Martin’s OPM ballad recorded as a duet
One of Martin Nievera’s best-loved and popular OPM (Original Pilipino Music) ballads is undoubtedly Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin, which he originally recorded back in 1994. Penned by Cecile Azarcon, the song has had a number of cover versions, including one by Regine Velasquez.
However, while most people always think of Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin as a strong solo piece, the New Jersey-based Sounds of Manila (SoM) music group recently came out with a hauntingly sentimental duet of Cecile’s composition.
“In the original solo piece, the song was interpreted from a male’s point of view,” shares Suzanne Lansangan-Sabangan, lead female vocalist of the nine member Sounds of Manila band. “In the duet version, the song was interpreted from two vantage points, from a woman’s point of view and from a man’s point of view.
“The duet version seems to portray the imagery of star-crossed lovers, like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, as in the verses, ‘At kung hindi ngayon ang panahon upang ikaw ay mahalin/ Bukas na walang hanggan/Ako’y maghihintay pa rin.”
Interestingly, the recording of Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin as a duet had the blessing of Cecile, who gave the green light to musical arranger and director Lorrie Ilustre to deliver a new arrangement of the popular OPM song.
“During my phone conversation with Ms. Cecile, I asked her if it would be a good idea to create a duet version of her song,” Suzanne recalls. “She was open to the idea of making a duet arrangement, although Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin was originally written as a solo piece.
“She told me that she would talk to Lorrie, who arranged all the songs on our debut CD recording. I remember how impressed Ms. Cecile was when she heard Lorrie’s duet arrangement. I recalled that she said, ‘Pwede palang gawing duet… Lorrie did an amazing job’!”
After Lorrie’s brilliant musical arrangement came the harmony. Cecile, Suzanne and her hubby, Ronnie, worked on the harmony. “Then, the very first duet version of Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin was born,” Suzanne beams. “I also remembered Lorrie telling us that he was very proud of this new arrangement.”
Recording and releasing an OPM ballad is admirable for Sounds of Manila that made everything happened at this time of COVID-19. “When the pandemic hit, the band met virtually via Zoom so we could stay in touch with each other,” Suzanne offers. “We also wanted to check on how everyone was doing. We talked about doing something productive during the lockdown, so we thought about creating virtual videos for friends, family and SoM followers.”
“We chose to do our duet version of Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin, originally included in our all-Azarcon album that we recorded back in 2013 and officially released in 2014,” Suzanne informs. “That is one of the songs that we always rendered during our performances.”
It was back in 2009 when Suzanne, a college professor and level test coordinator, formed the nine-member Sounds of Manila with her hubby, Ronnie, a site supervisor and band leader/bassist. Last year, the band marked its 10th anniversary.
Lead male vocalist of the band is Hermie Angeles, drummer is JR Gendrano, first keyboardist is Neil Estanislao, second keyboardist is Paulo Areza, guitarist is Jason Paguiligan. On percussions is Christian Hidalgo, doing back-up vocals is Marla Villacorte.
The band has to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, just like everybody else. “New Jersey, where all of us are based, became the first epicenter of COVID-19 in the US, so we had no choice but to follow quarantine protocols,” Suzanne grants. “We simply stayed home. To this day, most of us are still working from home.”
Yet, the band has been reaching out to non-profit organizations, giving donations and extending their help as their way to give back to the community. “For now, the new normal for Sounds of Manila is recording virtual performances for our audiences around the globe until we can perform live again,” Suzanne offers.
The new duet of Sounds of Manila for Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin is available on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Prime Music.
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