Joey Ayala

José Íñigo Homer Lacambra Ayala (born June 1, 1956 in Bukidnon, Philippines), professionally known as Joey Ayala, is a Filipino singer, songwriter and former chairman of the music committee of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. He is well known for his style of music that combines the sounds of Filipino ethnic instruments with modern pop music. His public music life started when he released an album recorded in a makeshift studio in 1982 in Davao City. To date, he has released fourteen albums. He is the elder brother of singer-songwriter Cynthia Alexander. Some of the Filipino ethnic instruments Ayala is known to use include the two-stringed Hegalong of the T'Boli people of Mindanao, the Kubing, the bamboo jaw harp found in various forms throughout the Philippines, and the 8-piece gong set, Kulintang, the melodic gong-rack of the indigenous peoples of the southern regions of the country. He also uses modern instruments in his music, such as the electric guitar, bass guitar, synthesizer/sequencer and drums. The name of his band "Bagong Lumad" literally means "New Native", a name and philosophy that was carried over into Bagong Lumad Artists Foundation, Inc. (www.blafi.org), now a "UNDP Responsible Party" working on SiningBayan (Social Artistry) capacity-building projects with the Civil Service Commission, the Department of Education, and other GOs and NGOs in the Philippines. He served as the (2008–10) Chairman and Vice-Chairman (2011–13) of the National Committee on Music under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. In 2013, Ayala entered the second Philippine Popular Music Festival as a composer and interpreter for the song, "Papel", where it vied as one of its twelve finalists. The song featured collaborations with rapper Gloc-9 and guest vocals by Denise Barbacena. He previously participated in 2012 as an interpreter for the song "Piso" written by Kristofferson Melecio. In 2014, Joey Ayala was featured in the BBC Travel episode featuring the Philippines.

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