The idea of an HNT song usually comes first from Justine Chloe Hambre, HNT’s lead singer and guitarist. He sends his bare-bones draft to his bandmates, drummer Nicolas Brent Luardo and producer/bassist John Emmanuel Cruspero. It would be these two who would try to make out what Hambre wants to accomplish by producing the track. They would send voice notes of how they want their parts to be played on the song, and which portions of the draft to tweak.
Luardo also has the distinct role of fixing the lyrics’ wording and story. “Songwriters have something weird about them when it comes to writing,” Hambre jests in a mix of Bisaya and English, commenting how the deep thoughts ingrained in a songwriter’s lyrics might not be understood by the listener.
Cruspero gets tasked to put elements into the draft—like the instruments and effects—to match the “vibe” the band is aiming for in their song.
The process is rather simple and clear-cut, for each band member’s roles have been defined ever since their first song, “Moon Child”, a celestial serenade. What complicates the process are the band members themselves and their visions of the song.
Oftentimes, Hambre and Cruspero are the ones disagreeing over a song’s direction, squabbling over the little details. “It’s always like that,” says Cruspero in a mix of Bisaya and English. “It’s like that for every song.” Hambre concurs, saying, “Musically, we will clash.”
How will they find a resolution to their conflict? “We’ll meet halfway between what [Hambre] wants and what I want,” Cruspero describes. At the time of the interview, they were in the process of producing a new HNT song, and even there, competing ideas crept up in their session.
Luardo has the rather awesome responsibility of having the final say on whose idea prevails; whatever he chooses will become law. It’s a high authority to possess, but it doesn’t stress the drummer. “It’s not a lot of pressure,” Luardo shares in a mix of Bisaya and English. “For me, I’ve got a musical ear, and I’m confident with my suggestions., even if I’m not the most technical.”
But after the fuss that comes with songwriting are a few things. Firstly, an overreaction from supportive relatives, which consists of over-the-top online comments like “This is history!” (a comment actually made by one of the bandmates’ relatives). But secondly—and more importantly— a feeling of fulfilment comes to view. “I’m happy that I got to express my art and that I’m part of the song,” said Luardo. “I just hope that people accept it, and they’ll like it and relate to the message.”
For Cruspero, having a song out there is another achievement in his belt. “If a song gets released, you can say, ‘Finally!’” he said. “Same thing. We’re all hoping that people can relate and feel what we wrote, especially those sad songs. We hope people will feel that they’re not alone and that we’ve got a song for them.”
“There are doubts about the audience, about how they’ll view things, or if they’ll get what we’re doing,” said Hambre about what it feels like to release music. “There are a lot of doubts, but we enjoy spreading our music.”
To listen to HNT’s music, check out their Facebook and Instagram. Their music and videos are out via Spotify, YouTube and YouTube Music, and wherever else you listen to music and watch music videos.
Photo courtesy HNT
