Ben&Ben marks nine years with anthology album ‘Nine’

MANILA – Ben&Ben is looking back on nearly a decade of music, friendship and growth with “Nine,” an anthology album that revisits some of the Filipino folk-pop band’s defining songs while pointing toward its next chapter.

The nine-track release arrives in the band’s ninth year and combines reimagined favorites with the new song “Harinawa.”

Over the past nine years, Ben&Ben has grown from a promising folk-pop collective into one of the Philippines’ most prominent OPM acts, building a catalog that has generated billions of streams, won major awards and filled concert venues while reaching audiences overseas.

Rather than serving as a conventional greatest-hits collection, “Nine” captures key moments from the group’s first nine years through songs revisited from the perspective of the musicians they have become.

The anthology is also intended to offer longtime Liwanag, the band’s fan community, a fresh take on familiar material while giving newer listeners an introduction to Ben&Ben’s sound.

“We celebrate the love we have for one another and the bond we have built through the years,” violinist Keifer Cabugao says.

“We’re just deeply grateful, not only for everything the past has taught us, but also for the gift of being present with one another today.”

Songs grow with the band

The band returned to its original recordings to reconsider the instrumentation, arrangements and performances that shaped the songs when they were first created.

The process allowed the members to hear not only how their music had changed but also how they had developed individually and collectively over nine years.

“Reimagined, for us, is letting the songs grow up with us,” lead vocalist and acoustic guitarist Paolo Benjamin explains.

“Our Liwanag, and we the band too, were molded by life a lot in the past nine years.”

“Hindi biro ang mga karanasang humubog sa aming pagkatao nitong halos isang dekada na ang lumipas, parehong yung mga maaliwalas at yung mga madilim na yugto.”

“And from all these combined, there was a burning desire to update the songs with our deeper, more nuanced perspective in the present.”

The album’s production reflects the band’s effort to preserve the emotional core of the original songs while incorporating the experience gained from years of performing together.

Ben&Ben also sought to carry the chemistry and immediacy of its live performances into the studio without losing the precision of a recorded work.

“The influences and inspiration we truly channeled in producing ‘Nine’ were literally our nine years of experience in doing what we do—from our live show moments on stage and with Liwanag, to the close relationships we’ve built with each other in the band,” lead guitarist and backing vocalist Poch Barretto shares.

“We really wanted to bring our live music experience and musical chemistry into the studio.”

“It was a fun challenge for us to balance the energy of what we play live with the refinements of a studio recording.”

Barretto led the album’s overall production while working with collaborators who brought different perspectives to the project.

JP Verona, who has worked with Ben&Ben since its first album and across much of its recorded catalog, contributed his familiarity with the band’s musical identity.

Producer Ziv brought a newer perspective that encouraged the group to explore fresh sonic possibilities.

Luke and Eo also contributed drums to songs recorded while drummer Jam Villanueva was recovering from an injury.

Photographer and visual artist Sara Erasmo translated the album’s themes of memory and journey into its artwork and accompanying imagery. 

‘Maybe the Night’ returns

Among the anthology’s key tracks is “Maybe the Night (Reimagined),” a song closely tied to the formation of Ben&Ben as a nine-member band.

The original was the first song all nine members worked on together from beginning to end, arranging it collectively in Villanueva’s attic in 2017.

“Maybe the Night was the first song we collaborated on from start to finish as nine,” bassist Agnes Reoma shares.

“Binigay namin lahat ng puso namin sa kanta na ‘to and it opened a lot of opportunities for us, from our first ever Paskuhan, first official movie soundtrack, to our first band trip abroad.”

“This new album is a testament to our journey, and ‘Maybe The Night (Reimagined)’ reflects how we have grown as individual musicians and as a collective since that attic session.”

The reimagined recording turns the song into both a return to the group’s beginnings and a marker of how its musicianship has developed since that 2017 session.

‘Harinawa’ looks ahead

Alongside its reworked songs, “Nine” introduces “Harinawa,” a new track written and completed in 2026 during the band’s ninth year.

Placed within the album’s chronological sequence, “Harinawa” serves as a bridge between the group’s first nine years and what comes next.

The song closes the anthology with a message of hope rather than finality.

“We hope for these nine songs to accompany [Liwanag and our listeners] wherever they’re at in their lives right now,” percussionist and backing vocalist Toni Muñoz says.

“Hope comes in many forms, and we wish for our music to be even just a glimpse of one of them.”

“Nine” is now available on digital platforms worldwide through Sony Music Entertainment.