Now, hear this from Nyoy

It was only a year or two ago. Soft, laidback ballads were all bistro patrons liked listening to, and among the most popular were those by Nyoy Volante. The rage for acoustic music made him a star and although changing tastes has put a Latin spin to those songs – think bossa nova which is now at the forefront in these joints – the always self-effacing Nyoy is still out there with a solid following and making the kind of music he likes.

I believe the main reason for this is that Nyoy dares take risks and has this ability to look at crises as challenges. The past year was quite a difficult one. Aside from new music trends that pushed him and contemporaries Paolo Santos and Jimmy Bondoc aside, Nyoy had problems with his record label, his manager and with his group Mannos. That was certainly a crisis of major proportions that could have sent somebody else off the deep end. Long-held friendships and business associations were falling apart. It must have felt like his very life and not just his career was at stake.

I do not know how he did it but Nyoy was able to face his problems head on and make what he believed was the right decision. He stayed with his label, Vicor. He parted ways with his manager and set up Papa Productions with his father in charge. He lost Mannos but formed a new group he is very happy with. Steve Gonzales on guitars, Maynard Albis on drums, Abe Silva on bass and Juliet Perez on violin. They are also very happy with Nyoy and have even decided to call themselves collectively as simply Nyoy Volante.

Perhaps another reason why he seems to have merely breezed through that crucial period was the fact that he has fallen in love. You know how it is when you are in love. You are superman, capable of taking on anything. That must have been how Nyoy felt when he fell for soul siren Nina. Luckily she fell for him too and here is one case wherein the cliché about two people in love making beautiful music together turned out to be true. Incidentally, Nyoy’s real name is Nino so they are now and hopefully, for all their lives, Nino and Nina.

Main proof of this is that the relationship has resulted in a burst of creativity Nyoy has not felt before. He finished his latest album Now Hear This in a record three weeks. It is his fourth CD since he started in 2002 and is made up entirely of his own compositions. I do not know who inspired his early hits Nasa’n Ka and You’re My You but he admits these new ones were mostly inspired by and are about Nina.

Take the first single release. It is entitled Ha? and it poses a playful question he often asks her, "Akin ka na lang, ha?" I suppose she replies yes, every time. Ha? is not a word people would expect to be the title of the song, but Nyoy put so much sincerity in his work. It is really quite cute and clever that I will not be surprised to find guys in love saying it to their girls and then singing Nyoy’s song.

Other cuts in Nyoy’s Now Hear This are Nandito Lang (Hanggang Kailan), which might make a good second single, Kundiman, You Left Me, Mahal Na Mahal, Without You, Ayoko Na, Maghihintay, Sobra Sobra, Baby Stay and Ama Namin. He cheekily credited the latter to Jesus Christ-Nyoy Volante. I guess that despite the number of Our Fathers composed during the past 2,000 years, this is the first time anybody has put down on paper Jesus Christ as co-writer. It seems presumptuous but I guess he only wanted to do what is right.

Incidentally, Nyoy’s writing spree has also resulted in some songs for Nina. She released her R ’n B-leaning album, also entitled Nina, a few months ago and two of the cuts included were composed by Nyoy. These are those with the self-explanatory titles, I Need Your Love and Someday. I suppose that like those in his album they were also inspired by Nina. Like Nyoy, Nina’s career is doing very well. Looks like there are people in love so blessed they can have everything.