The modern interior and state-of-the- art equipment in Jay-R's recording studio belies the age of the house. The singer acquired most of the recording equipment in the U.S. (Photo by PRANZ KAENO BILLONES)

Rhythm and blues singer Jay-R is probably the first mainstream Filipino entertainer to come up with “home-made” CD albums. That’s because the albums were recorded in a state-of-the-art studio, which happens to be on the second floor of the house he rents in New Manila, Quezon City.

Jay-R says the concept of a singer having his own studio at home is hardly unique, at least for American superstars like the late Michael Jackson and his ilk. Billy Crawford, says Jay-R, has also built a studio in his house. “It’s a necessity for a recording artist,” explains Jay-R. “It saves a lot of money in the long run and it’s very convenient.  You can work on the recordings at any time of the day.”

The studio occupies a large room that had once been one of the many bedrooms in the house. It was Jay-R himself who conceptualized the look, which echoes a modern bachelor’s pad or a boutique bar, what with the dark hues selected for the carpeting and sofas.  Add a bar and it could be a venue for a small party. Yet everything a recording artist needs is there, from the recording equipment Jay-R acquired in the U.S., to the personal computer, a black upright piano and a recording booth.

The studio is surreal when one considers the fact that it’s ensconced in a two-storey mansion that appears to have been built in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Step out of the modern studio and one ends up on the second floor hallway where the other bedrooms are located. It’s like stepping into another dimension. Suddenly, the old world envelops you as the look of the old house has remained untouched or intact. It’s not the type of house a young, superstar bachelor like Jay-R would choose to live in.

“I had to look for a house that was big enough to house a studio. The property also had to be big enough to isolate the noise we’d be making during rehearsals and recordings,” he explains. “I was renting a place just a few blocks away from this house, and the neighbors used to complain about the loud music. This house meets all my requirements.”

The present house even has the space to accommodate a band rehearsal room located in the rear of the property. 

The open grounds also have enough room for his 15 pet dogs to run around in. And still there’s room for a fitness center of sorts, which occupies a makeshift trellis. That’s where all the gym equipment and mountain bikes are ensconced.

When Jay-R moved into the house, it already had a billiard table, elegant beige wallpaper and a few sofas. The wallpaper, however, has been ripped apart by Jay-R’s 12 Chihuahuas, who probably felt the color just didn’t do anything for the room. Or perhaps the wallpaper had a delicious taste that tended to melt exquisitely in the dogs’ mouths. “I used to allow them to stay inside of the house. But after they did that to the wallpaper, they’ve been banned from entering,” Jay-R laughs.

The living area itself is bare, with only a bar on one corner and a white baby grand piano prominently placed at the center.  It seems a waste not to use all that available room but the effect is at once simple and dramatic. It makes the ideal setting for a recital and perhaps a set for a dreamy, romantic music video.

In fact, just before Christmas, Jay-R started filming a music video in the house for a track he’s producing. The video may also feature his housemate, the singer Kris Lawrence.

Like Jay-R, Kris Lawrence grew up in Los Angeles. They even attended the same high school and although he had been studying classical piano, Jay-R encouraged him to make the move to Manila to embark on an R&B singing career. When Jay-R decided to live in the New Manila house, he invited Lawrence to share the place. “To help pay the rent,” Lawrence laughs. “There are four of us sharing the house. Two other friends live here too.”

Except when the two are rehearsing, the place is quiet and almost empty most of the day. Yet Lawrence notes that sometimes, they have a few housemates who evidently hail from another dimension. “A manghuhula once visited us and when she entered the gate she got a major jolt. She claimed a kapre was standing by the front door.  Others claim to have seen a man hanging by a noose on one of the trees in the backyard,” he says.

The two singers do have a lot of ghost stories to tell. After all, the house is just a few blocks away from Balete Drive, where the notorious white lady saunters.

But even the ghosts in this house must have been star-struck by some of the guests who have roamed its rooms. When Jay-R produced a song to help raise funds to benefit the victims of the typhoon Ondoy, more than 80 famous singers drove over to record a portion of the song at his studio. Everyone from Sharon Cuneta and Jose Mari Chan to Gary Valenciano and Martin Nievera came knocking. “They didn’t do the recordings at the same time,” says Jay-R. “They came on separate occasions, but it was exciting to have them here. I should have had a guestbook!”

Yet despite having a star-studded list of friends and colleagues, Jay-R and Kris Lawrence say they rarely do any entertaining at home. When asked if he and Lawrence live like the  fictional party-loving Hollywood star in the HBO series "Entourage," Jay-R nervously laughs and sheepishly says, “I only wish!”