We all have our comfort songs, be it a childhood classic or a new favourite we just recently discovered. For Reanne and Noah—who together make up reon, they decided to compile their very own into an EP.
Embodying the feelings of a warm hug and a reassuring smile, the Filipino bedroom-pop duo's Sentiments narrate a brooding tale of healing and the pain that often comes along with it.
"This EP covers a compilation of different stories showing the journey of letting go, it shows how people usually deal with pain and heartbreak. We wrote what we thought made us sentimental and vulnerable," the Filipino duo tells Bandwagon.
"We want this set of songs to be the friend that everyone longs for, it’s meant to give comfort and relief to those who need it."
Armed with lyrics that exude a sense of warmth and safety, reon recently won the songwriting competition PhilPop with their heartwarming single 'Suyo'. Hoping to share more of their music and stories with the world, their win marks only the beginning for what the duo has in store.
Bandwagon recently caught up with Reanne and Noah to talk about making music together, surviving lockdowns, and pouring their hearts into Sentiments.
Hi reon! How has your year been so far?
Reanne: It has been great for me! I can say that I have improved so much compared to the past year. I’ve been taking good care of my personal health and I’ve also been meeting a lot of people with whom I share my interest with—so far it has been an exciting year.
Noah: Things have been going pretty well lately. I’ve been trying out new stuff like working out, going out for a walk more often. I’ve also been trying to break the loop on how I do things over the past year.
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The both of you came together during the pandemic, what was the experience like creating new music together amidst all the lockdowns? What were some memorable moments from that time that you can share with us?
Reanne: Creating music during lockdown isn’t really much of a difficulty for us considering that we’re both introverts. We could just send each other voice messages and lyric ideas through Messenger. The only difficulty that we had was when we had to meet for a shoot because we don’t live in the same city; just like the time when we had to shoot for 'Suyo'. I have to go past the borders with our QR codes and vaccination papers.
Noah: Nothing has changed actually on how we do things, we’ve been making music through online sessions or sending voice notes even before lockdowns happened. But one thing’s for sure that this pandemic made all of us try out new things, may it be in terms of production, lyricism and even how we approach songwriting,
Winning PhilPop, a prestigious songwriting competition, amidst this pandemic is one probably one of the most notable things that happened for me.
Could you describe each other in one sentence?
Reanne: I can say that Noah is a very talented being, basically a prodigy.
Noah: She’s very passionate with her art.
How would you describe the music that reon makes?
Reanne: I can say that our sound is experimental, indie and relatable.
Noah: I could describe the music we make as distinct.
Congratulations on the release of your first-ever EP! Could you tell us more about the record and what story it tells?
Reanne: The Sentiments EP covers a compilation of different stories showing the journey of letting go, it shows how people usually deal with pain and heartbreak.
Once you’d listen to the entire EP, you can observe that each song describes the character's experience of self-healing and self-reflection. The thing that made this EP special is that everybody can relate to this. We all go through these different stages of sadness and we all have these silent battles with ourselves that nobody knows; people cope differently and this EP is just a representation of those unsaid feelings.
Noah: All emotions were laid down as we made these series of songs. We wrote what we thought made us sentimental and vulnerable.
What do you want to impart to your listeners through Sentiments?
Reanne: We would want them to feel like they’re not alone. Sometimes the only thing that comforts us when people can’t understand what we’re feeling is listening to music. Even though we don’t know them personally, we know that our songs could also be their story. I just hope that our song reaches out through the hearts of anyone listening to it.
Noah: It’s just that we wanted this set of songs to be the friend that everyone longs for. It’s meant to give comfort and relief to those who need it.
Is there a song off the EP you were particularly excited to share with the world?
Reanne: For me, it would be the song 'Sentiments'. It's has been my comfort song ever since. Everytime I would feel sad or alone, I would secretly listen to it on my phone. This was before the EP was released and it was hardly done but the song never failed to comfort me. That’s why I couldn’t wait for people to hear it.
When it was released, it felt like a heavy weight was finally off my chest. It felt so weird that the song that I’ve been keeping to myself is finally out in the open and people can listen to it on their phones. That was when I realized that it’s not only going to be my comfort song anymore. It’s also going to be theirs and I’m so happy that we are finally able to share it with them.
Noah: 'Is It Too Much To Ask' always had a place in my heart ever since we started working on it. It’s an inner monologue about having the thought of losing someone who’s not even there. This song particularly was my favourite and knew right from the start that I had to share to the listeners the pain being felt on the song.
Beyond the EP, what else do you have in store for 2022?
Reanne: For this year, expect more content and songs from both of us!
Noah: People could expect new things from both of us—that I can tell for sure.
Share with us where you hope to see reon in the next five years.
Reanne: In the next 5 years, I am hoping that we would someday be collaborating with amazing artists and making history in the music industry.
Noah: We probably already have made a hefty amount of songs by then. We hope to get recognized internationally and gain a wider audience by then.
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What’s the best part of making music together?
Reanne: The best part of making music together is that I get to learn a lot from my partner. And from that, I am able to improve myself for the better.
Noah: Having two minds work on a song is most definitely better than doing it alone. For me, it breathes more life into the songs and makes the songs more personal for both of us.
Listen to reon's Sentiments here.
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