founder of Thoughts And Notions. As part of her Church's Music Ministry, Thrina shared the stage with her co-founders in the Praise and Worship team before they decided to record and produce a 10-track album (In Awe of His Amazing Love) with the intention of using it as a fund-raising project for their Church. This would set into motion Thrina's foray in the local music scene. Thrina was responsible for breathing life into Thoughts And Notions' songs, and is highly valued as a very integral part of our story. Thoughts And Notions is very much a part of Thrina's personal journey as a vocalist, chronicling her development as an amateur teenage vocalist pushed to the forefront of carrying an album full of songs. And then in the peak of her adolescence as a gutsy frontwoman bringing our songs to the live audience. Thoughts And Notions is basically her story too.

Though we reaped local accolades in Cagayan de Oro City back then, our biggest to date was when we were nominated in the 2009 NU 107 Rock Awards for U-Rock College Band of the Year. This was Thrina at the peak of her powers leading the band to where she is able to. Though we disbanded and went on a long hiatus, Thrina would pinch hit for other bands as a guest vocalist. When we did our Digital Music comeback last 2021, Thrina had to delay her return as she prioritizes her kids and family. But this did not stop our old releases (featuring Thrina on vocals) from back then to be recognized and playlisted on Spotify's prestigious New Music Friday Philippines (Beloved Savior) and Fresh Finds Philippines (Free) official playlists for debuting songs. We merely warmed the seat for her and waited for her to resume her old spot as our chief vocalist. Come 2025, she's back to finally reclaim her place as the voice behind our songs.

Wilbert Tan - Composer/Producer/Arranger/Multi-Instrumentalist

Wilbert (with Wile Lile as his alter ego) is a seasoned veteran in the local music scene. Having played with various bands and did session work on stage with some of the Philippine's legendary OPM Music icons such as Mike Hanopol (Juan Dela Cruz band), Dong Abay  (Yano), MOCHA USON (Before her transition to Mocha Girls), and Jinky Vidal (Freestyle) to name a few. He's a sought-after Cagayan de Oro talent that various bands in CDO (Drizzle, Switch, and Ram Chavez among others) had sought to recruit him and play for them. He even collaborated with some of the biggest OPM Rock Icons like Basti Artadi (Wolfgang), Sammy Asuncion (Pinikpikan), Louie Talan (Razorback) to name a few. He's a self-made multi-instrumentalist that studied the art of music since his younger days and pursued a career in music. Experiencing everything from TV appearances, Music Video feature on music channels MYX and MTV, to even playing in large music festivals like the PULP Summer Slam. 

But before all of that, he was a part of their Church's Music Ministry team where he met and shared the stage with the co-founders of Thoughts And Notions. He was instrumental in bringing life to the songs of Thoughts And Notions as he and his co-founders decided to produce an album for a fund-raising project for their Church. Though he never really shared the stage with Thoughts And Notions (except for a gig or two). Because he was a part of another band (Drizzle) that he started and transferred to Manila to explore a serious career in Music, with Thoughts And Notions being a one-time project only. But the simultaneous unexpected signing of Thoughts And Notions under a record label at that time would validate his place in the OPM Music scene (and this was just the beginning for him). Since then, almost every release by the band has his imprint whether as main composer, arranger, and producer. He currently plays for two other bands (Bloodflowers and Tirada) in Cagayan de Oro as the lead guitarist (his instrument of choice and expertise), but he continues to resume his work as the main composer, arranger, and producer of Thoughts And Notions. Simply put, without him, there would be no Thoughts And Notions.

     
It is thru Thoughts And Notions where he could explore the other side of his musical artistry, where he can express every note and chord as he sees fit with the lyrics presented to him. A marriage of feel-good positive music to the positive words that Thoughts And Notions seeks to express. But that's not all, to hear his musical genius unleashed and unhinged, one has to explore his alter ego Wile Lile.

Jasper Tan - Lyricist/Manager

He always considers his existence in the music industry as an accident. With no musical talent nor a good singing voice, he oftentimes wonders why he stumbled into this realm. Admittedly however, he is a huge fan of music. Especially from non-mainstream ones that he loves to discover even from way back. It is through this passion where he came across the Christian Contemporary Music genre. Becoming an instant fan of Jars Of Clay , Sixpence None the Richer, Switchfoot, and other Christian Contemporary Music Artists. He used to serve as their Church's Youth Ministry Spiritual Formation Head and backup Worship Leader. As well as Editor-in-Chief for their Church's Youth Group's National Newsletter. Contributing to more than a dozen articles and stories in various publications both online and print. Most notably for the now defunct Philmusic.com, the Philippine's largest online source for OPM Music at that time. In short, writing had always been his passion. And it is through this medium where he could express his "thoughts and notions" to those who are interested enough to know about his stories. In fact, he runs the long running (since 2006) Official blog page of the band, chronicling all of their stories from yesterday to the present.

As a co-founder of Thoughts And Notions, it all began for him when he suffered a major heartbreak that shook his Faith. It was through this circumstance that he chose to rediscover his Faith and wrote about it to serve as a chronicle of that journey to rediscover God's Amazing Love for us. That became the main content of their debut album "In Awe of His Amazing Love." An album that he recorded with his co-founders Wilbert Tan and Thrina Dimaano as a fund-raising project for their Church. It wasn't a serious thing at pursuing a career in music, but God opened doors for them when a major Christian Music record label offered to sign them to a contract. Since then, their journey as a band went to places. With the largest being when they were nominated in the 2009 NU 107 Rock Awards under the U-Rock College Band of the Year category. And then Jasper quit music. Which set the stone of the possible end of their story. But then like as earlier mentioned, his involvement in the music industry had always been an accident. Their return to the Digital Music streaming landscape was helped largely by the encouragement of Mark Escueta of Rivermaya to once again make their songs available to the public. Introducing Jasper to Believe Music (a company based in Luxembourg) who had signed them to a contract to release their songs in various Digital Music Platforms. Thus, from the confines of their hometown in Cagayan de Oro, to the current digital music streaming landscape, their stories continue to live on and now is being listened to all over the world. But despite all of this, Jasper always considers Thoughts And Notions as just a small project with his co-founders where they can express their common goal. To bring positive Christian Music that aims "to help uplift wounded souls with their brand of music!" And on a personal note, Jasper considers this project as his brokenness as a Christian. Where he continues to chronicle that journey to become whole through the story of Thoughts And Notions.