“Pag naramdaman ko, gusto ko’ng i-share through song kasi di ako pala-kuwento. Ang gusto ko kapag nagsulat ako ng kanta nais kong maka-relate ang mga tao. Gusto kong sabihin ng mga tao na, ‘uy! Ganu’n din ang naramdaman ko.’ I express things through songs.”
Xiao Santiago-Inacay, the lead singer and namesake of Hey Xiao! pens the band’s songs based on personal experiences. Xiao who started out as an acoustic solo artist, however mentioned that creating relatable music is not equivalent to just jumping on to the latest trends and joining the bandwagon.
“Di ako nagsusulat dahil uso. Ayoko ng ganun e. I don’t write because it’s uso or ito yung gusto kong ibenta. It’s more yung kung ano ang nararamdaman ko. Somehow, marami ang nakakarelate kasi.”
A testament to this statement is their powerful yet heart-felt single, “Iniwan” (which has reached 10,000 plays on Spotify at the time of writing). The guitar-driven ballad which talks about heartbreaks and moving on will surely tug at the heartstrings of every hopeless romantic but is packed with enough punch that separates it from the cheesy love songs that saturate the radio these days.
In a nutshell, Hey Xiao! expressed that they want the scene to go back to the level of songwriting seen and heard during the 90s and 2000s, the heyday of OPM bands— a time when bands actually wrote meaningful songs. As the savvy front-woman puts it, “gusto naming ibalik yung ‘pagsusulat ng kanta’. Gusto naming ibalik yung era na magaganda ang kanta… yung hindi mabababaw lang.”
The pop-alternative band which was formed in 2017 is composed of Xiao Santiago-Inacay, band scene veterans, Echo Singson (who is also a member of 90s outfit, Boldstar) and Richmond San Juan on guitars, JP Cruz on drums, and bassist, Paolo Legaspi. Paolo, who used to play with Silent Sanctuary and bandmate of Xiao’s husband, cellist Anjo Inacay, encouraged Xiao to continue with her songs and break her hiatus from music. At the moment, the band is just doing what they love, and that is playing good music.
2019 is going to be exciting as Hey Xiao! plans to ramp up their efforts this year by being more visible in the gig circuit and by releasing a second single.
Listen to Hey Xiao!’s single “Iniwan” on Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, and Apple Music.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/4XfsZn6AQNDK1TxenZYlB6…
ADVT