AOUI Embrace The “Changing Times” With New Single – Listen
Marking their first song with lyrics, it serves as the Filipino math rock band’s first release in over six years, following their self-titled debut album, which came out in May 2019.
AOUI: courtesy of Mirrorball Asia, photographed by Bram Asuncion
AOUI: courtesy of Mirrorball Asia, photographed by Bram Asuncion
AOUI are back with a brand new single, entitled “Changing Times.” Released on August 1, 2025 (Friday), it marks the Filipino math rock band’s first time writing and incorporating lyrics into their work — a decision made in order to try “something new.”
“I generally felt that it was time to do something new and different for us to improve and create something we’d never tried before,” shares guitarist Sho Hikino in a press statement. “Writing lyrics isn’t really my strong suit, but I wanted to challenge myself and see what comes out of it.”
First taking form during the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and finished in 2024, “Changing Times” initially started out as “a riff and random words to go with the rhythm.” “Eventually the lyrics ended up matching what’s happening in the moment,” further shares Hikino about the track. “My wife, Kara, helped me write the song; she threw ideas at me, and it all worked out to become the song you hear today.”
Independently produced by the band, “Changing Times” serves as AOUI’s first release in over six years, following their self-titled debut album, which came out on May 10, 2019. Notably, the new single was one of the tracks that guitarist Paolo Yazon recorded with the band before his indefinite hiatus that started back in 2023.
Bassist Glenn Calingasan reveals that Hikino sent the demo to the rest of the band as a complete song already, stating that the challenge for them back then was “how to make the middle part of the song more interesting.” “We came up with a few ideas and ended up adding a riff from a different song that we first did with Pao,” he shares.
“We’ve been thinking about having a few more songs with lyrics, so people beyond our usual listeners could relate more to our music,” further shares Calingasan. “More of just adding it to our sound.”
Formed in 2016, AOUI is a Manila-hailing math rock band known for their “feel-good music with intricate melodies” and delivery of “lively performances,” currently composed of founding members Hikino, Calingasan, and drummer Franco Malaya, alongside guitarist Lance Camposano, who joined the group following Yazon’s indefinite hiatus. The band’s self-titled debut album was released in 2019, which contains the tracks “For Now,” “All Good,” “Chebodeh!” and more.
Listen to AOUI’s “Changing Times” below: