(Photo from Nyoy Volante's Facebook fan page.)
Even as he declined to talk about former flame Nina due to unresolved legal issues between them, Nyoy Volante is more than glad to talk about his new album and his role in the local production of the acclaimed musical, “Rock of Ages” set for a month-long run starting June 15.
“I’m still playing around the Metro Manila area a lot although we’ve been doing a lot of shows out of town as of late. The places vary so we’re always in constant promotion of the venues. But I’m really excited about ‘Rock of Ages’ as I get to work with the likes of Vina Morales, Mig Ayesa, Jett Pangan, Aiza Seguerra and other acclaimed artists,” enthused the acoustic balladeer.
In “Rock of Ages,” a rock musical built around classic rock hits of the 80s, Nyoy plays the lead role of Drew Boley, a busboy who aspires to be a rock star. He snagged the role after an impressive turn as the rapping and rocking Usnavi in “In The Heights”, another musical that was successfully staged in the country last year and won for its Manila cast an Aliw Award for Best Ensemble.
Nyoy admits doing stage musicals has been an amazing experience and a big boost for his career, it has also taken some time off from recording his new album, the much-awaited follow-up to the 2010 release that included his own hit version of Nina’s “Someday,” which he claims he wrote even before giving it to the sexy, soul siren.
It can be recalled that Nyoy suffered some kind of a career setback as a result of the fallout from a still ongoing lawsuit involving money matters filed by his ex-girlfriend.
Ironically, it would take a song identified with Nina to bring Nyoy back to public attention.
While “Someday” is technically his own song, the fact that it first became a hit for another artist qualifies it as a cover. However fans regard the song, they still thoroughly enjoyed it. As a result, Nyoy decided to record nothing but covers for his latest MCA release.
“We immediately brainstormed for the new album’s concept right after last year’s promotion of the previous CD. Unfortunately (and fortunately), the shows (including “In The Heights”) kinda piled up and we were forced to push the recording back. We decided to do covers for variety. The last one we did was composed of all original songs so we tried to balance things out by doing covers this time.”
The new album, called “Tuloy Pa Rin”, is a 12-track outing that includes Nyoy’s readings of OPM classics, such as VST & Co’s “Ipagpatawad Mo,” Dina Bonnevie’s “Bakit Ba Ganyan,” Dingdong Avanzado’s “Basta’t Kasama Kita,” Rico J. Puno and Elisa Chan’s “Magkasuyo Buong Gabi” and Lani Misalucha’s “Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin,” among others.
Nyoy said everyone from himself to his management to his record company had a hand in the selection of the songs. “It was a total team effort although I have to admit there were some songs there that I wish I had written, especially the mushy ones.”
Given that he is not the only artist who recorded an all-covers album (Noel Cabangon, for one, comes to mind), Nyoy explains what distinguishes his work from the rest of the pack.
“I think each artist automatically sets their work apart from others by simply being naturally different in style and execution,” he said.
Doing a covers album does not necessarily mean that the well has dried up when it comes to writing original songs. “I’ve actually written a lot of songs lately, some for other artists as I haven’t really had the chance to record most of them,” he revealed.
“I’ll definitely be able to include a couple of originals in our current album, but since we’re doing mostly covers, I can’t really add more.”
He is also not averse to collaborating with other artists, including established superstars, in future recordings.
“I admire all of them,” Nyoy declared. “Our music industry is such a powerhouse of talent, and I’ve been blessed with the privilege to work with most of them. But album-wise, I’ve always wanted to collaborate with the greats and that includes Gary V, Martin Nievera, Sharon Cuneta. Boy, that would really be something!”
Nyoy Volante’s new MCA album, “Tuloy Pa Rin” is slated for release this month.
