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Ransom Collective's Leah Halili releases solo debut

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Rick Olivares

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/entertainment/07/05/leah.jpg"/><figcaption>The Ransom Collective’s Leah Halili celebrates a new journey with her single &#x27;Fourth of July&#x27;</figcaption></figure></div>It’s almost midnight in Vacaville in the Solano county of California. Even if she was driving all day, Leah Halili, bassist and vocalist for folk-pop band The Ransom Collective, still manages a toothy smile.The excitement of her new adventure still hasn’t worn off her even if she’s been in the United States for a little over three months now. Although she was born in San Francisco, California, Halili was very young when her family relocated to the Philippines. So moving back Stateside is like a new beginning for this 27-year old. And her first-ever solo single seems aptly titled, “Fourth of July.”“It is just coincidence that it’s titled after the American Day of Independence,” she clarified. “But it’s more of this new feeling of a new adventure and stage in my life.”“I was playing around with my guitar and I was thinking about this line from the film &#x27;Legally Blonde 2&#x27; – ‘You look like the Fourth of July’ and it was an idea that it can be a feeling.”“I was brainstorming with my producer, Carlos Castano, and he said, ‘Actually, the ‘Fourth of July’ is a catchy title for a song.’”The song was recorded this past June with Castano and some of Halili’s friends pitching in (Pat Sarabia on drums, John Apura on guitars, and Princess Ybañez on strings) on the instruments. And when it was finished, Halili couldn’t help but feel giddy. “It sounds exactly as I thought it would.”The giddiness and all these emotions she is feeling since her big move have been the subject of her songwriting binge. “I have a lot of new songs but most of them are in the demo stage. ‘Fourth of July’ is the only one in pure recorded form.”The emotions stemmed from the ongoing pandemic that put everyone’s lives on hold. “I did a lot of thinking about my life and what I wanted to do,” reflected Halili. With some of her bandmates living abroad – violinist Muriel Gonzales in France where she is studying, and keyboardist Lily Gonzales in Portugal – Halili looked at the best case scenario for her and decided to move back to the United States.“It’s a leap of faith,” she admitted. Leap of faith indeed. Halili now works as a pre-school teacher, a job she finds a lot of fulfillment. “It’s fun,” she said. Clearly even the dark of the night cannot dampen the sunshine in her smile.Aside from her being flush with inspiration in her songwriting binges, Halili has also been checking out the local music scene where she can do some open mike performances. “No matter where I am, music will always be a part of me,” she underscored.In the same breath, she said that The Ransom Collective is on an unofficial hiatus. “Everyone is just doing their own thing for now because of the times we live in. When this pandemic ends and we meet, we’ll see where it takes us.”For now, aside from teaching and launching her debut single, Halili is working on an upcoming EP. “All this music has allowed me to express everything that I have been feeling.”In fact, she will hold a solo live session of her new songs sometime soon. “I hope that people like the music. It’s just light, breezy and happy stuff. Positive energy for this difficult time. And… I hope it will resonate with others too.”“Fourth of July” is now available on streaming all formats. <div>Related video:</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BMDwHqk9i9o?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Moving back to the US is like a new beginning for 27-year old Leah Halili, bassist and vocalist for folk-pop band The Ransom Collective. And her first-ever solo single seems aptly titled, “Fourth of July.”

Moving back to the US is like a new beginning for 27-year old Leah Halili, bassist and vocalist for folk-pop band The Ransom Collective. And her first-ever solo single seems aptly titled, “Fourth of July.”