Inside the Silent Sanctuary

THE DICTIONARY defines ‘sanctuary’ as a place of refuge. The word ‘silence’ needs no definition. So isn’t Silent Sanctuary a funny name to call one of local music’s newest pop-rock bands?

By Aprylle Liabres (Contributor)

Published: Mon 21 May 2007, 10:39 AM

Last updated: Thu 13 Apr 2023, 1:02 PM

Silent Sanctuary, which is composed of Anjo Inacay on cello, Chino David on vocals, Allen Calixto on drums, Paolo Legaspi on bass and Sarkie Sarangay on guitars and lead vocals, is the newest addition to the Universal Records family. The band—which is one of the rare few to meld classical influences with pop-rock sensibilities—is now making waves with its debut album titled Fuchsiang Pag-Ibig. The album’s carrier single is Ikaw Lamang, an original composition by the band’s lead vocalist.

All of the band’s songs are about one thing: love. And most of them are culled from the band members’ own personal experiences. Pink 5, one of the cuts on the album, is about the ex-girlfriend of Sarkie. The girl had a group of friends that named themselves after the characters of Bioman, a popular Japanese anime in which the main characters were identified by their colors—Red 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Yellow 4 and Pink 5. Because she loved the color pink, Sarkie’s ex-girlfriend was called Pink 5, thus making her the inspiration for the song.

“We like writing about love,” says Sarkie, who does most of the songwriting chores for the group. “That’s why most of the songs in the album are about that. We like it that every song can reach out to the audience, and that they can relate to the emotions behind them. Love songs are the weak spot of the Pinoy audience.”

The band started out as friends during college. Their original singer, Norman, was the lead man behind most of their early songwriting efforts, coming up with the independently-released Ellipsis of the Mind. The dark mood echoed by the first CD inspired the band’s current name.

After that, some of the original members left to pursue other goals until eventually, even Norman left as well. The remaining members conducted auditions. Sarkie auditioned as guitarist and lead vocalist, but assumed the singing part later, when a former singer didn’t work out so well with the group.