Some albums tell one story from beginning to end. For FIONA, ROOMS takes a different path.
The album is a collection of moments, emotions, experiences, and different versions of ourselves. Each song can feel like stepping into a different room, some familiar, some heavy, some confusing, and some connected to memories we thought we had already left behind.
FIONA explains that the idea behind ROOMS came from the way they started looking at life and memories. Along the way, we leave different versions of ourselves behind. Some are versions we stay with for a long time. Others exist only for a brief moment. Sometimes, a song, a person, or a memory can unexpectedly take us back to a place we thought we would never revisit.
That is what ROOMS represents.
It is not meant to be one complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. Instead, it is a collection of different emotional spaces. There is happiness, confusion, weight, and things that FIONA themselves are still trying to figure out. The hope is that somewhere in the album, listeners might open a room that feels familiar to them.
And perhaps that is the best way to understand ROOMS: as an invitation to listen, feel, remember, and find something that might unexpectedly feel like your own.
The Journey Behind the Songs
Creating an album came with its own challenges.
For FIONA, one of the hardest parts was trusting the songs and knowing when to stop.
When artists spend a long time with their material, it becomes easy to overthink every detail. They hear something small and begin to wonder if it needs to be changed. There were also songs that required serious consideration about whether they truly belonged on the final tracklist.
It was not always about whether a song was good or bad. Sometimes, the question was simply whether it had a place in the album.
Eventually, FIONA learned that not every song needed to be forced into the project. Some songs belonged in ROOMS, some might be for another time, and some could simply remain part of the creative process without making it to the final tracklist.
As a band, they had to learn when to fight for a song and when to let it go.
Another challenge was making sure the album felt cohesive without making every song sound the same. Since ROOMS is about different places and different moments, FIONA did not want every track to come from the exact same emotional space.
There were discussions about the sound and questions about whether a song still felt like FIONA. In the process, the band learned something important: songs do not need to sound alike to belong together.
Sometimes, the intention behind them is enough.
The Most Personal Room
Among all the songs on the album, “Chasing Silence” stands out as the most personal.
It came from a deeply personal place and was written without thinking about whether other people would understand it. Unlike songs that artists may write knowing that someone will eventually hear them, “Chasing Silence” initially felt like something FIONA needed to get out for themselves.
Not every detail of the song is a literal retelling of what happened, but the emotions are real.
It carries the feeling of wanting to be quiet, to step away, and to be alone with your thoughts. Sometimes, you may not even know exactly what you are looking for. You only know that you need to be by yourself for a while.
That is why “Chasing Silence” is special to FIONA. It may not be the easiest song to talk about, but it is the one that feels the most like them.
Where Should You Begin?
If it is your first time listening to ROOMS, FIONA recommends starting with “Threshold.”
The track serves as the starting point of the journey. You are standing in front of something new without knowing where it will take you.
From there, FIONA encourages listeners to let the album play from beginning to end.
As the journey continues, the songs move through different emotions and stories. But the band also wants listeners to know that each track can stand on its own. You may find yourself drawn to a particular song depending on what you are feeling that day.
Maybe “Moving” is the song you need.
Maybe “Anong Gagawin Mo Ngayon?” is the song for you when you are angry.
Maybe “Chasing Silence” is the song you turn to when you simply want to be alone.
For the first listen, though, FIONA says to start with “Threshold” and let the rest unfold. Do not overthink it. Just listen to the album as a whole.
Anger, Sarcasm, and Exhaustion
One song FIONA especially wants to explain to fans is “Anong Gagawin Mo Ngayon?”
On the surface, it is angry, sarcastic, and confrontational.
But underneath that anger is exhaustion.
The song carries the feeling of being tired of listening to excuses, tired of repeatedly giving chances, and tired of always being the person who understands and adjusts. Eventually, there comes a point when you no longer want to fix anything.
And sometimes, FIONA believes, that is simply a very human feeling.
Not every ending has to be mature and peaceful. Sometimes you are angry first. Sometimes you want to say the words you have been holding back.
Underneath the anger, there is often something else.
In the case of “Anong Gagawin Mo Ngayon?”, that something is exhaustion.
The Memories Beyond the Recording
Making ROOMS was not all serious studio sessions and carefully planned artistic moments.
There were times when the band spent hours stuck on one small detail before someone suddenly laughed, made a joke, or changed the conversation completely. There were exhausting days when everything became funny, even when it was not supposed to be.
And of course, there was food.
Looking back, those random moments became some of the memories FIONA remembers most. Beyond the recording itself were the tambay, conversations, laughter, arguments over small things, and moments that felt ordinary at the time.
Now, when they listen to the album, they do not only hear the songs.
They remember where they were, what time it was, who was with them, and how tired everyone had become.
Those moments are part of ROOMS too.
“Ito Kami Ngayon. Pasok Kayo.”
FIONA sees ROOMS as the most honest and complete representation of where the band is right now.
Their previous releases were part of the process of discovering what they wanted to say and what sound they wanted to carry. With ROOMS, there is more confidence in allowing the songs to simply be what they are.
They no longer feel that everything needs to fit into one specific sound or image.
The album also allows listeners to see different sides of the band, not only through the music, but through the people and experiences behind it.
Before, FIONA felt like they were introducing themselves.
With ROOMS, the message feels more open.
“Okay, ito kami ngayon. Pasok kayo.”
And from there, the listeners are free to decide.
They can choose which song they love, what story they find in it, and which track they may return to months from now.
When the Songs Finally Belonged to Everyone
The album launch was surreal for FIONA.
For a long time, the songs existed only in a small space. They lived in recordings, files, rehearsals, and conversations. The band heard them over and over again before anyone else did.
Then suddenly, other people were singing along.
That changed everything.
There is a different feeling when you hear people singing words that you wrote or performed. It is one of the moments when a song begins to move beyond its creators.
Once music is released, it is no longer only yours.
People bring their own experiences into it. They attach their own memories and interpretations to the songs. That is something the artist can no longer control.
During the launch, FIONA felt grateful that the songs they had spent so much time creating in private now had a place in other people’s lives.
Now, ROOMS Is Yours Too
FIONA does not want to tell listeners what they are supposed to feel after hearing ROOMS.
That is one of the things they appreciate most about music.
A song can come from one very specific experience and still mean something completely different to someone else.
If a listener finds a song that reminds them of a person, a particular time in their life, or even a version of themselves, that is already enough.
Maybe a song will help someone let go.
Maybe it will make someone feel understood.
Maybe it will simply become the song they listen to while driving, thinking, working, or sitting alone in their room.
And that is okay.
FIONA made these songs from their own experiences, but once ROOMS reached the listeners, the album began to take on new meanings.
The rooms were opened.
And now, some of them may feel like home to someone else.
“Sa inyo na rin siya.”
Maybe that is the point of ROOMS.
We all come from different places. We all carry different memories. We have all been through rooms that other people may never see or understand.
But somehow, through music, we can still meet.
And somewhere inside ROOMS, there might be a song waiting for you.
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