Silent Sanctuary on band’s longevity: We play with no expectations
Before joining Silent Sanctuary in 2001, Anjo Inacay felt that there were few opportunities for cellists like him in mainstream music.
“I felt that there were no other paths or jobs other than teaching or being part of an orchestra. This is one of the reasons I joined Silent Sanctuary. It made me realize that, ‘Oh, what I do can actually work as part of a band,’” Anjo told Inquirer Entertainment at the band’s recent contract signing with Universal Records (UR).
While rock bands incorporating bowed string instruments into their music wasn’t really unheard of, Silent Sanctuary was one of the few on the local scene at the time that completely embraced it as part of its musical identity. This allowed them to craft songs that have the familiarity of pop-rock, but with a classical touch that adds a layer of sentimentality.
And after more than 20 years in the business and several hits to its name, the alternative rock band continues to put out songs that give equal prominence to dynamic electric guitar and drums, and the sweeping violin and cello.
“We were able to show the instruments’ (violin, cello) flexibility through different genres of music,” Anjo said of the group, whose biggest hits include “Pasensya Ka Na,” “Ikaw Lamang,” “Sa ‘Yo,” “Kundiman” and “Bumalik Ka na Sa’kin.”
These five have more than 100 million streams each on Spotify—impressive numbers for songs released before the streaming era took root. “We’re happy that the songs became popular and there are now more bands with a string section,” he said.
Also composed of Sarkie Sarangay (lead vocals), Allen Calixto (drums), Kim Mirandillo-Ng (violin), Ronnie Ropal (bass) and Poch Villalon (synthesizers), Silent Sanctuary is back with UR, after switching record labels in 2013.
“We did some of our best stuff with UR, particularly our albums (‘Fuchsiang Pag-ibig,’ ‘Mistaken for Granted’). And we thought UR could help us in our mission to expand our career and do what we want to accomplish as a band,” Anjo said.
‘More mature’
A new album, a major concert, a vinyl release and a potential musical are some of the things fans can expect in the coming years. These are opportunities, Sarkie said, that will allow the band to show how much it has grown through the years.
“We have been exposed to a lot of other genres and got to incorporate them into our own sound. The songwriting and arrangements are definitely more mature,” he said.
Asked what they think is the secret to the band’s longevity, Anjo said it’s the desire to play music just for the joy of it. “We started out without any expectations of becoming famous or scoring hits. We just wanted to play and create songs. Playing gigs and music for our friends makes us happy already.
“We’re grateful because our songs were heard by many people and were inspired by them,” Sarkie added. “The songs helped them emotionally. They resonated with their love stories.”
