Local indie superband Fables released their second single “Kanino Ang Bola” on all major streaming platforms on October 18. The group – composed of Ymi Castel (Flying Ipis) on vocals, guitar, and synth, Conrad Javier (July XIV, Plane Divides the Sky) on guitar, Vhall Bugtong (We Are Imaginary) on bass, and Ean Mayor (UDD) on drums, loops, and synth – continue the synth-laced sound established on debut single “Deal With Your Monster,” but with a slower, more haunting groove and Filipino lyrics, culminating in a spoken-word outro. “(‘Deal With Your Monster’) seemed to be the obvious choice to introduce the band because it was upbeat and straight to the point,” says Javier, “but (we decided) ‘Bola’ would be the second single because we felt that it showed a more dynamic side to the band.”
According to Castel, the song had been written and demoed long before the band was even formed: “I was toying with another song idea – a ballad with melancholic piano parts. I put the lyrics in and stitched them together to become three movements: the intro being left into the situation, the verses telling the story, the outro demanding for resolution.” She adds that the original version of the song “sounded very tinny and lame,” and it was when she finally got together with Javier, Bugtong, and Mayor last year that “they laced it with the most magical dust of what an actual band sounds and feels like.”
As Castel had already laid down the arpeggiated bass synth that serves as the song’s foundation, it was up to the rest of the band to make the song theirs. “[The] arrangement barely changed [from Castel’s demo],” says Javier. “When everyone got involved, we added our own flavor to the parts.”
With Fables already performing enough songs to fill a live set, we anticipate more studio material from the band in the future. According to Javier, anything from an EP to a full-length release could be in the works, as they want to put something out on wax: “We have a handful of songs that are in the final stages of recording, and another handful of demos we will be working on. As for the release, we all really want to release something on vinyl eventually. For now, we’ll play everything by ear.”
Until then, listen to “Kanino Ang Bola” below: