When five high school friends decide to form their crew, more friends join in, and they all make music together, it can change their lives beyond what they’ve imagined. Their latest single, “Alon,” shares the experience of this common journey. The single is now available on all music streaming platforms released under Def Jam Philippines.

The 10 members of the 8 BALLIN’ crew (Schumi, Jhymm, Ego, LVX, Teen, Pray, R!S, CXY, Supboi K, and Juan-E) all collaborated on the song. It was produced and recorded by NJ at his studio, where the crew recorded the final take. NJ also provided the underlying beat.

According to Teen, “Alon” has a warm yet radiating vibe that gives off positive energy. “ is meant to be shared with people who are close us such as our friends and family,” he says. One reason for this, he says, is the tone and lyrics of the song, which is the crew’s assertion of hope amidst hard times. One image the song evokes, he adds, is of the crew staring at the horizon on a beach, with a gentle breeze embracing them.

Ego describes the process of writing “Alon” as pure “synchronicity.” This is why: while in their colleague Jhymm’s room/home studio, their producer NJ had sent them a beat which they wanted to work with. The crew agreed that it would make a perfect summer song.

Other things inspired them to do just that: Pray was wearing a shirt with an ocean wave print on it, Ego was wearing a tank top with palm trees printed on it, and the room was filled with posters of sandy beaches. It was a happy coincidence that they came up with this song, Ego concludes, and all these things made them feel that they were called to make a song with “a summer-ish vibe that the beat gives off.”