TAGUM CITY, Philippines — Fernando Lacambra Ayala, a Tagum-based work-from-home IT professional and longtime writer of poetry and verse, announces the release of Taking Things In Stride, a collection of twelve original songs shaped by personal experiences, memories, and reflections on life.
Described as comfort-folk, the album combines intimate storytelling and acoustic arrangements with themes of grief, companionship, solitude, and quiet resilience. Its songs draw on ordinary moments—a sunny morning, a Sunday ride, the company of household pets, and the memories of loved ones.
Ayala has been writing poetry and verse since childhood, encouraged by his mother, poet and writer Tita Lacambra-Ayala. Although much of his creative work remained private, his poem of kings and fools appeared in the January 2003 issue of Our Own Voice (OOVRAG), a Filipino diaspora literary and arts journal.
His professional background spans computer programming, systems analysis, internet services, business development, and web development. Combining his longstanding interests in writing and technology, Ayala drew on his poetry, personal essays, articles, and other writings, alongside his own melodic ideas, chord progressions, and musical direction, to develop the album using AI-assisted arrangements and vocals.
One of the album’s songs, Magic Mom, grew out of the eulogy Ayala delivered for his mother, Tita Lacambra-Ayala. The original piece was published on his personal blog, DaddyTechie, and later reproduced on his DigitizedNative website.
“I’ve been writing verses in secret for most of my life, usually just for myself and to record things that have happened to me. Technology has given me a way to turn some of those words and musical ideas into recordings. Fair warning: The songs are about things I’ve lived through, people I’ve loved and lost, and the small pleasures that make life worth living. :)”
The album’s emotional background includes the successive losses of his mother, longtime partner Bernie, and beloved dog Boo. Rather than dwelling exclusively on sorrow, the collection explores the rediscovery of “happy-ness”—a state of being that comes and goes, but to which one can always return.
The twelve songs include Hello Sunny Day, Sunday Ride, Magic Mom, Music Is Poetry, My World in Pieces, Hold On, and the title track, Taking Things In Stride.
The album represents an extension of Ayala’s lifelong relationship with words rather than the beginning of a conventional career as a performing musician.
Taking Things In Stride is scheduled for an online-only release on November 13, 2026, initially on Spotify, with availability on Apple Music and other music-streaming platforms to follow.
About Fernando Lacambra Ayala
Fernando Lacambra Ayala is a Tagum-based work-from-home IT professional and longtime writer of poetry and verse. The son of writers and artists Tita Lacambra-Ayala and Jose Veloso Ayala Jr., his creative interests began in childhood alongside a professional life largely devoted to technology. Taking Things In Stride brings together his interests in poetry, storytelling, and digital tools to create a personal collection of AI-assisted recordings.
