In 1996, Paolo Lim, Chino Yuson, and Sach Castillo formed the band Third Stone, an allusion to a Hendrix grind. Later, the trio collaborated with percussionist David Esteban and keyboardist James Bitanga. Originally, the band intended to be a reggae outfit, but several compositions later, the group went into a different direction. In 1999, the band met Erwin Fajardo, to become the new keyboardist. Together with Castillo, the two started writing songs. By 2001, the band had enough material for an album, and eventually settled for the band name Sound.