tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86794870287238962662024-03-14T03:58:49.426+08:00My Infinite PlaylistArchaeologist at work.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1371125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-78156673532061861202021-06-26T15:13:00.001+08:002021-06-26T15:13:00.181+08:00American rapper BLXST looks forward to an activation for Filipino fans<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdmfX8vMXOcDya1_nH5SMQFQiXrXYsbTGlA8L4Rykpz3eJ5-9pdNrXsom2b2gZrcexTX9TahVvsCG6c0LPBmtFhhoSDOeTtfBdA1hwowRm6G5YGPq3cUUq3ur6guqrh9pt1eq2jDdF4XFa/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="342" data-original-width="1180" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdmfX8vMXOcDya1_nH5SMQFQiXrXYsbTGlA8L4Rykpz3eJ5-9pdNrXsom2b2gZrcexTX9TahVvsCG6c0LPBmtFhhoSDOeTtfBdA1hwowRm6G5YGPq3cUUq3ur6guqrh9pt1eq2jDdF4XFa/w640-h186/Screen+Shot+2021-06-23+at+9.07.36+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">American rapper BLXST looks forward to an activation for Filipino fans<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">By Rick Olivares<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">It’s six o’clock in the evening in Los Angeles, California, and American rapper BLXST (pronounced as “Blast”) is all smiles. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Why not? His family is safe and healthy in this time of pandemic and his new single, “Chosen” has charted high Top 50 Philippines and Hot Hits Philippines and get this… is above luminaries such as Dua Lipa and BTS.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Furthermore, it has been added to the rotation of Magic 89.9, RX 93.1, and 99.5 PlayFM.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“That is amazing,” BLXST (whose real name is Matthew Burdette) said with a toothy grin. “That is the power of music -- to hit another side of the world where I have not been to. I hear it’s gaining traction in Asia as well. It’s made me appreciate the position I am in to do something like this. After I am done with my American tour (that should kick off soon), I will look to how we can do an activation over there (in Manila).”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Chosen” which features fellow rap artists Ty Dolla Sign and Tyga is one of four new songs BLXST has unveiled this 2021.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">With each song, the Los Angeles native has released a corresponding video that shows his love for film.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Making the music that is bigger than life… that is the plan,” revealed BLXST. “Making short films in these music videos is expanding the ideas and making the music come alive. And if it happens down the line, I want to try my hand at acting.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">For now, BLXST is concentrating on making music and working on his first full-length album. Most of his music is available on streaming platforms. His one extended play single titled, “No Love Lost,” and released in 2020 on vinyl has become highly sought after with the few precious copies available selling for at least $400 a pop. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The full-length we will look into making it also available on vinyl for fans who love that medium,” he said <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">His earlier singles have done extremely well on streaming platforms with the videos also received well on YouTube. And despite making music for the past three years, fans are hoping that breakout success is just around the corner. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Criminally underrated,” is how BLXST’s fans describe him.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Well, I like the tag ‘criminally underrated’ because it will have this snowball effect. When <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">people who catch on to my music, it goes around by word of mouth making it organic rather than following a trend. Over time it helps build a solid foundation and fan base.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Even if it is also on the other side of the world some 15 hours away. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Hopefully soon, we can see how we can collaborate with artists from Asia,<br /> said BLXST. “Today, it’s mandatory to expand the sound and get the feel for different cultures. So I am looking forward to what we can do with other artists in the Philippines, and Asia.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“I’m a chill and laid-back person who gives out these mellow vibes,” said BLXST. “I’m blessed to spread this across the world.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-90532211576639430452021-06-23T14:16:00.006+08:002021-06-23T14:16:37.578+08:00On my turntable: Burning Witches' The Witch of the North<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaG2Ni022xpu6W6_Q_H3fnOlMX64AI20ftRZDKYIeByjDpaCMX7_OfJxdVW9RugK56qc60Co3w-8T6LL5Z9AgtU7tfN8e_yPtPWOG2KsBQ39HJhel63d3gqOBExrKpWi98ykfsVZHXbdWT/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="515" data-original-width="640" height="515" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaG2Ni022xpu6W6_Q_H3fnOlMX64AI20ftRZDKYIeByjDpaCMX7_OfJxdVW9RugK56qc60Co3w-8T6LL5Z9AgtU7tfN8e_yPtPWOG2KsBQ39HJhel63d3gqOBExrKpWi98ykfsVZHXbdWT/w640-h515/204885675_10159068496320630_7643315718818545173_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The fourth album from this Swiss metal band is their best so far. I love it.</span></b></span></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-60195468361636866922021-06-21T14:11:00.002+08:002021-06-23T14:18:28.998+08:00Filipino indie label Terno Recordings to release Kapitan Kulam & international indie artists<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtYroqzSxytRXC6xxUSZsv9G4ngQVRKi-iPoE7AwLts2HDhwYtkRjXp1FpUwh2raB6ibhopHa_f5sUUQjkrBBEUXSr1Y4qHZxwHbb_KkXgkT8BQnhyHpYUB-MEsh9-mVnmFxIbVeNFDlQ-/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="261" data-original-width="500" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtYroqzSxytRXC6xxUSZsv9G4ngQVRKi-iPoE7AwLts2HDhwYtkRjXp1FpUwh2raB6ibhopHa_f5sUUQjkrBBEUXSr1Y4qHZxwHbb_KkXgkT8BQnhyHpYUB-MEsh9-mVnmFxIbVeNFDlQ-/w640-h334/safe_image.php.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Filipino indie label Terno Recordings to release Kapitan Kulam & international indie artists<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">By Rick Olivares<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Trailblazing Filipino independent record label Terno Recordings that has given Filipino music fans pop confectionary by Up Dharma Down, Orange and Lemons, Radioactive Sago Project, Populardays, and AOUI is taking the big step of going international. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Music impresario Toti Dalmacion, the man behind Terno Recordings is excited with the new direction. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“The Covid-19 situation prompted me to move into a different direction but still in line with what I do,” explained Dalmacion. “I will release more on vinyl but not necessarily local artists.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Dalmacion said he will be releasing the music of a pair of Brooklyn, New York independent artists Tenants from Zero and Julia Kwamya. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Tenants from Zero is the musical persona of Paul Darrah who describes his music form as “transforming affairs of the art into elegant pop songs” and in the vein of Roxy Music’s vocalist Bryan Ferry, David Sylvian of art rockers Japan, Everything But the Girl, and the Blue Nile. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Julia Kwamya, the self-described “break-up specialist” also hails from Brooklyn and is of Ghanaian and Ugandan heritage. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Tenants from Zero’s album titled, “Flight,” as well as Julia Kwamya’s effort titled “Feeling Good About Feeling Bad” will both hit the independent music stores in Tokyo, the United States, Europe, and Dalmacion’s This is Pop shop in Makati this October.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Kwamya’s album is “the product of eight years of work and is about classic mid-20s angst following a break-up,” said the Brooklyn native who is influenced by Joao Gilberto, Kylie Minogue, David Bowie.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Also expected from Terno Recordings is the debut album of Filipino noise and sludge rockers Kapitan Kulam who will remind many of early Black Sabbath. The international release of this band will give foreign music fans a taste of the exciting and diverse music scene in the Philippines. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Kapitan Kulam is that other band by media personality Lourd de Veyra who along with drummer Jay Gapasin who also are with the Radioactive Sago Project, guitarist Kakoy Olavides who also performs with art rockers Pastilan Dong, and bassist Eric Melendez.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">While Kapitan Kulam’s music greatly differs from Terno Recordings’ usual indie pop and shoegaze fare, Dalmacion says he knows there is a market for this music all over the world. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Kapitan Kulam released their self-titled EP online recently, but their full-vinyl release according to Dalmacion should be out early this 2022.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">As for other local bands under Terno Recordings’ roster, Dalmacion said that only when they are ready with new recordings will they be lined up for release. </p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-42371033572792500262021-06-19T01:02:00.001+08:002021-06-23T14:06:45.030+08:00Tips for New Record Collectors<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM7YVcCtuVRgfHgT2p03yzWWio4x8wVGVf6XOQqFCkzDO8K_yT2NhTKNfjJIfBrJt6jnBH-QfTKAg103UwOBveTgIauaWgrEojBbuCo9IAPDGxyyMdwt3ZpRA9uru68YSFqDeugIOfzF2n/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img data-original-height="633" data-original-width="950" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM7YVcCtuVRgfHgT2p03yzWWio4x8wVGVf6XOQqFCkzDO8K_yT2NhTKNfjJIfBrJt6jnBH-QfTKAg103UwOBveTgIauaWgrEojBbuCo9IAPDGxyyMdwt3ZpRA9uru68YSFqDeugIOfzF2n/w400-h266/photo1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b style="font-family: Arial; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Tips for New Record Collectors</span></b><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">By Rick Olivares<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">You have gotten into an expensive hobby such as record collecting. Your collection is now accumulating and now you’re wondering about storage and how to protect your discs.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Here are simple and practical tips from decades of record collecting. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b>Display those works of art. <o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">One such appeal of vinyl is the album art. Your collection is like having your own record museum version of the Louvre. All right, that is an exaggeration because nothing compares to the Louvre. But I am sure you get my drift - storing them or putting them on display is part of the fun.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b> </b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The square dimension of records and their album art make them best displayed rather than locked up in some mega-plastic box.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">There are square crates that cost anywhere from PhP 1,200-2,000 with each crate holding about 70-100 records. These are readily available at certain shops like the Grey Market, M.E. Records, Vinyl & Collectibles Online Store and some others all of which are on Facebook.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">There are also cabinets that can be purchased anywhere from PhP 2,000-7,000 that are actually bookshelves and collectively can hold anywhere from 750-800 records. What makes the number of records vary is the kind of records you have. The 180 gram records are thicker that usually come in gatefold jackets. Records pressed from the 1950s up to the early 1990s are thinner; hence, you can include more on your shelf.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Your records are placed sideways and are readable by the titles on the spine of the jacket.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">And of course, you can custom your record racks. I know people whose racks resembles those in record stores where you can pull each tray out with the front of the jacket facing you. It’s nifty if you ask me. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b>Save these works of art.<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Records all come in shrink wrap. But some music fans remove them because one cannot enjoy the interior art or liner notes that are sometimes placed on them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">This is an anathema to some collectors who feel that removing the shrink wrap devalues the record.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Do you collect because you are a fan or are you a collector who looks to sell them later on when the title’s value has gone up and you’re looking to make some extra bucks? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Whatever floats your boat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">There are generic looking jackets in black or white with a doughnut hole in the middle. This works well with your second-hand records whose original jackets could be falling apart. That or they have come without them.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">There are also plastic wraps to replace or add to the shrink wrap.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">My rule of the thumb is… if it is a second hand record and the shrink wrap is dirty and ageing, I will remove and replace with newer outer plastic for better protection. When the shrink wrap is ageing, it’s chemicals seep into the record jacket and create drop outs.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">There are two types of outer plastic for the jacket – the re-sealable and the non-re-sealable. Even then, there are two other variants – a thinner outer one and a thicker one.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Let’s backtrack.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The re-sealable, well, it’s nice if you aren’t playing your records again. Because repeated opening and re-sealing causes the plastic to lose its sense of pristineness for those who are OC.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Me? I prefer the non-re-sealable and thick plastic. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Then there’s the inner plastic for your records. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">There is the anti-static that is expensive and your ordinary plastic. I keep all mine is the latter. If you insert them in their paper sleeves, they get scratched.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Now, to prevent ring wear (is what happens when the disc’s shape imprints itself on the jacket and destroys the outer album art and jacket) from appearing on the jacket, I place the records in their sleeves outside the jacket but both within the outer thick plastic.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">You can purchase these outer and inner plastics as well as cardboard jackets (for seven-inch and 12-inch records) from Lahn’s Vinyl, Treskul Records, and others. Check out their Facebook pages.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b>Give those records some shine.<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Francis Dewey Santos has concocted this excellent cleaning solution that I highly recommend called Dooo-Weez-Ooze.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Back in the 1980s, if you couldn’t afford the imported record cleaners, you settled with this local cleaner that came in what looked like a medicine bottle. But this was a scary solution to use as sometimes, it literally melted the vinyl!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Santos’ Dooo-Weez-Ooze comes in a kit (PhP 650) that includes a micro-fiber towel to clean records, a rubber mat to protect the disc, and a spray bottle to spread the solution.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">I highly recommend this (Francis supplies many of the local independent stores with this cleaner) and you can look him up on Facebook.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b>And lastly, catalogue them… your way.<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">There are many ways to do catalogue your records – by genre (which makes the most sense), alphabetical, or by era. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">By cataloguing your records, it makes for easy referencing and pulling them out as you know where they are.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Personally, I catalogue my records by genre – Jamaican music (reggae, ska, rock steady, and dub) on one shelf, New Wave in a couple of others, punk and hardcore in a couple, heavy metal, shoegaze/dream pop in one, one shelf has contemporary jazz while another features the old-time greats, and so on.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">I do have others that stand out on their own. My Beatles records as well as the individual efforts of all the members are in one rack. My Original Pilipino Music records are spread across three shelves – those released from the 1960s to the early 1990s, those released from 2000-onwards, and those released by Filipino bands based abroad. All my Record Store Day releases are in another. Ditto with soundtracks. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">You can get creative with your own filing system. It adds to the listening experience. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-32187678220753971742021-06-11T09:43:00.001+08:002021-06-11T09:43:00.232+08:00Itchyworms Waiting for the End to Start: From digital to vinyl to perhaps the best album art of the year<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTExgYMkOSG2-Du89CqqlPw1vmkMIuc5l8I3bQbMJmEVb4pMY4rkqkR05Q_vifMK08X06fzjpBUB1QtmLG7YLhUPKmO-caAyJcoGKPyrnaL_PJtH3CnYk6S3NiPoKAkJ46jfjS5ZY3K0lY/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="2048" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTExgYMkOSG2-Du89CqqlPw1vmkMIuc5l8I3bQbMJmEVb4pMY4rkqkR05Q_vifMK08X06fzjpBUB1QtmLG7YLhUPKmO-caAyJcoGKPyrnaL_PJtH3CnYk6S3NiPoKAkJ46jfjS5ZY3K0lY/w640-h452/178412386_206912067662141_9031280410133058804_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <b style="font-family: Arial; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Itchyworms Waiting for the End to Start: From digital to vinyl to perhaps the best album art of the year</span></b><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">By Rick Olivares<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The Itchyworms’ fifth album, “Waiting for the End to Start,” is probably the first Filipino music album that was initially released digitally that has out of left field gotten the vinyl treatment.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">In addition to being the most introspective album of the quartet as it was written and recorded during this Covid-19 lockdown, what makes the vinyl release just as tantalizing is the album art.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The album art, illustrated beautifully and hauntingly by Aidon Panlaqui, is already a candidate for the best album art of the year.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The cover to the record’s gatefold jacket shows 16 art squares with illustrations depicted the effects of the quarantine on our daily lives from closed down stores, to looking gaunt in the mirror, empty basketball courts, facemasks, their pets, and looking out windows and balconies.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Aidon’s minimalist art is jarring.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">When you open the gatefold jacket, there are another set of 16 art squares that mirror the cover. Except this time, they are actual photos of musical instruments, recording gear, and personal things that the individual members of the Itchyworms went through in this lockdown from the closure of Route 196, wearing facemasks, and equipment at home.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Essentially, the art squares show everything that the band went through in this difficult time,” bared Panlaqui. “It’s very Itchyworms. They tell good stories of what they go through. And I think the songs together with the album art hit the right emotions of what everyone goes through.” <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The back of the album shows the song titles on white text against the black starry space. But in keeping with the album’s grim title -- hey, there’s a flaming meteor headed God knows where.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Even while waiting for the end, you can’t lose your sense of humor,” chuckled Panlaqui. “But in all seriousness, I am happy that the band trusts me to do the art (as he has rendered the band’s single art for some time now.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“I think that WFTETS sounds so much better on vinyl,” noted Itchyworms’ co-vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist Jugs Jugueta. I mean, I think it was made for that medium.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The vinyl release of WFTETS is courtesy of Sony Music and Backspacer Records; an independent record seller that only recently put out their first release on vinyl, a re-release of Peryodiko’s self-titled debut. Following Itchyworms’ Backspacer Records is released Dong Abay Music Organization’s “Humanidad” on vinyl. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“The success of Peryodiko gave us a big boost of confidence to approach more artists and press more records,” said Backspacer Records’ Robert Tuazon. “As a young player in the industry, we are grateful to Sony Music who entrusted to us this project. ‘Waiting for the End to Start’ is best listened to on vinyl with the band’s maturity really evident and heard. We are honored to be a part of this project and to share it with music fans.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">As for the album art, Jugueta gushed about Panlaqui’s work, “I love it! It is so beautiful. We are always blown away by Aidon’s mad skills.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“WFTETS is an experimental concept album since many of us didn’t have recording equipment at that time, but Jazz (Nicolas, the band’s co-vocalist and drummer) and Peavey Nicolas of Big Baby Studios made it sound like it was recorded in a studio. It sounds very very clean! The vinyl version gave it a bit more body and some dirt that the digital version does not have. But you know, analog noise is pleasant to the ears. The vinyl version gives a different character to WFTET. When we sing about the end of the world, it’s much more believable when you hear it on vinyl.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">--------</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">For inquiries about purchasing Itchyworms' WFTETS LP, go to the FB page of Backspacer Records.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-14522083037796221062021-06-10T15:06:00.000+08:002021-06-10T15:06:01.932+08:00Chicago punk band Negative Scanner on my playlist.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rW-xS8ztn-d-BtCV-G66-0jqP_pmFEuWekJlYzBOpi4PVtGvZuHa3JzhAHx6tl8m0xZUGM5_l1oPUwoeVTogL6l7P_i0gxmsPGWr9GXi_TaWIobTu3ugfYDaFbiYwqICn6zxZVfDqxbD/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1574" data-original-width="2048" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rW-xS8ztn-d-BtCV-G66-0jqP_pmFEuWekJlYzBOpi4PVtGvZuHa3JzhAHx6tl8m0xZUGM5_l1oPUwoeVTogL6l7P_i0gxmsPGWr9GXi_TaWIobTu3ugfYDaFbiYwqICn6zxZVfDqxbD/w640-h492/195397421_322106352657689_6878257256218180351_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">I discovered Chicago punk band Negative Scanner and their FilipinoAmerican vocalist Rebecca Valeriano-Flores in 2015. Their EP and single were both released on 7-inch vinyl in 2014. I did get the band's second album, Nose Picker, in 2018. The compact disc version I got only recently. I hope to pick up their first album soon.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">They remind me of 80s punk rock -- snarling, angry, and just right and not too discordant. Plus, the cover art of their albums (featuring Valeriano-Flores is jarring).</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-88540741769226991272021-06-07T14:55:00.011+08:002021-06-10T14:58:05.048+08:00Loving the new album of Testament<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaAna8LlCOMzMgCepy-qUoo56pJ82t9q70Yo8osvmor05vT5d1vlyYmxSLrq997KaNShQIuXK1IFK6Lldt3Nfr5rvgdZ5jncXwvvPtG6EHvktyd3fllZLI1FwnUTmUNMHDh43-SZBiP-Di/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1884" data-original-width="1976" height="610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaAna8LlCOMzMgCepy-qUoo56pJ82t9q70Yo8osvmor05vT5d1vlyYmxSLrq997KaNShQIuXK1IFK6Lldt3Nfr5rvgdZ5jncXwvvPtG6EHvktyd3fllZLI1FwnUTmUNMHDh43-SZBiP-Di/w640-h610/194757159_10159031672745630_3508356788441655189_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">This is only my second album of thrash metal band Testament after Dark Roots of Earth and I love both of these albums! Titans of Creation is awesome.</span><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-73468416227696941012021-05-15T07:54:00.003+08:002021-05-15T07:54:55.807+08:00I love Echo and the Bunnymen... their old records<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EUBAcwWSoZSXytbNS4CyR_Plo89hq8zT8WlKPXj0Ke-JcUKo6HBzskBRnxAgxomZCqlxIJOkxT_O-kIJFvH_eBELccPFUpxm4-Rf7fz6MBT_sKC-5VIx6bqcZ-LVHyy4tq-Pt-lBuJY1/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1884" data-original-width="1968" height="612" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8EUBAcwWSoZSXytbNS4CyR_Plo89hq8zT8WlKPXj0Ke-JcUKo6HBzskBRnxAgxomZCqlxIJOkxT_O-kIJFvH_eBELccPFUpxm4-Rf7fz6MBT_sKC-5VIx6bqcZ-LVHyy4tq-Pt-lBuJY1/w640-h612/185664879_10158971486530630_877951657750328610_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">I was in first year high school in 1981 when I was introduced to Echo and the Bunnymen by my classmate, Nicky R. That was their first album, Crocodiles. I got myself a copy and was enthralled by their sound. It's like they picked up on Joy Division but with a more atmospheric sound. More than the music, I loved the oddness about them. The weird videos and use of shadow and silhouettes on their album art. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I got al their albums and loved everyone of them including this self-titled album above that you see. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Unfortunately, this was my last Echo and the Bunnymen record. Oh, I did get the next one which was a compilation -- Songs to Learn and Sing but I never got another. It's not that I do not like them. I do. But after this album, I went for louder bands -- Jane's Addiction, Pixies, Guns N' Roses, and the like. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I love Ocean Rain which may be their best record and the self-titled is all right. I prefer Side Two.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And strangely, even as I revisited my old favorite bands of the 1980s, I never went past this album. I did pick up a live album that was released much later, but I have largely been unimpressed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But it's just great listening to the old records from Crocodiles, Heaven Up Here, Porcupine, Ocean Rain, and this.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-32735016426367349032021-05-14T09:40:00.002+08:002021-05-15T07:43:27.810+08:00The new cassette album from Filipino punk band ExSenadors<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQMSU5Hxz5-15KuVps9PPfyOAIMG1L4IW3JnVWlAQpYcM1yvpBa5uz03L70FQbYJVtW9OnBt4ypTK0vYy_q4HHd_1MrPg3VhtHLkCnVMbrflJcDN2dQJF5TrLCAWKibOTWIwOZ4dQKcuo/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1437" data-original-width="2048" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQMSU5Hxz5-15KuVps9PPfyOAIMG1L4IW3JnVWlAQpYcM1yvpBa5uz03L70FQbYJVtW9OnBt4ypTK0vYy_q4HHd_1MrPg3VhtHLkCnVMbrflJcDN2dQJF5TrLCAWKibOTWIwOZ4dQKcuo/w640-h450/186511805_10158976223495630_236089720142117952_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A jarring and stinging new diatribe of the times by ExSenadors.... Heartlessness and the Perpetuation of Despair.</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Been a fan of this band since I picked up their Kalayaan o Kamatayan EP on 7-inch vinyl. Have their other cassettes as well.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Released on cassette. </span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-57773560666065193282021-05-05T09:11:00.006+08:002021-05-05T09:11:50.953+08:00Listening to Ride's This is Not A Safe Place<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilb28d18o81NxFVnT0st12cFJspjsfMjMW_g2RiWIUAwKGdII2R4JFsa7r1Iw_kgL9HsEcsNN4y8p5JmDZWLziv9ODzY4sX2svNuF3d9fnG47HH9RmX-3jSdYUQSIoHyxK2EarNIahOhjJ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1832" data-original-width="1816" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilb28d18o81NxFVnT0st12cFJspjsfMjMW_g2RiWIUAwKGdII2R4JFsa7r1Iw_kgL9HsEcsNN4y8p5JmDZWLziv9ODzY4sX2svNuF3d9fnG47HH9RmX-3jSdYUQSIoHyxK2EarNIahOhjJ/w635-h640/182608336_10158952653590630_7270910843799314548_n.jpg" width="635" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-84891048567582404672021-05-03T09:12:00.018+08:002021-05-05T09:19:33.677+08:00My Test Presses<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> How many test presses do I have?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Let's see...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">On 12-inch vinyl </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Gapo Volume 1</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Barred - Bloodstained Existence</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Peryodiko</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Red-I - Killademic</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Itchyworms - Waiting for the End to Start</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">On seven-inch vinyl</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Pilipinas Hardcore Volume 1</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Pilipinas Hardcore Volume 2</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Oi Squad (still unreleased)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Veils - Wellwisher's Tongue</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Choke Cocoi/Tiger Pussy</span></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-54199160810925653202021-04-30T09:08:00.001+08:002021-05-05T09:10:48.318+08:00The 50th Anniversary of Anak Bayan<p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN3VizVe5mlL88gjatBj9fl9M4lukGid7gnHcNJOo-_He2gY8xTfYO3JdggEBWgLf8DysDq0xfYJNHZ8dKq4vlpi7oaG6CBBwFUKN0VIbM7EurKgHGIRQ3KvicKEHbgar7LYUamNwmJJbj/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1859" data-original-width="2048" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN3VizVe5mlL88gjatBj9fl9M4lukGid7gnHcNJOo-_He2gY8xTfYO3JdggEBWgLf8DysDq0xfYJNHZ8dKq4vlpi7oaG6CBBwFUKN0VIbM7EurKgHGIRQ3KvicKEHbgar7LYUamNwmJJbj/w400-h364/180412842_10158944810635630_1667692270258442969_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b style="font-family: Arial; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">OPM Rock History: 50<sup>th</sup> Anniversary of Anak Bayan.</span></b><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">By Rick Olivares<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">When one talks about the origins of Pinoy Rock, one has to start with the Juan dela Cruz Band. Of course, you have the guitar-instrumental bands of the 60s like the Electromaniacs, the Firedons, and other guitar instrumental combos. However, it’s its real sludgy, feedback, and beer guzzling rock that got everything rolling in the 1970s.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Out of the ashes of the clean cut and radio-friendly sound of the Mersey Beat came a harder edged and raucous brand of rock typified by the Who, the epic soundscapes of Led Zeppelin, the progressive sound of Yes, and the psychedelia of Jimi Hendrix and Santana rose Anak Bayan. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">When Edmond “Bosyo” Fortuno returned from a successful seven-year stint in Japan with D’Swooners that saw them play Rhythm and Blues to a highly-appreciative Japanese audience, he was flush with inspiration and excitement from the music he was hearing, listening to, and experiencing abroad.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Bosyo was blown away by his experience in the Land of the Rising Sun. What Fortuno had in mind was to record rock songs sung in the vernacular. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">In Japan, he saw the furious debate among the Japanese on whether their version of rock music should be sung in English or in Nihongo. While there were bands that performed in both languages, many eventually shifted to their native language setting the stage for what would be called, J-Pop.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">With a vision of forming a rock band singing in Filipino, Edmond reconnected with Wally Gonzalez and over some eats and brews, and formed the earliest incarnation of the Juan dela Cruz Band of which Fortuno bequeathed the name.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Explained Fortuno, “If rock music was for the American John Doe everyman, then it can be the same for Juan dela Cruz.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Edmond didn’t stay long however, as it didn’t seem like the band was going to materialize (it eventually did and recorded its first album Up in Arms in 1971). So, he formed Anak Bayan with co-vocalist and guitarist Vic Naldo, Bing Labrador on keyboards, Alex Cruz on saxophone, Sonny Tolentino (son of National Artist for Sculpture Guillermo Tolentino) on bass, with himself on drums and vocals. Marlon Ilagan, brother of actor, Jay, was also a part of that band playing bass.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Anak Bayan was a regular in the Manila rock clubs like Reno’s, Romulus, Los Indios Bravos, Flames, <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The album was recorded around the same time as Juan dela Cruz’ Himig Natin record in 1973. The self-titled debut featured eight songs that were a merry mix of acid rock, jazz, and folk leanings. You could feel the music of Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and the Moody Blues influence Anak Bayan’s music. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Jeepney Rock” and “Ang Probinsyana” led the way. “Double Crosser” had this Doobie Brothers vibe.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Bangungot” featuring Bosyo on vocals and Alex Cruz’ lilting flute is a standout track; one that evoked San Francisco band It’s a Beautiful Day’s “White Bird.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">However, much to the dismay of the band, the album was shelved (due to financial concerns by the record label) and only released in 1977. By then much of the original Anak Bayan had moved on with Fortuno adding a new crew.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">It was in 1978 where Anak Bayan scored its biggest hit and is the one they are known by – “Pagbabalik ng Kwago” that was also released as a seven-inch single. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Pagbabalik ng Kwago” has since been recorded by a diverse array of artist’s and bands from Gary Perez, Kapatid, Hey Moonshine, and Pedro’s Cannabis among many others.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">One of them is supergroup Kapatid that featured the late Karl Roy (Advent Call and P.O.T.), Nathan Azarcon (Rivermaya, Bamboo) on bass, original Anak Bayan member Alex Cruz’ son Ira (Passage, Bamboo, Hijo) on guitar, J-Hoon Balbuena (Kjwan) on drums, and Chico Molina on guitars. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Said Kapatid’s bassist Nathan Azarcon of the decision to record the Anak Bayan classic, “Familiar kami mga old guys sa band. And yung chorus, pasok sa vision ng banda.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><i>“Dadalhin tayo sa paraiso.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><i>Sa pugad ng langit ang lahat ay magkapatid.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><i>Pantay pantay lang.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><i>Walang lamanggan, nagkakaisa.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><i>Magbibigayan.”<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">While Pinoy Rock held its own with the Juan dela Cruz Band, Maria Cafra, Sampaguita, Judas, Anak Bayan, and the Olongapo-based groups like the Frictions, disco was in full swing in the mid-to-late 1970s. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Anak Bayan went on with members coming and going with Edmond its one constant. The band’s second iteration was star-studded as it included Gary Perez and Jun Lopito on guitars and Gil Cruz on bass. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">However, the band effectively ended when Edmond “Bosyo” Fortuno passed away in 2000 due to meningitis. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">And yet, Anak Bayan, and Fortuno’s place in Pinoy Rock and Original Pilipino Music history is secure.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Recalled Jingle magazine co-publisher Eric Guillermo, “Jingle magazine produced Triple H (Hot na Hot Happening), a three-night concert at the Meralco Theater in the early 1970s. We had Bits ‘n Pieces, Boy Camara & Afterbirth, Soul Jugglers from Gapo, our folk rock group Jingle Clan, and Anak Bayan with Vic Naldo on guitar, Marlon Ilagan on bass, and Edmond Fortuno on drums.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“They played their extended instrumental jazz rock numbers and I was dumfounded to say the least for it was my first time to hear ‘kawala’ music. Remember that cover songs were in vogue during those times. Pinoy Rock was unheard of during those years. So it could be said that Anak Bayan started everything.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-9229557747855446322021-04-13T05:45:00.001+08:002021-04-13T05:45:00.183+08:00Filipina rock musician Lala Frischknecht’s Journey from Mayric’s to Wacken<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY95T1higlR3GF8waHybkkaEnHEctW8wJ1cjNH-wuzlBuKJLwCnlYNDftlwmETbbGWlV63Hqp9IZGpuViCBwIDKFDeU5FDcfBN3IEU8wnu1xs2dC3iskYvcK7Jb-pPAGLPdvCkAp_LGgsc/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1770" data-original-width="2048" height="553" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY95T1higlR3GF8waHybkkaEnHEctW8wJ1cjNH-wuzlBuKJLwCnlYNDftlwmETbbGWlV63Hqp9IZGpuViCBwIDKFDeU5FDcfBN3IEU8wnu1xs2dC3iskYvcK7Jb-pPAGLPdvCkAp_LGgsc/w640-h553/image1.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Filipina rock musician Lala Frischknecht’s Journey from Mayric’s to Wacken<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">By Rick Olivares<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Hey, it’s Gene Simmons!”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Lala Frischknecht spotted the famous rock star of American band, Kiss, walking around during the 2019 Sweden Rock Festival. Lala, along with her bandmates in Swiss heavy metal band, Burning Witches, immediately swarmed Simmons and asked for a photo or two. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Six years into Burning Witches – three records with a fourth one on the way this May 28<sup>th</sup> 2021 plus a few Extended Play singles and massive shows across Europe – Lala, who hails from San Antonio, Nueva Ecija, still has to constantly pinch herself and ask herself or even the band’s manager if this all real and happening.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">It seems like yesterday that Lala Ortiz (her maiden name) left her hometown to study in Manila. It was in the capital where she found an outlet for her love for heavy music and she performed with bands like Cherry Bomb and Resurrected (with Fin Santos and Alvin Esperanza) at Mayric’s, John’s Place in Marikina, and UP Los Banos among others in the mid-to-late 1990s. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“I always felt like the odd girl out because I liked loud music and wanted to play it,” related Lala. Even this day when I meet fellow Filipinos here in Europe, I find it difficult to relate to them because we have different tastes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">After leaving her band, she went to Japan to work and it is there that she met Marco Frischknecht, an engineer who was in Tokyo for work and who she would later marry. From Japan, she moved westward to Zurich, Switzerland in 2011.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“I moved her thinking I’d just be a housewife and do other things,” thought Lala. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">It took the prodding of her step-father, Urs Froelicher, who played with the Burning Blues Band and the Cleans, to play the drums once more.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“As I was starting my new life in Switzerland, my father-in-law urged me to return to music. How cool is that, right? When I did, my drum teacher, Imad Barnieh, said I had potential,” recalled Frischknecht. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Three months non-stop playing, her drum coach informed Lala about this all-female heavy metal band, Burning Witches, was looking for someone to work the drum kit. “I auditioned for the job and got it,” said Frischknecht. “I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">On the strength of their independently released self-titled album in 2017 that sold out, word spread among the metal music community about this all-female band that was kicking butt and taking names.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">That led to Burning Witches being signed by the world’s biggest extreme music record company, Nuclear Blast, from Germany. The German label includes American hardcore punk heroes Agnostic front, French darkgaze pioneers Alcest, symphonic metal heavyweights Epica from Holland, Brazilian masters Sepultura, and Rob Zombie among many others.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Their Nuclear Blast debut, Hexenhammer (2018), put them on the map with bigger sales (as the album and EPs hit the charts) and being featured in top industry magazines like Metal Hammer. This led to the band performing in bigger venues all over Europe. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“We got to perform with bands like Kreator who I only listened to as a teenager and here I am next to them,” gushed Lala. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">It was during the 2019 Wacken Open Air Festival in July of 2019 where the Swiss crew got a taste of its biggest audience that was attended by 75,000-plus fans. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“I am the first Filipino to perform there,” she noted. It is in that same festival where she connected with Filipino metal band Valley of Chrome that also made their Wacken debut. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The band’s rise can also be attributed to the support of Damir Eskic of the bands Destruction and Gomorra. Eskic is the husband of Burning Witches guitarist Romana Kalkuhl.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Frischknecht on the other hand, has also been recognized for her stick work, and she endorses Istanbul Mehmet cymbals and Kim Custom Drums. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Her parents Oscar and Lolita, back in Nueva Ecija, tell everyone who is willing to listen that their daughter is doing well as a musician in Europe. They show guests this well-read copy of Metal Hammer and other magazines that feature Burning Witches.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">As much as Lala feels embarrassed because she feels that she is still the same lass who left her hometown to see the world all those years ago, family and home remain dear to her.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Following Wacken, Frischknecht visited her family in Nueva Ecija for a long overdue vacation. In this last trip that bridged 2019 and 2020 right before the pandemic shut the world down, Lala was asked to judge a battle of the bands – on the condition that she not be introduced. But the organizers, proud of their own, still introduced her as the drummer of Burning Witches. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Sa bahay sa Switzerland, lalo ngayon pandemic, nandito lang ako nagluluto, naglilinis, lahat ng gawaing bahay. Paguwi ko sa amin, ang tawag pa rin sa akin ng kapatid ko na si Czarina ay ‘Annie Batungbakal’ – sa kanta ng Hotdog – kasi pag umaga parang dispatsadora na nagwawalis, naglababa tapos sa gabi nagbabanda.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Her band made be one of the more popular ones in metal music now, but Lala is hardly on social media. “Our manager, Schmier (who plays bass for German thrash metal band Destruction), always tells me I am the only one from Burning Witches who isn’t active on social media. So it is only recently that I began to post. But if I had my way, I’d post about doing the home stuff – cooking, cleaning, knitting…”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">With the pandemic putting all live events to a grinding halt, Lala and her bandmates are home with a lot of time on their hands to work on their fourth album.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“This is a record where we spent a lot of time working on the songs,” described Lala. “And because we had time, I think we were all able to try out a lot of things and record it to the best of our abilities.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">For now, though, the band does interviews in anticipation of the new release. Prior to talking to abs-cbnnews.com, she was interviewed by a British site and other music journalists. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala sa lahat ng ito. It’s like a dream,” gushed Lala. “It wasn’t long ago, I was performing in Mayric’s and watching shows at Club Dredd. I was working in Japan and buying all these albums of metal bands at Disk Union in Tokyo. Now, I am Switzerland and performing with Burning Witches. I guess the lesson is to keep going for your dreams no matter what. You’ll never know.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Well said. After all the journey from San Antonio, Nueva Ecija to Manila’s Mayric’s and Club Dredd to Tokyo and now, Europe.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Am not dreaming am I?” laughed Lala Frischknecht.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHy449OTXP_GuBlvqLRZIy61YoqmRpLxCc_2SgTa0s3fRl_cXp11xu3uj-g5oQGr6bwI-ckmHg8ADzMfKS593D3cpRdGsIxMCKEJiRbf2T-eSQaXcFlgzb4Xrwxh0PEX7yk8hxleAOS-kx/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHy449OTXP_GuBlvqLRZIy61YoqmRpLxCc_2SgTa0s3fRl_cXp11xu3uj-g5oQGr6bwI-ckmHg8ADzMfKS593D3cpRdGsIxMCKEJiRbf2T-eSQaXcFlgzb4Xrwxh0PEX7yk8hxleAOS-kx/w640-h426/image3.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-53484982861923271602021-04-12T23:40:00.003+08:002021-04-12T23:40:48.525+08:00The story behind local Jazz releases Chasing the Sun & Turtle Bird<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSPpQhAXFO7fN2rXFfvaEWT6NwGWjVHD6y8uBI0BWW5rNW00K1To-zIsmTpIgiz_n2pRuLnLxg6f0yShK-IeVO1a_P0wc4Dr1rTjX3XJ9H_llXOsxdTsnCqw5bzhdc5QOBiDHFkqHbjLa/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSPpQhAXFO7fN2rXFfvaEWT6NwGWjVHD6y8uBI0BWW5rNW00K1To-zIsmTpIgiz_n2pRuLnLxg6f0yShK-IeVO1a_P0wc4Dr1rTjX3XJ9H_llXOsxdTsnCqw5bzhdc5QOBiDHFkqHbjLa/w640-h480/Tan+Toyozumi+Countryman.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">The story behind local Jazz releases Chasing the Sun & Turtle Bird</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By Rick Olivares<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jazz music, defined by its improvisation, syncopation, and poly-rhythms finds its roots in blues and ragtime. The music has gone on to be reinvented in many forms and sub-0genres as it migrated from the United States to other hemispheres.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And one particular trio is having a blast making music. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On “No Social Relevance,” the opening track of the album, Turtle Bird, Rick Countryman’s alto saxophone flutters, like a wounded bird struggling to find flight. Japanese drummer Sabu Toyozumi and Filipino bassist Simon Tan’s subtle playing hope to encourage the mournful sax to “fly now” to crib the words from American composer Bill Conti’s stirring “Theme from Rocky.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It rises but eventually stays grounded. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yet on the contrary, and certainly pardon the title, there is social relevance for Filipino jazz and it isn’t grounded at all… it’s on a resurgence. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There have been the two Adobo Jazz releases, there’s the Simon Tan Trio, and we’ve just seen guitarist Paolo Cortez release his debut contemporary jazz album, Not By Sight, this late March; all most welcome additions to the Filipino jazz canon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In terms of proclivity when it comes to local releases, it is Countryman and Tan along with either Toyozumi or Switzerland native Christian Bucher on drums.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Countryman and Tan have put out 10 albums working with either Toyozumi or Bucher all in the last five years. Most of them on compact disc except the most recent, Chasing the Sun, that aside from the CD release, received treatment on glorious vinyl. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As such, Chasing the Sun is perhaps the first locally recorded jazz album to be released domestically in a long time. The kick is… it was done independently. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Not since Japanese harpist Tadao Hayashi, who also called Manila, home, has an expatriate put out so much. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Out of his eight albums, Hayashi put out five on them while residing in Manila. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Making up for lost time?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Countryman laughed, “I never thought of it that way.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The man, along with his fellow musicians, is just doing his own thing for the love of the music.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Rick grew up in American Air Bases all over the world as his father was a serviceman. They eventually lived in Tucson, Arizona, before the family settled in Seattle, Washington.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The wanderlust from his youth continued as he grew older. After working for Microsoft in the US, Rick headed east to Japan for a couple of years then to the Philippines because his Filipina wife, Annie, preferred life in the tropics. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For the most part, Countryman occasionally dabbled into music. It wasn’t much until he met Simon Tan who played with a bunch of rock bands but preferred to play jazz.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Simon was giving me these constant ‘do-it-while-you’re-still-young” talks and that’s how it happened,” related Rick. “I recorded a lot of what I performed and I learned on how I can improve.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Countryman became friends with Frenchman Julien Palomo of free jazz label, Improvising Beings. The two bonded over a love of John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, and most particular, American saxophonist, Sonny Simmons (who passed away just this past April 6<sup>th</sup>) with Palomo hearing the influence on Countryman’s style.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Improvising Beings put out the first album of Countryman, Tan, and Bucher, in 2016 titled “Acceptance-Resistance” – a melodic and spirited effort. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Reflected Tan on the work with both Bucher and Toyozumi, “Christian is like a freight train (when he performs) … you gotta hold on. Sabu, on the other hand, is more colors and tones.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Added the Filipino bassist, “Free jazz is the pleasure of playing; the complete freedom to play in and out and to play the form or not.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For his part, Countryman felt the same about Tan’s playing, “Simon is amazing. He’s a sensitive performer who has a good feel for free jazz.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“I was trying to break into Japan when Julien introduced me to Sabu. And that’s how this partnership began,” related Rick. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It was Toyozumi who introduced Rick to Takeo Suetomo who had his own jazz label in Japan, Chap Chap Records which released most of the collaborations between Toyozumi, Countryman, and Tan.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Toyozumi, like Bucher, would oft fly into Manila for performances. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“That’s just for the love of the craft,” pointed out Tan. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The most recent releases are the twin albums, Chasing the Sun and Turtle Bird with both recorded during a live performance at the Tago Jazz Café in Cubao, Quezon City on the night of December 12, 2018. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“You had to block out the crowd and all the conversations going on so you could concentrate on the performance,” recounted Rick about the show. “There was this one guy sitting by himself and was really getting into the music. I made myself look away from him because you start feeling influenced by the crowd while you’re doing free improvisation and you want to stay communicated with Sabu and Simon. It’s hard not to think, ‘Oh, I want to do more to make the guy excited’ but that will mean playing with artificial intent. So I just have to focus on my bandmates.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And Countryman and Tan had to because Toyozumi was intense that night. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“During the song, ‘Chasing the Sun’ it was the most powerful I have experienced with Sabu and he was driving it. He’s a very spacious performer. He was roaring.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And that electricity from the show is captured on both Chasing the Sun and Turtle Bird. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Chasing the Sun, released on both gatefold vinyl (via Chap Chap Records in 2019) and compact disc (2020 on FMR Records), contains two tracks – the title song, and “Impermanence” that aren’t on Turtle Bird which boasts of the complete 18-minute exposition “No Social Relevance” that was edited on the record. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Turtle Bird also features the tracks, “Red Turtle Bird,” “Lower Depths,” and “Blue Turtle Bird.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Each one complements each other and is meant as a companion piece,” explained Countryman. “I hope music fans like it.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Note: For jazz fans interested in the music of Rick Countryman and Simon Tan, you may reach them in their respective Facebook pages.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-29449064354095543412021-04-09T11:43:00.001+08:002021-04-12T23:44:56.688+08:00New Filipino jazz release: Paolo Cortez’ Not by Sight<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkY3lPrEnrhD7jrKEm9c1nujMNwm1BEdv9cgtQ91TroWsPk8iYH2t_saJ1E-F9ZZvCUuBj_39VTDxUizzLgJTipp5UkZrUd6fPExVjC-9G0CqNGyulP3ERHkfKsJNLdClKPgsurIQ3QCr/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="950" data-original-width="950" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkY3lPrEnrhD7jrKEm9c1nujMNwm1BEdv9cgtQ91TroWsPk8iYH2t_saJ1E-F9ZZvCUuBj_39VTDxUizzLgJTipp5UkZrUd6fPExVjC-9G0CqNGyulP3ERHkfKsJNLdClKPgsurIQ3QCr/w400-h400/84262304_775199913003041_8884471337351905280_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b style="font-family: Arial; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">New Filipino jazz release: Paolo Cortez’ Not by Sight</span></b><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">By Rick Olivares<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Jazz guitarist Paolo Cortez’ debut album Not By Sight is sending a strong message to everyone willing to listen that they must “have faith” because it will get better for us.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The 11-track album released on compact disc by Swingster Jazz Mecca Records absolutely drips with that message of hope.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">From the cover that depicts a hot air balloon sailing away to the breezy and uplifting tracks and their song titles such as Brighter Side,” “It’s Alright,” and “Godsglory” as well as the album packaging, Cortez is telling is that even in this midst of this wretched pandemic that has sent everyone’s lives in disarray, that we have to hold on and do what we can because it will get better.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Released at the end of March this year just past the one-year anniversary of the lockdown that Metro Manila still finds itself in, Not By Sight breathes life into this sordid life and the percolating jazz scene. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The album title is taken from the second book of Corinthians in the Bible Chapter 5 Verse 7 where Paul the Apostle wrote, “For we live by faith and not by sight” that translates into “we live by believing and not seeing.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Throw in “doing” as well.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2-vahRRk7fECz3A2zsGna2jG5U3UhrgqL-kN_MU-l3DrxrsEMpyoE2lDfAsjLU8KaAkYHAnye06_sQogb0LgN8sHE6X8a7g4IvbxsdiuL-QzC_3_QTcN8xHgTUc91XBekdnizf7f0fuY/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit2-vahRRk7fECz3A2zsGna2jG5U3UhrgqL-kN_MU-l3DrxrsEMpyoE2lDfAsjLU8KaAkYHAnye06_sQogb0LgN8sHE6X8a7g4IvbxsdiuL-QzC_3_QTcN8xHgTUc91XBekdnizf7f0fuY/w400-h400/157580805_1051044865303185_80252986211325645_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Not By Sight is a 10-year labor of love that was fast tracked over the space of two days at Tago Jazz Café in Cubao,” said Cortez. “The pandemic that kept us at home gave me more time to work on the songs. When it seemed like 2021 was not going to get any better in terms of our lives going back to normal and us having shows and traveling to perform, we decided to record it once and for all.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">It is obvious that from the vibe of the album and the songs on the album, Cortez and the band (drummer Chuck Menor, bassist Josh Tulagan, pianist Emman Rodulfo with Paolo on guitar) have taken a positive and lighthearted approach.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">From the album art to even recording over two full days, it is all about going out of one’s comfort zone. Just like this pandemic.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">And as a whole, it makes for a delectable listen. It’s light and yet pensive. It’s music you best listen to when not busy as you kick off the shoes or flip flops and immerse in the simple beauty of these audio paintings. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">Cortez himself was an idealist when he went into performing jazz. He eventually realized that much of the local scene is still DIY. “I guess that is why it took me longer to get this music out,” he reasoned. “But at least, the songs have been refined and are much better than when I first wrote them.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">The drive that guitarist and his band have is to compose original music. “It’s easy to do cover music as that might what most people want,” added Cortez, “but new songs; our original music is what will make the jazz scene grow.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">“Recording at home, doing everything in terms of production, you come away with a healthier respect for the specialists who do this. And personally, it was fulfilling.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-41238544366176237872021-03-30T18:47:00.011+08:002021-04-01T18:49:41.953+08:00On my Turntable: Chasing the Sun by Sabu Toyozumi, Rick Countryman & Simon Tan<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcoKI9LnJL4abKs3f7RuKD-Xinx5JDd4nLx81u4SKnOFQXV4DDgwEa6hyphenhyphenPyskJ_0zNZM7AL3weU_wDhh7uyJRs7ZD0iHfjHKwgqnMaaU9EOYXjbHqRIjyI3l1YNHJaYy6jd5kInNcG0qdu/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcoKI9LnJL4abKs3f7RuKD-Xinx5JDd4nLx81u4SKnOFQXV4DDgwEa6hyphenhyphenPyskJ_0zNZM7AL3weU_wDhh7uyJRs7ZD0iHfjHKwgqnMaaU9EOYXjbHqRIjyI3l1YNHJaYy6jd5kInNcG0qdu/w640-h640/165811860_10158865002840630_7524915231211288562_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Chasing the Sun by noted Japanese free jazz drummer Sabu Toyozumi who recorded this in December of 2018 at the Tago Jazz Cafe in Cubao (live) with American expat Rick Countryman on sax and our very own Simon Tan on bass. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505;">Simon played with Lampano Alley and Peryodiko. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505;">Happy to have this free jazz album (pressed in the United States).</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-5534648023443873192021-03-29T10:56:00.000+08:002021-03-29T10:56:01.878+08:00Peryodiko for the Times: An old indie rock hit gets is re-released for a new generation and on vinyl<p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="900" data-original-width="675" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5C2gVakoqx1d7KOjsCWxtUDWYgbClu-GCC0vYxTAim_8CaG-9INfqIXpkSlZZ1Qlz-Zo5BgWqs4yvndYouII5uUuOXHy_S42vRh2_pz6afLy2VbzrVyrD56ezfF6d2aLlZwAErjir1QP/w300-h400/159270952_424183495312354_5802433279669589960_n.jpg" width="300" /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="text-align: center;">Peryodiko for the Times: An old indie rock hit gets is re-released for a new generation </b><b style="text-align: center;">and on vinyl</b></span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By Rick Olivares<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You can’t keep a good band or good music down.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Peryodiko’s self-titled independently-released album from 2009 (via Thirdline) has received the vinyl treatment and will be available to the public once more in about mid-April 2021.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When the band came out in 2008-09, they were a super group of sorts – vocalist and guitarist Vin Dancel from Twisted Halo, guitarist Kakoy Legaspi from Rivermaya and Barbie’s Cradle, bassist Simon Tan who played with Lampano Alley and Wdouji, and drummer Abe Billano who performed with Dong Abay and NuncySpungen. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Their self-titled debut featured 11 solid tracks of heartfelt songs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And that album resonated deep within Robert Tuazon’s soul. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Tuazon, as a music aficionado and the man behind Backspacer Records, one of the top independent record sellers in Manila. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“I played the compact disc of that album endlessly,” recalled Tuazon. “In the car, at home. One time when we me Tasha (Robert’s wife_ caught them at Saguijo, I was able to get the set list and have it signed.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As Backspacer grew, Tuazon wondered, “Anong OPM album ang dapat bigyan ng vinyl release?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“The answer was quite obvious,” threw in Tasha. “Sometimes, I think he wanted to produce his own vinyl so he can play Peryodiko even more.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“It’s just good music,” thought Legaspi when looking back at his one and only album with Peryodiko. “Vin’s Peryodiko songs had a few more years to mature after Twisted Halo was no more. By the time, he presented them to us, I am sure it was much refined already. And when we performed them, we sort of perfected them and worked out the kinks. So once we got to the studio, we were firing on all cylinders. It features four musicians having a good time in the studio. Ginawa namin ito as a group.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Added Tan, “This is a personal sound na gusto namin ilabas nung time na yun. We did the songs in two or three takes although Kakoy and Vin stayed behind to do some overdubs. But Abe and me were usually done.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Songs such as “Agawan Base,” “Tayo,” “Milenyo,” “Pikit,” and “Kumapit Ka Tuwing Lunes” became favorites.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Peryodiko went on to record another album, Cara Y Cruz, in 2016, albeit with Dancel the remainder of the crew that cut their debut. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While their songs from their second album are also just as popular if not more, the first album remains a favorite. Copies of the album are a little difficult to come by, hence, the vinyl release. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As such, it is the perfect time to re-release Peryodiko to a new generation of fans as well as those who grew up listening to it and record enthusiasts. The cool album packaging that resembled a newspaper has been faithfully restored and re-imagined. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Noted Legaspi, “I like that there is an element of preservation with this vinyl treatment. After all, it is a good album.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Karamihan ng nag pre-order hindi nila kilala yung band,” added Tuazon, “But nung pinakinggan nila sa YouTube, nagustuhan nila.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Good music is good music and if you’re a fan of Peryodiko, then the record release of their self-titled debut belongs in one’s collection as well as turntable.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">NOTE: For information on purchasing Peryodiko’s self-titled LP, go to Backspacer Records’ Facebook page.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-17543674857034615452021-03-22T08:04:00.001+08:002021-03-22T08:04:13.625+08:00Your Guide to Hunting for Records in Metro Manila<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhajJf2P0A8InHF6iYU3dhiQs8rMBt5hpuZ03aCVTkua_D9N6tUb5_4uPicn2P2v1nriKrlG2Ogq-H9_jTwgLGySj6sSeZsQg2JnFx0eF0ANDbkJXVg0DtjpB1iBwjQqALVJfQdV5RVtQ0i/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhajJf2P0A8InHF6iYU3dhiQs8rMBt5hpuZ03aCVTkua_D9N6tUb5_4uPicn2P2v1nriKrlG2Ogq-H9_jTwgLGySj6sSeZsQg2JnFx0eF0ANDbkJXVg0DtjpB1iBwjQqALVJfQdV5RVtQ0i/w640-h480/IMG_0477.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Your Guide to Hunting for Records in Metro Manila<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By Rick Olivares<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">With the resurgence of records, we’ve seen sellers and shops pop up throughout the archipelago. Outside the Metro Manila area, you will find shops in Cavite, Pampanga, Baguio, Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga City, and even in Pagbilao among many others. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Anyways, here is an updated March 2021 guide to crate digging in the Metro Manila area (with a few notable mentions outside Luzon) <b><i>and we tried to mention the best and widest in terms of catalogue</i></b>. You will also note that some shops appear more than once and that is because there are qualifiers for various categories. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And for newbies, it always helps to cross reference prices because they vary. Many shops carry the same titles, but others have cheaper or more expensive prices. Some have promos like the occasional free delivery or sale.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When we mention each store, you should look for them on Facebook or Instagram.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Happy crate digging. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you’re looking for a wide-array of titles (brand new and sealed)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When we say this, it’s various genres that are brand new and sealed. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Grey Market</b> – The biggest shop of them all with three branches (White Plains, Greenhills, and Salcedo Village). There’s a lot of vinyl gold here. Not everything gets posted on their social media and you’d be surprised at what you would find. The best is to head on over to their White Plains branch when their new crates arrive. Now, if they only arranged their records according to genre…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Backspacer Records</b> – My how they have grown. And they have a physical shop in Kapitolyo in Pasig and have been producing their own records. Perhaps among all the top sellers, they are the most diverse and adventurous. You’ll find stuff here that many others do not carry.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Plaka Express</b> – They have a physical store in the Project 6 area and you really have to frequently check out their site because they do get records that others do not get. And they do have promos as well. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Also check out: Spindle Hole Records, Riverside Records, M.E. Records, Noisy Neighbor, Blue Spin, Markarvin Records, and Jamfactory.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you’re looking for a good selection of hard rock and metal albums<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You have to check them out every so often because the stuff each store gets has differences.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Black Circles by Alice<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Plaka Express<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you are looking for punk and hardcore records.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">These three have reasonably-priced records whether new or used. Your best buy. Others outside this list sometimes have crazy prices.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Mutilated Noise</b> - Every now and then they will post used but original presses of some hard-to-find and gold titles from legendary acts from the 80s and 90s. They also have a lot of obscure bands from all over the world. Their physical shop in Makati is a punk and hardcore fan’s treat. It will remind you of Bleecker Bob’s in New York. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Still Ill</b> – These guys hold a torch for the fans of this music. Reasonably priced. Superb selections. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Roundabout Records</b> – Well-curated in terms of the legends as well as up-and-comers. Lots of gems every now and then. Based in Cebu, but worth the wait.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you are looking for reggae and ska records<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Black Circles by Alice</b> – Bob Marley might be reggae’s icon and global ambassador but the listing of titles is a dream. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you are looking for 7-inch records<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Treskul Records</b> – Nice mix of OPM, Japanese pop, and US and UK singles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>VinylZone Wreckordshoppe</b> – Located in along Marcos Highway in Cainta, the prices are cheap with the records in good condition. A sleeper of a shop and that means you have to constantly check them out because there are a lot of surprise goodies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Jamfactory</b> – Great selection by its friendly proprietor Jamie Lim. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you are looking for bootleg records <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Southern Groove Records</b> – Love the selection of live bootlegs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you are looking for a nice selection of used 12-inch singles<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>MG Records</b> – Best selection. They usually post new records for sale every 8pm. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Vinyl Wreckordshoppe – </b>They oft place new records on their racks on a daily basis.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Bebop Records</b> – Happy hunting here. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Also check out Plaka Planet, Treskul, Traxx Manila, and Music Depot.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you are looking for indie. <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>This Is Pop</b> – Eclectic is an understatement. And throw in the world “trailblazing” too. One of the coolest shops ever. Located along Legazpi Street in Makati, chances are you’ll come in not knowing what you want. Then you’ll be in trouble because there is a lot to like from 80s New Wave to 90s indie to dance music to Japanese City Pop to bands from Asia to even French and Italian bossa nova and soul. Always a fun visit here. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Analog Daily</b> – A gem of a find. They specialize in getting indie stuff that also don’t show up on the catalogues of others. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>On the Corner</b> – They specialize in shoegaze, dream pop, and indie rock and pop fare. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Also check out <b>College Dropout Records</b>; an up and coming one. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you are looking for second hand records<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Northwest Estate and Collectibles</b> – Hands down, the best in terms of second hand US records. Super wide collection with over 20,000 records on their shelves. Whew. Can’t go here without opening your wallet.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Music Depot</b> – Located in Greenhills just a stone’s throw away from Greenhills Theater, it is a collective of various sellers and it’s a fun dig for brand new, second-hand, and OPM. With record fairs shut down because of the pandemic, this is the next best thing! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Traxx Manila</b> – Located in the heart of Marikina, you’ll find good titles here and the occasional best buy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Plaka Planet</b> – Always a nice place to check out. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Vinylhead</b> – One of the best. Good prices too. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>New Vintage Culture</b> – They have a shop along Maginhawa Street. Reasonably priced stuff. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>AVCD</b> – A good balance of new and sealed as well as used records. Always a pleasant transaction. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Also check out: Bear’s Den which you will also find in the Legazpi Street market and record fairs, Spins, Lahn’s Records.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you are looking for Record Store Day releases…<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Backspacer<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Plaka Express<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">This is Pop<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you are looking for used and hard-to-find OPM <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Without mentioning the reissues (because most people sell them), let’s define this as the old stuff from the 1960s-1980s. With of course, the newer indie releases of recent years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Treskul<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Plaka Planet <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Spins Records<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If Japanese vinyl is your preference…<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Grey Market</b> – Widest selection of Japanese pressed records. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>N-Rich Vinyl</b> – You have to love their bargains and selection.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Wilson Lim</b> – He usually sells his stuff at Kagatan and other record fairs. But you’ll find him online as well. Well-curated too.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Also check out: VinylZone Wreckordshoppe and Lahn’s Records<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Best curated used and occasionally new or sealed records<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Treskul Records</b> – DJ Arbie Won knows his stuff. ‘Nuff said. And you have eats and coffee and drinks while digging and grooving to the live spins. How cool is that?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Bebop Records</b> – The granddaddy of them all. Still at Makati Cinema Square. Bob de Leon is not only a legend in crate digging and re-selling, but his shop is superbly curated with hundreds and hundreds of gems.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-18038559480908884512021-03-08T09:12:00.001+08:002021-03-08T09:12:02.032+08:00Fil-Am musician Mark Redito’s Natural Habitat is a chill and danceable commune with life and plants<p style="text-align: right;"><b style="font-family: Arial; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></b></p><p style="text-align: right;"><b style="font-family: Arial; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Arial; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTp7qYqyzIOrOeAwoXL3Sh0uo6U2rIHPLeOgW8AWkZHWl0GMem_Locvegqe6-YwLGMTzolfS08FCCMfpD7KztXcmeKhAEVxyMg3cSVuuIhq7xc2MCMe4nZviOj5JMKnx2QvFA92h0s7G0/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTp7qYqyzIOrOeAwoXL3Sh0uo6U2rIHPLeOgW8AWkZHWl0GMem_Locvegqe6-YwLGMTzolfS08FCCMfpD7KztXcmeKhAEVxyMg3cSVuuIhq7xc2MCMe4nZviOj5JMKnx2QvFA92h0s7G0/w360-h640/Mark+Redito.png" width="360" /></a></b></div><b style="font-family: Arial; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Fil-Am musician Mark Redito’s Natural Habitat is a chill and danceable commune with life and plants</span></b><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">By Rick Olivares<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">In need of positive vibes that take you back to those Café del Mar and Ibiza chill out compilations days?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Then you must check out Natural Habitat by Filipino-American electronic dance music artist Mark Redito.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">It is a spiritual cousin to Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants; an album released in 1979 that baffled critics and fans alike for its explorations of ecology and the African-American experience. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Forty-plus years later, with a diversity of music genres more accepted, Redito’s Natural Habitat should have no fitting into a variety of moods with its nine delectable dance tracks. They’ll fit into a literal house music atmosphere since everyone is mostly home in this pandemic. It’s works well with sun worshippers at the beach or those into sensuous night music. Perhaps fittingly given its botanical origins, contemplative for plants and gardening at night with apologies to R.E.M. Or maybe Tai Chi for plants. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Redito laughed at the latter assertion by this author. “Music is however you interpret it,” he succinctly put. “I believe in the healing power of music and harmony with nature.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">For good measure, he included Italian musician and producer Simone Vitale who for almost two decades now, has been into the spiritual aspect of life and using voice and music as a tool for healing. Redito and Vitale combine on Side B’s “Anthurium” that evokes a sense of wonder and constant “woos” that sound like one is encouraging plants to grow.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The buoyant “Anne” open Side A and sets the tone for the wonderful listen. You’ll find the music nudging you into tapping your feet and nodding your head along to the beat. And mayhap, to dance along as well. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Redito slows it down a notch with “So In Luv With U” where indie artist Reese Lansangan lends her gossamer vocals in a slow, sensuous, and flirtatious dance. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Watering Routine” has this jazzy dance vibe that Paul Hardcastle’s Jazzmasters popularized in the 90s and to borrow the title of Spyro Gyra’s classic “Morning Dance” in nourishing plants. Who would have thought that watering routines could be so much fun?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Tropical Meditation,” the final song of the album is a lovely send off. Furthermore, it gets you standing up and flipping the record to play it all over again (Natural Habitat has a total run time of 30 minutes). <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Redito admitted that making the album from the confines of his Los Angeles home was cathartic and fun. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“I’ve always been interested in plants, our environment, and the world around us. Making ‘Natural Habitat’ in this difficult time is a different perspective on life that while there are negative things brought about by the pandemic, you can also see the positive developments including having a positive mindset.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Whether you like good music or you collect anything put out by Filipino recording artists from anywhere in this world, Mark Redito’s “Natural Habitat” is one you must have. Just be sure to share it with your plants.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The self-released album is available locally at The Grey Market. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"> <o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-10816774054108445712021-03-01T09:15:00.009+08:002021-03-07T09:17:29.389+08:00Fil-Am recording artist Yeek looks to make splash in the Philippines with new album, Valencia.<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mLCtNwStxpYqrr8VRkIB9CbJ2YWMtaCeSb4zzXhUTJitisls1h3EEGMmPEJDpPT7lc8Gmm90-mbHQ4FB5Dt0de7H4qME3lagN-k2ztuAvXEokHifWYaSX-ETXNIkJF1Muud2jCj1CgFZ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1372" data-original-width="1372" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mLCtNwStxpYqrr8VRkIB9CbJ2YWMtaCeSb4zzXhUTJitisls1h3EEGMmPEJDpPT7lc8Gmm90-mbHQ4FB5Dt0de7H4qME3lagN-k2ztuAvXEokHifWYaSX-ETXNIkJF1Muud2jCj1CgFZ/w400-h400/75233685_2349264031863351_575531445934620672_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Fil-Am recording artist Yeek looks to make splash in the Philippines with new album, Valencia.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">By Rick Olivares<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">When you listen to Filipino-American recording artist Yeek’s new album, Valencia, or even his previous efforts, Sebastian and IDK Where, one’s first impression might be chill rhythm and blues with a dash of hiphop. Except Yeek will surprise you with a song – still in the same time signature – but with riffs and drums that harken back to his punk and hardcore days or alternative music. Or even 70s pop.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Yeek’s music has been best described as genre-less and he doesn’t mind the tag. “For me it’s all about roots,” says the Los Angeles-based musician.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">And roots are important. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">With his 2021 effort that he will release on vinyl in a few months’ time, it is also a means to connect with an audiophile audience as well as those from his motherland. “My last trip to Manila was in 2019 and it was to visit relatives and not to perform. Hopefully, when this pandemic is over, I can go there to the Philippines to perform.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Reaching out to his motherland and doing this interview for abs-cbnnews.com is a way of reconnecting with the network as the late Henry Halasan, one of the main anchors of “The World Tonight” when it premiered in 1962 on the channel and who also served as a former news director for ABS-CBN is his grandfather. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“I was always learning something from him,” said Yeek of Halasan who passed away in 2013. “His having an opportunity to interview people like Muhammad Ali always intrigued me.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">With regards to his influences and punk and hardcore band days, Yeek says he either consciously pulls bits and pieces from his inspirations and draws from his emotions and feelings. “I was exposed to a lot of music so there are moments when I chose to express my emotions through them.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The result is a music style that is steadily gaining popularity for its being genre-less.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“I love the mystery and anonymity of being genre-less,” enthused Yeek. “I don’t mind people labeling my music and label it on their own way. As much as I am a creator. I don’t mind because it is what they hear. As a listener, I am the same – music reminds me of this and that. Because I have an interpretation of music, it allows me to understand the music I am listening to more and build a relationship. I don’t want to take that away from the listener. Genre-less is a genre I like.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">And “Valencia” and its 10 songs of relationship woes and roots and family is something that Yeek believes will resonate with many people; Filipinos included.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The album features production from his cousin, Kevin Halasan, and mixing from Jeff Ellis, who previously worked with R&B artist Frank Ocean, Prince protégé Snoh Aalegra, and rising Mexican-American singer-songwriter Omar Apollo. Yeek’s vocals are stronger and more confident as opposed to his previous efforts; borne after a year of touring in the United States and Europe (pre-covid), and simply a product of honing his craft.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The first single is the title track that comes with a surreal neon-lit visual. Other tracks to give a listen include “Lumbago” that is an ode to Yeek’s younger and sickly days, “Overthinking” which is about the pressures of growing up, and “3,000 Miles (Baby Baby)” that sings of love across the miles.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“It’s my best work to date,” sums up Yeek.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“My music reaching the Philippines is very exciting to me. That is where my family and roots are from. I want to represent a new demographic of Filipinos and Americans who can show the world what they can do.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; text-align: justify;">Yeek hopes to have records of “Valencia” hit the Philippines as soon as possible. Filipinos can check out his music on Spotify and iTunes.</span></div><br /> <p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-741643449222443742021-02-16T07:52:00.007+08:002021-02-16T07:52:55.475+08:00On my turntable... Cinema Lumiere's Will You Catch Me?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4_gFqWNqMy3Dvi9z8G3-rxAazK3noqtKnQTswMRkDcS8hX2CXiaXyHVnFXnx0GBTY5_LTYCBEqeVphebHhhUk8ekwyx702cdrXqIN8_TFKfC3XrgQqsFiMmyIW6TTz_dr4TFSGYWUzX9f/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4_gFqWNqMy3Dvi9z8G3-rxAazK3noqtKnQTswMRkDcS8hX2CXiaXyHVnFXnx0GBTY5_LTYCBEqeVphebHhhUk8ekwyx702cdrXqIN8_TFKfC3XrgQqsFiMmyIW6TTz_dr4TFSGYWUzX9f/w640-h640/Cinema+Liumiere.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></div><br /> <p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-13210523113809501042021-02-14T18:18:00.005+08:002021-02-14T18:18:57.456+08:00An Appreciation for Bruce Springsteen<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-9HeewMYiHJX8iwG1ipoYrMRQVq1dGLHiQ8NSvR9eBmZPgdX-fLSGRNiiv62JCHtrP0SZeXuD3DF41_uZuCOWeZYg7J76rNn6W5ZDXB-QZbZcokEey5tIRDWEsjvFXoKsyBdCpD91uhm/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1151" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO-9HeewMYiHJX8iwG1ipoYrMRQVq1dGLHiQ8NSvR9eBmZPgdX-fLSGRNiiv62JCHtrP0SZeXuD3DF41_uZuCOWeZYg7J76rNn6W5ZDXB-QZbZcokEey5tIRDWEsjvFXoKsyBdCpD91uhm/w640-h360/150157898_1719090571585791_8958929090894700454_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Did you watch Springsteen on Broadway?</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">That was amazing especially for an old time fan like me.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">I was in seventh grade when I got into Bruce Springsteen. In Rolling Stone and Jingle magazine, he was constantly lionized. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">When I was in seventh grade, I was talking with my classmate Ben Reyes who was the first person I knew who swore by the Rolling Stones. We spoke about Bruce's new album at that point which was The River. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">So I got the seven-inch single of "Hungry Heart" that had a blue Columbia/CBS-Sony label. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Sometime that year, the concert film, No Nukes, was shown in Metro Manila. My classmates and I, Hec Garde, Bam Quimson, Al Rono, Ben, and Jun Neri went to the old Quad in Makati to watch No Nukes. About two weeks later, when I had saved enough for the double LP that was The River, I got it.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">And I backtracked, getting Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ, and Born to Run. It was because of Springsteen that I backtracked all the way to Bob Dylan and Van Morrison. And this was the time, I got into the Beat Generation writers Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, and Allen Ginsberg. Those three, Dylan, Springsteen, and then Ernest Hemingway had a profound effect on my poetry and writing (this one it took a while to shake off).</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">I was hugely an impressionable young man during that time... soaking in punk, new wave, metal, and what is now known today, as Classic Rock. Writing-wise, I still hadn't discovered my style. It would take a great many years before I figured that out. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">These are my few records by Bruce -- Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., Born to Run, The River, Born in the USA, and the five-LP live album. Not in the picture are Tunnel of Love (the last I got from the 80s) and his most recent, Letter to You. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Watching Springsteen on Broadway was like hearing an old friend and re-reading an old book. It took me back to days when I put myself on Thunder Road and wanted to go on an endless drive. It sure helped that back then the first Mad Max film had come out so I wanted to drive out to these Wastelands and Badlands.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Like Bruce, there were moments -- the stories he recounted -- that moved me to tears. I guess, the pangs of growing up do that to ya. </div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">And yet, I have embraced all the good and bad hurt as it has defined who I am today.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">No matter what it was at that time, I found myself smiling and nodding as I watched Springsteen on Broadway.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">It felt so good, I had to pull out my old records.</div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Now I'm on fire.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-87300023877448257162021-02-05T22:00:00.002+08:002021-02-16T07:48:29.518+08:00Cinema Lumiere’s debut EP out from indie Indonesian/Chinese/Greek/PH labels<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3NI1rJ8HdMg1hPkGp-gk_9QXB94roGDUak81v-mRz6jEAVceNJmu6mVbXvCVCOlz6Gx_9p9qi5f20nzgsh3yBa-O5NgIW1-_osyAsqX5A6JCsBwwikz9pnvMLmRhfZqhu_iZQZ25utgww/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1496" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3NI1rJ8HdMg1hPkGp-gk_9QXB94roGDUak81v-mRz6jEAVceNJmu6mVbXvCVCOlz6Gx_9p9qi5f20nzgsh3yBa-O5NgIW1-_osyAsqX5A6JCsBwwikz9pnvMLmRhfZqhu_iZQZ25utgww/w640-h456/0.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Cinema Lumiere’s debut EP out from indie Indonesian/Chinese/Greek/PH labels</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">By Rick Olivares<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">This is music that you must listen to in this time of pandemic.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">It’s wistful boy-girl harmonies set to jingle-jangle guitar pop that evoke bicycle rides in the countryside.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Lend your ears to the pop music alchemists Cinema Lumiere who are releasing their first extended play single, this February from a joint production by indie labels from Indonesia (Shiny Happy Records), China (Boring Productions), Greece (Mellotron Recordings), and the Philippines (Catshelf Records). <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The 10-inch lathe cut EP takes its name from the track, “Will You Catch Me” with its album design deliberately showing the ring wear of vinyl.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“This is our love letter to Sarah Records,” quipped drummer Manny Gallo who designed the package. “We just love that jangly guitar-pop sound that the English label produced.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Sarah Records was famously based out of the unlikely place of Bristol, England, from 1987-1995 by Matt Haynes and Clare Wadd, who both put out records by noted acts The Field Mice, Heavenly, The Hit Parade, Boyracer, Brighter, and Blueboy among many others. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Sarah records made a huge statement in 1995 when they deliberately shut down their label after putting out their 100<sup>th</sup> release, a compilation album, There and Back Again Lane.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">The four songs that make up the EP – “Love,” “London Tears,” “Will You Catch Me,” and Dreamcatcher,” were written and sung by Xavier Emas who recently migrated to Canada. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Cinema Lumiere is now four-piece with guitarist Jon Tamayo now handling lead vocals along with bassist Sue Torrejon with Tan Evangelista on guitars, and Gallo on drums.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“The original plan was to record a full album,” bared Tamayo. “But when we learned that Xavier was leaving, we prioritized those songs because it represents an era of the band.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Even if the songs harken back to a bygone era, Cinema Lumiere’s songs sparkle and shine more so in this pandemic and a musical climate so different from Sarah Records’ 90s heyday. Thus, they stand out.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Even without Xavier, we have enough songs written from the past few years to fill up a full-length album,” clarified Tamayo. “A lot of us write songs as well.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“We’re excited about this release given the label and the bands we were inspired by,” added Torrejon. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">“Of all the bands I have been with, this is the only one where we’ve gone to a level where we will have our music out on both vinyl and cassette (there is a limited version of it on tape). So it is exciting and I feel that we’re well on our way to following our musical heroes.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">Cinema Lumiere’s “Will You Catch Me” will sell for P950. Inquiries can be made through their Facebook page.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-75850488883526708012021-01-25T23:58:00.001+08:002021-01-25T23:58:00.253+08:00Filipina DJ Katsy Lee makes top DJ lists for 2020<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgILs7LgFB8Vybg2P1s1CJaX2yiR0n_FocJt-B5D2vge6Ba0qgsHYP0M38Ja_80lESdElQSPX1bDq_DWCOqVIkm7vYpKEs0lGLyRHHDfbF7090xfVI-A0Lc6adkCUyaX08-XOMwV5j6h0gf/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="890" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgILs7LgFB8Vybg2P1s1CJaX2yiR0n_FocJt-B5D2vge6Ba0qgsHYP0M38Ja_80lESdElQSPX1bDq_DWCOqVIkm7vYpKEs0lGLyRHHDfbF7090xfVI-A0Lc6adkCUyaX08-XOMwV5j6h0gf/w267-h400/IMG_8556+%25281%2529.JPG" width="267" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Filipina DJ Katsy Lee makes top DJ lists for 2020</span></span></b><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By Rick Olivares<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Katsy Lee’s head is spinning.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In disbelief that is.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The vivacious disc jockey (DJ) was named to two 2020 Best DJ lists -- the FDJ World List and the EDMDroid Asia. Lee, placed #95 and #25 (in the Asian category; #1 in the Philippines). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“I don’t really expect these things and aside from the ones that do voting, I am not really sure how they come up with these lists and rankings, but I am still grateful,” gushed Lee of the feat. “I have been doing this for 10 years now and the recognition is nice. I’m just happy we all worked our butts off.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lee who was a cheerleader during her college days at the Ateneo de Manila University is quite happy that her unexpected career path is paying off. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“I took up Communication specializing in journalism in college and I wanted to do media work. But on the other hand, being into music – I was never a musician because I cannot really play although I took some piano lessons as a kid – was something that appealed to me,” she bared of her unique journey. “As far back as in high school at Immaculate Conception Academy, I dreamed of being a DJ.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“I was scared what my parents might say but when they found out, they were cool with it. And they never actually talked me out of it.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">During Katsy’s grade school years at ICA, she discovered ambient music, house, and chillout music. “It might sound like a cliché, but as it does anyone else, music saved me,” bared Lee. “It got me out many a sad and bored moment.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Being a professional DJ has taken me to places I never thought I would DJ in or even travel to alone,” she further elucidated. “I’ve played in the Netherlands, England, America, India, Japan, and some of our neighbors in Southeast Asia.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“I’ve also met a lot of people and made friends from all over the world. There’s much more to discover, but it has made me and other DJs feel like we are citizens of the world.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That world is best encapsulated in a gig that Lee played this past New Year’s Eve celebration.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“I was coming off a small tour of India when I went to Vietnam for a New Year’s Eve celebration for a club,” related Katsy. “I curated a lot of Indian music during my tour including this Bollywood song that I really liked. What made the gig cool was not just because I got to play songs from different cultures in one gig but to see the reactions of the people in the crowd. They’d recognize a song in their language and they’d smile, clap, or give a thumbs up.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“I was able to play songs from different cultures in one gig. What made it cool wasn’t just that but was simply that small pockets in the crowd smiled, clapped, and gave me a thumbs up. In a nutshell, it felt like such a global experience of what DJs can do.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Another thing that DJs do is music production and Katsy has been studying it for some years, releasing some tracks along the way.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“One time, I went to Amsterdam to attend a convention for artists, DJs, and producers,” Lee recounted. “It was my second year going there as a music producer hoping to be signed to a label.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“It was the third day of the convention and I felt that I hadn’t done enough demo drops, meetings, or legwork, and I was at my wits’ end when my artist manager told me there was this demo drop that might be perfect for my sound.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“The slot was under progressive house, techno, and trance. Now, I love those genres, but the music I brought with me did not fit those categories. Then I saw the name on the list… it was BT (Brian Wayne Transeau who is an American DJ, singer, songwriter, composer, and audio engineer). I think artistically, and technically, he is a genius. He makes all sorts of music and he is just incredible. I thought that BT wouldn’t listen to my music but I leapt at the chance to know what he thought of the music I made.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">BT was quite accommodating and he quickly put Lee’s fears to rest. “He was so nice. BT and his wife actually said they liked my music. They gave me their email address and told me to send them further demos. They wanted to help me out. I was in tears at that point.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This took place in a small room and all the other hopefuls overheard BT’s interest and vote of confidence for Katsy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Some of the guys went up and asked about BT. They heard pretty much everything and they were asking how it was like because some of them were scheduled next. They were way more experienced than me and another good thing to come out of that was some of those guys I met at the demo drop are now my friends. In fact, I have a collab coming up with one of them!”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">DJ Katsy Lee isn’t going to take it easy with the accolades she’s received. “I want to venture more into music production. I do have my stuff out on digital (Spotify and Soundcloud) but now that you mention it, Sir Rick, I hope to have some of my work pressed on vinyl. That is... if it’s worthy to be pressed.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Knowing DJ Katsy Lee… it’s just a matter of time when she gets to check these off her Bucket List.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then as in today, her head will still be spinning in disbelief.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8679487028723896266.post-80125317877584043762021-01-12T19:51:00.000+08:002021-01-12T19:51:00.317+08:00My records of Bob Marley & the Wailers' Legend<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9MKywmconNOPBlARlsBPBM8ZGb0Q4LcUfwnnMSvZQ_4D6_zb03w1BCP_5bOT1JVCvvxM4o66sEj8oSiMtLQycxu-xmuH_2AUIt05WM6sNhO7VV3P8zMDoz-IsgPc8gRF1o2qqm-2KRy9/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="821" data-original-width="1440" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9MKywmconNOPBlARlsBPBM8ZGb0Q4LcUfwnnMSvZQ_4D6_zb03w1BCP_5bOT1JVCvvxM4o66sEj8oSiMtLQycxu-xmuH_2AUIt05WM6sNhO7VV3P8zMDoz-IsgPc8gRF1o2qqm-2KRy9/w640-h364/137049706_10158657945830630_1272219320026439488_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My copies of Bob Marley and the Wailers: The Jamaican first pressing from Tuff Gong, the 180-gram re-issue, the tri-color edition of which the vinyl sounds like crap, the DVD and CD, the CD Deluxe Edition, and the half-speed master that sound fricking brilliant.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOWrJphkhZLT05hSMB_xtFO0nTMq0hwOslDt4rIW3DAIwIsl5JeasiZHnrS230hxvLyE6nGVY1ThT4KNhCR_0rm7rIlaXHmwcY3pA5D3h_Ce2nJAbID7oRcXT6p_Q9LexVvlbNjd4Au8I/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="790" data-original-width="960" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOWrJphkhZLT05hSMB_xtFO0nTMq0hwOslDt4rIW3DAIwIsl5JeasiZHnrS230hxvLyE6nGVY1ThT4KNhCR_0rm7rIlaXHmwcY3pA5D3h_Ce2nJAbID7oRcXT6p_Q9LexVvlbNjd4Au8I/w640-h526/138542810_10158657958055630_6225318355019820619_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Jamaican first press from Tuff Gong Way back in 1984. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5a__wAYLIyWRf0E6_ep_TVvuf0cRelaVA15d_GdfC2KT36NowWtPCYTGZi2sK10xP_OE06Ifu0HKQ2nzXIALHTTxDeR839-PbppPJTEGVN6f5U1YIw8wJQ_q90y10UPiQ3nB8sina_KiH/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="524" data-original-width="960" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5a__wAYLIyWRf0E6_ep_TVvuf0cRelaVA15d_GdfC2KT36NowWtPCYTGZi2sK10xP_OE06Ifu0HKQ2nzXIALHTTxDeR839-PbppPJTEGVN6f5U1YIw8wJQ_q90y10UPiQ3nB8sina_KiH/w640-h350/138541427_10158657958210630_7129120216534908910_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><br /><br /></div><br /> <p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0